Filipino girl, two, with an enormous tongue

A two-year-old girl who is slowly being suffocated because of her of huge tongue may die because her family can’t afford life-saving surgery. 

Zhyrille Cruz, from Manila in the Philippines, suffers from a lymphangioma – defined as a collection of life-threatening cysts on her tongue. 

Government officials, who fitted her with a breathing tube, are currently paying for chemotherapy in a desperate attempt to keep her alive.

But her poverty-stricken parents have been told that if the tumour shrinks they will have to fund life-saving surgery themselves – despite being unable to.

Mary, 22, and Gerry, 28, face an agonising wait for their daughter’s test results, which come back in January and will reveal if she can undergo surgery.

The condition could be cured relatively easily with a straight-forward operation in the UK, US, Europe or in other developed nations.

However, without an operation Zhyrille is likely to be one of the rare cases – virtually unheard of in the western world – where lymphangioma becomes fatal.

 

Zhyrille Cruz, from Manila in the Philippines, suffers from a lymphangioma – which causes life-threatening cysts to grow on her tongue

Her poverty-stricken parents spotted she had a swollen mouth when she was born - but doctors were adamant that it was nothing to worry about

Her poverty-stricken parents spotted she had a swollen mouth when she was born – but doctors were adamant that it was nothing to worry about

In undeveloped countries, poverty means some patients can go their entire lifetime without treatment before the condition eventually kills them.

Mrs Cruz, a housewife, said: ‘Zhyrille is the light in our hearts. We don’t know what the future holds, but we will make this the best Christmas for her.

‘Zhyrille is the best gift we could have. Her laughter makes everyone smile. I pray every day she will grow up to be a bright and beautiful young girl.

‘I wish for nothing but to see a smile on her lovely face every single second. I want to see her grow up and achieve her goals. That is our dream.’  

Zhyrille’s condition began when she was born, when her parents spotted she had a swollen mouth.

Local doctors were adamant that it was nothing to worry about – but they later told the parents she had a lymphangioma.

But they watched in despair as the mass slowly worsened, leaving her with a huge tongue which was stopping her from breathing (pictured, her parents Gerry Cruz, 28 and Mary, 22)

But they watched in despair as the mass slowly worsened, leaving her with a huge tongue which was stopping her from breathing (pictured, her parents Gerry Cruz, 28 and Mary, 22)

Government officials have since paid for a breathing tube to be fitted into her neck and chemotherapy in a desperate attempt to reduce the size of the tumour

Government officials have since paid for a breathing tube to be fitted into her neck and chemotherapy in a desperate attempt to reduce the size of the tumour

If the tumour is reduced, doctors will put her forward for surgery which her parents Gerry Cruz, 28, and Mary, 22, will have to try and fund themselves in January

If the tumour is reduced, doctors will put her forward for surgery which her parents Gerry Cruz, 28, and Mary, 22, will have to try and fund themselves in January

However, her parents watched in despair as the mass slowly worsened, leaving her with a huge tongue which was stopping her from breathing. 

The condition is a rare disease of the lymphatic system which often causes legions ranging in size from microscopic to large.

It is most often found in young children mainly around the neck.

LYMPHANGIOMAS: THE FACTS

Lymphatic malformations, sometimes called lymphangiomas, are growths that stem from cysts.

The non-cancerous masses are stem from abnormal development of the lymphatic system – part of the body’s natural defences, experts believe.

Children are born with them, however, they don’t always display themselves until they grow older.

Most often they strike patients in the neck or armpits, but can also be found in the mouth, arms, legs, stomach and even the lungs.

They can appear as just a small spot on the skin, or can be instantly visible as a large mass. 

Treatment depends on the size, shape and location of the masses – but they have been known to regrow.

Source: National Institutes of Health 

In Zhyrille’s case, her lymphangioma started while she was in the womb and was missed by doctors when she was born.

Her parents, who live with family and earn around $150 (£112) a month through Mr Cruz’s wage as a contractor, were unable to afford any proper treatment.

Zhyrille finally began receiving some medical attention earlier this year from a local charity.

She also received help from the local government ‘sweepstakes office’ – which is the equivalent of National Lottery funding in the UK.

Her family also collected three months worth of oral chemotherapy medication in October and are waiting for tests in January to see if it has been effective.

Doctors will then decide whether she can have surgery.

Mrs Cruz said: ‘We will do what we can. We work and we save as much as possible for our daughter. We pray that the medicine will work and she can have an operation.

‘She takes medicines twice a day. A tablet costs 300 pesos (£4.50/$6).

‘We still don’t have her next batch of medicines because the office only release medicines on schedule, but we can’t buy them because it would us more than 50,000 pesos (£741/$1,000) for the oral chemo.

‘The doctors have not yet given us an estimated amount for the surgery because she’s still under observation whether she can take the surgery or not although we are expecting it to be really expensive.’

The condition could be cured relatively easily with a straight-forward operation in the UK or other developed nations

The condition could be cured relatively easily with a straight-forward operation in the UK or other developed nations

Without an operation, Zhyrille is likely to be one of the rare cases - virtually unheard of in the western world - where lymphangioma becomes fatal

Without an operation, Zhyrille is likely to be one of the rare cases – virtually unheard of in the western world – where lymphangioma becomes fatal

In undeveloped countries, poverty means some patients can go their entire lifetime without treatment before the condition eventually kills them

In undeveloped countries, poverty means some patients can go their entire lifetime without treatment before the condition eventually kills them

Zhyrille finally began receiving some medical attention earlier this year from a local charity

Zhyrille finally began receiving some medical attention earlier this year from a local charity



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