Child with brain tumor needs urgent surgery

Apr 26, 2016 News

One glance at 12-year-old Mikelle Brutus and no one would guess that she’s suffering from paralysis caused by a tumor in the Pons of her brain.

A smiling Mikelle and her mother Malicia Brutus

The Pons of the brain is responsible for all sensory functions of the body i.e. the smell, taste, sight, touch and hearing. Due to the rare tumor Mikelle is now rapidly losing the use of her right hand and leg, paralysis has taken away her favorite things in the world; dancing and singing.
A trip to the hospital last year July confirmed a tumor in the left Pons of her brain. Mikelle’s parents, Malicia and Michael Brutus, have been contacting surgeons across the Caribbean and as far as England to seek the urgent medical treatment needed.
The Brutus family was lucky enough to have an audience with the Caribbean’s Chief Neurosurgeon, Dr. Ivor Crandon, during a visit to Guyana. Dr. Crandon duly examined the child and diagnosed the tumor as inoperable.
The tumor is described in medical terms as being a brain stem glioma. It is often very difficult to remove. Brain stem glioma is an aggressive and dangerous cancer, without treatment life expectancy is typically a few months from time of diagnosis.
In an interview with this newspaper Mr. Michael Brutus stated that Dr. Crandon explicitly told him that under no circumstances should open head surgery be done on his daughter.
Brutus said that since the diagnosis was done he has been sending the medical documents and CT scans of his daughter to various medical institutes and professors around the Caribbean and they all shared the same opinion that open head surgery was not an option as it could have dire side effects on Mikelle.
When all seemed lost a medical team visiting from the USA, based in Miami and Puerto Rico examined Mikelle and perused the medical findings of their Caribbean counterparts; they told Mr. Brutus that they could treat Mikelle by way of Radiology and Chemotherapy thus eliminating the need for the risky open head surgery.
The cost of this treatment is US$172,000. In the estimate for the treatment is a clause which states that there may be extra charges for additional treatment which takes the required sum in the region of $50M.
As Mr. Brutus plainly stated, time is of the essence because this treatment is urgently needed. Mikelle is no longer able to attend school because it was advised against, the muscle mass of her right leg is wasting away and she can no longer use her favoured right hand.
Despite of the grim condition and adversities Mikelle faces, she still smiles. She was brave enough to offer to sing for the newspaper. The eldest of five, she possesses an outgoing and cheerful personality; Mikelle is a talented and intelligent young woman, having competed in Mashramani Calypso competitions in 2013 and 2014 placing third in 2014.
The Brutus family is appealing to the people of Guyana for assistance in the form of much needed monetary donations, the deadline for acquisition of the money is the end of May. Anyone desirous of donating to Mikelle’s much needed surgery can contact the family on numbers 671-3298 or 694-6500.
Transfers can also be made to their Republic Bank Account 265-347-5.
In a touching statement to the Guyanese public Mikelle said “I’m asking for the opportunity to run, dance and sing again. I’d like the chance for a normal childhood and to be able to go to school again.”