An awesome moment occurred when her sister blew a raspberry on her abdomen, awakening a brain-damaged two-year-old girl. She woke up after days of worrying that they were running out of time with Poppy. Miraculously, she responded to her sister Macy by blowing a raspberry on her breast and laughing. The parents of the young girl claimed that her elder sister blowing a raspberry on her abdomen brought her back to life.
Poppy Smith, two years old, sustained a brain injury on her second birthday, and doctors said she had a poor chance of survival. Poppy, on the other hand, defied expectations and is crawling again just nine weeks later. The tiny tot had a disorder called Mobius syndrome, which causes her facial muscles to malfunction. After her parents, Stephen, age 34, and Amy, 31, noticed that she dribbled her meals frequently, she was diagnosed. Poppy was born on December 17, 2014, at 29 weeks and weighed only 2 pounds. She was allowed home to Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, after three months in a neonatal unit, weighing four pounds six ounces. Despite physicians’ predictions that Poppy’s growth would be delayed and that she would never walk or talk normally, she exceeded all of her milestones.
Poppy suffered a couple of hospitalizations due to respiratory issues, but as she approached her second birthday in December 2016, physicians were quite happy with her development. That was the incredible moment when she giggled when Macy blew a raspberry on her stomach. Macy’s mother, Amy, went to wake her up only days before she turned two, but she couldn’t get her to wake up. “We could feel her heartbeat, but she was unresponsive,” said Stephen, a designer. “We had a feeling things weren’t quite right. She was breathing, but she was gasping for air,” says the narrator. She was airlifted to Barrow and Furnace General Hospital, where she was stabilized before being transferred to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital for more specialized treatment. Poppy’s condition improved so dramatically the next day that she was taken off the ventilator. Her parents recognized something wasn’t quite right two days later on her second birthday. Her eyes were starting to slide to the back of her skull,” Steven explained. “Her lungs were full of fluid, and she suffered another respiratory arrest, according to a chest x-ray. That night she began to jerk and have seizures. She was rapidly deteriorating. When I asked if she’d be able to walk or talk again, they said they didn’t know if she would live. It was heartbreaking when it began to sink in.” An MRI exam two days later revealed some grave effects. When she returned from the scan, physicians pulled us aside into the side room and told us she had serious hypoxic brain damage,” Stephen continued. “I inquired as to whether she would be able to walk or speak again, but they replied they didn’t know if she would live. It was heartbreaking, and it started sinking. They said we’d have to wait and see, but things didn’t look promising. All I needed was for them to reassure me that she was going to be fine.” Medics were able to re-establish Poppy’s respiration, but she remained unconscious. She couldn’t feel anything and didn’t respond to a torch being shown in her eyes,” Stephen continued. “We had her in our arms, but she was staring right through us. That’s the most intense pain I’ve ever experienced in my life. The agony was unbearable.” Poppy’s sisters, Alicia, now 14, Macy, 12, and her brother Alfie, 11, spent Christmas in the hospital with their family, believing it might be their last. “On Christmas Eve, we went to midnight mass and lit candles for her,” Stephen explained. “I asked the priest if he might come and bless her.” Poppy was transferred to a high dependency unit on Christmas Day, and her entire family came to wish her a Merry Christmas. But then, after days of worrying that they were running out of time with Poppy, she surprisingly replied to her sister Macy by blowing a raspberry on her breast and laughing. “That was the magical moment when she laughed as Macy blew a raspberry on her belly,” Stephen continued. “It was incredible. We later learned that it was usual for persons in that state to express emotion, but it appeared to us that she was responding. Then she started twitching her limbs and legs. Doctors speculated that it could be spinal reflexes, but I knew it was much more.” Poppy’s extraordinary recovery baffled doctors, and she gradually recovered day by day, learning to speak and crawl all over again. “We couldn’t believe it,” Steven stated. “It had just been eight weeks. It’s fantastic she’s come a long way. Doctors are perplexed; she shouldn’t be doing what she’s doing. They say they’re overjoyed that she is, but they didn’t expect her to be. She’s going to show them all how incorrect they are.” The family is now raising funds for two weeks of intensive physiotherapy at the Cosmos Suite Rehabilitation Unit in Italy, believing that they must act soon to help Poppy return to normal. “We want to get more physio for her sooner rather than later,” Stephen added, “because we believe the sooner we do, the more of her mobility we’ll be able to save. Our hospital’s been wonderful, but it’s little, and they don’t have the resources to provide her with that level of care. She only attends one physiotherapy session each week. We’re hoping that having it every day will aid in her mobility improvement. She’s still wobbly, but I believe she’ll be able to walk on her own soon, and she’s already come a long way. All we want to do is raise money to help her out a little more, and we don’t want to waste any time.”
