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Shannel still needs your help

Shannel Cain - Contributed

THE FAMILY OF nine-month-old Shannel Cain are still appealing for help for their little girl who they say was released from hospital last week.

Shannel's story first appeared in THE WEEKEND STAR on May 28, 2004. At that time her family faced a whopping hospital bill of $490,000 and were in desperate need of help for their daughter who suffers from a disease called Craniosynostosis.

Craniosynostosis refers to the early closing of one or more of the sutures of an infant's skull. The skull is normally composed of bones which are separated by sutures. As a baby's brain grows, open sutures allow the skull to expand and develop a relatively normal shaped skull. If one or more of the sutures closes early, it causes the skull to expand in the direction of the open sutures. This can result in an abnormally shaped head. In severe cases, this condition can also cause increased pressure on the growing brain.

In Shannel's case, only the suture at the front of her skull remains open. The rest were closed from birth. As a result, her brain has grown towards the front of her head and has placed pressure on her eyes causing them to bulge.

More money needed

"We've got $20,000 so far but this is only a small part of what is needed," said Adella Cain, Shannel's mother.

The family said although the child has been released from the hospital she still has stitches in her head which should be removed tomorrow. "Right now we are concerned about the bill as we will probably have to pay extra since she was in intensive care for an extended period. They said they would tell us the bill today when we got there," she said.

Shannel's surgery took place almost one month ago. This meant that she spent an additional three weeks in intensive care.

The family in the meantime are appealing to members of the public for assistance. Donations to help Shannel can be made at the Scotia Bank, Premier Plaza Branch in Half-Way Tree to account number 906508.