Sky Limit The is not the for this Angel

It’s rare to find a creative and affectionate child with Spina Bifida, a congenital disability that affects the development of the spinal cord and spine. It can lead to physical and cognitive impairments which can limit the ability to express creativity and show affection.

However, Amy Faith Lombaard is one of few children with Spina Bifida who can express themselves creatively and show love and affection. She’ll be 11 this year, since she was born on the 7th of July, 2011. Despite her condition, Amy plays the piano, draws, and swims - she can do all things she loves. “I want to be an author, I want to write stories, and I want to play piano,” Amy said eagerly.

Her condition was later confirmed to be Spina Bifida Myelomeningocele, one of the most severe types. As a result, Amy’s Bifida was positioned high up on the back where the ribcage starts. “This was confirmed by three separate doctors. During that time, we were prepared for the worst and advised at every checkup to terminate the pregnancy. They said Amy would have a severe developmental delay, she would be brain-damaged and paralysed. She would never roll over, sit, stand, she would never walk. She would have no control over her bladder and bowel movements,” her mother told Rise N Shine.

Her parents considered abortion, but as it turned out, it was not an option for them. Her mother said they had a firm belief that God would guide them through and show them how to handle the condition in the best possible way.

“Moreover we believed that He would heal Amy. Throughout the years, we have had countless experiences in which we saw God work miracles in Amy’s young life from well before her birth. I could always feel Amy kicking while still pregnant, but with each sonar checkup she would lie dead still,” Amy’s mother explained.

Amy’s first sign that she was special was passing her Apgar score with flying colours when she was born. Her parents were amazed and knew she was destined for greatness. She was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit, which is where she remained for about two weeks. Baby Amy, unfortunately, would be diagnosed with another condition, Hydrocephalus. She underwent surgery at 11 days old to close the spine, remove the spinal fluid sack, and insert a shunt to assist with the drainage of spinal fluid.

“After two weeks in ICU, Amy was transferred to the regular neonatal unit where she remained another week and was then discharged. She had several MRI scans during this time and this revealed that the brain seemed to be misformed. This did not surprise doctors given her diagnosis. Doctors could not tell us how damaged Amy’s brain would be, and we would have to wait and see what milestones (if any),” her mother recalled.

Despite the poor prognosis, Amy behaved like any other baby, moving her arms, legs, and body normally and showing no signs of disability. Her mother will never forget meeting one of her doctors who first advised them to terminate. After seeing Amy, the doctor said Amy had a pretty good chance of living a fairly normal life.

As Amy progressed, she managed to meet all of her milestones. “Each milestone was not only a huge win for Amy, but also a miracle. As Amy grew, she learned to roll over, sit, and crawl. She was potty trained, proving that she was able to control her bladder and bowels. It didn’t take her long to learn how to speak, and her mental milestones were all met on time, if not early. The only sign that she showed of any disability was her left leg which was paralysed. We would later learn that the paralysed leg was a result of her hip dysplasia, her hip bone was crushing the nerves in her leg. This had almost nothing to do with the Spina bifida,” she said.

“By the age of 4, Amy learned to walk with crutches. She took her first steps and became more mobile. She crawled everywhere or used her small motorbike to get around up until this point. At age 5, she started Grade RR and did exceptionally well. She climbed all over the jungle gym equipment and teachers were amazed at her mobility. She has a spirit that draws people to her, has many friends, and was loved by all. She also excelled at her school work and showed no signs of mental or cognitive disability,” she added.

In 2017, she underwent major surgery to repair her hip and place it back in its correct position. The procedure involved the partial replacement of the hip. She also had her leg muscles and bones lengthened and her foot bones straightened so that her leg could be more aligned with her right leg.

Having completed Grade R with flying colours, Amy was very excited to begin Grade 1. In Grade 1, Amy performed very well academically; however, after just a few weeks, her parents were called into a meeting and informed that Amy was taking six minutes longer to use the bathroom than other children and was not suitable for a mainstream school. The Department of Education was also present to discuss sending Amy to a special needs school. “Given Amy’s academic ability and the fact that other than her leg she had no signs of the disability that she was born with, we felt this was unnecessary and would impact Amy negatively,” said her mother.

“It was at that point that we took the decision to homeschool Amy instead, and enrolled her in a Cambridge International Curriculum. Since then she has excelled at school and is very diligent in doing her schoolwork almost entirely on her own.”

Amy loves animals, especially horses. She enjoys writing and hopes to become published one day. She is in Grade 6 and received an average of 81.6% for her Grade 5 year. Even the sky won’t be a limit for this cute angel.