A group of Australian physicians completely reshaped the face of a young lady born with a rare disease that caused tumors to grow in abnormal places.
Natalia Apaseray, 26, was born in the Indonesian city of Jayapura on the island of Papua with the genetic condition neurofibromatosis, which causes benign tumors to form on the skin, spinal cord, and nerves.
Ms. Apaseray’s health was serious, and she was unable to acquire the care she required in West Papua.
Therefore, the growths severely disfigured the right side of her face.
She was humiliated by the way the neighborhood kids made fun of her deformities, so she disguised her face from them.
Ms. Apaseray’s socioeconomic standing had reportedly been rather low, according to plastic surgeon Michael Kernohan.
He told SBS television, “One of the missionary workers in her country discovered her in a bin where local kids were throwing rocks at her.”
Mr. Gray was quoted in the newspaper the Liverpool City Champion as saying, “No one deserves to live like this.”
Mr. Gray did not waste any time and started phoning other Rotary members right once to rally support for Natalia.
It took the combined efforts of Rotary clubs in western Sydney, Bendigo, and his very own chapter in Phnom Penh to raise the necessary $27,000 to transport Natalia to Australia for medical care.
By December, he had made contact with a cardiothoracic surgeon at Liverpool Hospital named Bruce French and a plastic surgeon named Michael Kernohan, both of whom agreed to assist.
Mr. Gray said that the two individuals approached the board of directors of the hospital to request permission to treat Natalia as a humanitarian patient.
18 months before Natalia was flown to Sydney for the intricate and demanding surgeries to remove her face tumors, treatment planning for her condition started. These treatments were intended to eliminate the tumors.
Plastic surgeons, ophthalmologists, otolaryngologists, ear, nose, and throat surgeons, psychiatrists, anesthetists, radiologists, and nursing personnel were all members of the multidisciplinary team that cared for her throughout her treatment.
Natalia had her first procedure on May 13, followed by substantial face reconstruction treatment on June 15, which was a seven-hour operation performed by Dr. Kernohan and his colleagues.
Her nose, mouth, and eyelid were all reconstructed as part of the massive operation, which also entailed the removal of a significant piece of the right side of her face and its rebuilding.
Dr. Kernohan said that the team had donated their time in order to treat and care for Natalia for free, and that Rotary had paid for all of Natalia’s transportation and lodging expenses.
According to what Dr. Kernohan said to News.com, “Rotary flew Natalia to Australia at the end of 2018 for an intensive week of medical appointments and scans before she returned again in May as a humanitarian patient.”
“There are countless people who offered their time to be a part of something that had never been done in a NSW hospital,” said the researcher. “This was something that had never been done in a NSW hospital.”
Natalia had shown a great deal of bravery during all of her operations, according to Dr. Kernohan, and he expressed his willingness to assist her in the future, should she have any need in this regard.
He remarked that Natalia had shown an incredible amount of bravery during this foreign travel and had not once voiced any complaints.
During Natalia’s time recuperating from her injury, the Rotary team did everything they could to keep her spirits up by bringing her on excursions.
On Facebook, Natalia charted her progress by posting images she had taken throughout her travels to locations such as the beach, the Blue Mountains, and the Australian Botanic Garden Mount Annan.
Natalia expressed her gratitude to Rotary and the personnel at Liverpool Hospital, describing them as being like family to her, for their unconditional love and desire to assist.
According to what she said with news.com.au, “I felt a lot of shame growing up in Jayapura because of my face.”
“I cannot express how excited I am to visit my old neighborhood again.” I don’t feel the urge to cover my face as much as I used to. There is no way that I could ever repay everyone for what they have done to assist me.
Neurofibromatosis affects around one in every three thousand people in Australia, with the majority of those affected only developing tiny nodules as a result of a mild version of the condition.