Mobius Syndrome is a rare congenital condition existing at birth caused by a lack of development in the facial nerves that regulate some eye movements and facial emotions. The nerves that control speech, chewing, and swallowing can also be affected. Symptoms and signs of Mobius Syndrome differ widely from person to person. Facial paralysis or weakness affecting at least one but generally both sides of the face, paralysis of sideways or lateral movement of the eyes, and preservation of vertical motion of the eyes are the classically accepted diagnostic criteria. Other cranial nerves are less commonly impacted. Drooling and crossed eyes are common in infants with Mobius Syndrome. The youngster is forced to turn the head to follow objects since the eyes do not move from side to side. Infants with no facial expression are typically described as having a mask-like face, which is particularly noticeable when laughing or sobbing. Affected infants may also have feeding challenges, such as difficulty swallowing and sucking. Corneal ulceration can occur if the eyelids are left open while sleeping. There are a slew of other abnormalities to consider: a short, deformed tongue, and/or an unusually small jaw are common in children with Mobius Syndrome. It’s also possible to have a cleft palate. Feeding and respiratory problems are caused by these disorders. Ear infections are common in children with a cleft palate. External ear abnormalities might include underdevelopment of the outer region of the ear or a complete lack of the outer section of the air. Hearing loss is likely if the eighth cranial nerve is damaged. Anomalies of the teeth are not rare. Cavities are more likely to develop in children. Some of the children who are afflicted have speech problems and developmental disabilities. Over 50 percent of children with Mobius Syndrome have skeletal abnormalities of the limbs. Clubbed feet and underdevelopment of the lower legs are examples of lower limb malformations. Webbing of the fingers, underdevelopment, or disappearance of the fingers, and/or underdevelopment of the hand are examples of upper limb malformations. Scoliosis occurs in a few children, and underdevelopment of the chest muscles and the breast on one side of the body occurs in around 15 percent of patients. Because of upper body weakness, some affected children have difficulty reaching specific milestones, such as crawling or walking. However, most children eventually catch up. Minor intellectual disability is rarely related to Mobius Syndrome. The autistic spectrum is a term used to describe a group of children. There’s no definitive link between Mobius Syndrome and autism. Some research suggests that children with Mobius Syndrome are more likely to develop autism spectrum disorders; however, other investigations have not proven this and imply that any such link is exaggerated. Mobius Syndrome is frequently linked to a slew of social and psychological issues. Observers may misinterpret what an affected individual is thinking, feeling, or intending due to a lack of facial expressions and the inability to smile. Although clinical anxiety and sadness are not more common in children and adolescents with Mobius Syndrome, uncertainty and frustration may cause affected persons to avoid social situations. Causes: In the absence of familial history of the disorder, most cases of Mobius Syndrome occur at random for unexplained causes. With a gene map location of 13q 12.2 q13, the syndrome is known as Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM) number 15700. Sporadic mutations in the PLX ND1 and REV3L genes have also been found in a number of patients and validated in animal models to induce a constellation of symptoms compatible with Mobius Syndrome. Familial patterns have been found in a few cases. Mobius Syndrome is most likely multifactorial, meaning that both genetic and environmental factors play a role in its development. It’s possible that distinct underlying causes exist in different circumstances. Heterogeneity: There is evidence that Mobius Syndrome is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in familial instances when just one copy of a defective gene is required for the disease to manifest. The faulty gene can be inherited from either parent or be caused by a new mutation of the affected person. The likelihood of transferring the defective gene from one parent to their kids is 50 percent for each pregnancy, regardless of the child’s gender. The range of symptoms in Mobius Syndrome reflects a hindbrain developmental abnormality. The cause of Mobius Syndrome has been attributed to a variety of theories. One theory is that the disease is caused by reduced or interrupted blood supply to the growing embryo during pregnancy. According to new research, a shortage of blood affects the cranial nerve nuclei in some parts of the lower brainstem. An environmental, mechanical, or genetic factor could be to blame for the absence of blood flow. Nonetheless, the source of the disease is unknown, necessitating more scientific and clinical data. Thanks for reading.
