Put yourself in these shoes, people on the street are staring at you and whispering. They are pointing and laughing at YOU.
While this may sound like something that only happens with people from unenlightened times, it was actually a daily torment for Dorothy Anning. Dorothy is a young girl from Ghana, Africa and at only six years old, she was diagnosed with a rare cranial tumor.
This tumor sat on a bone on the right side of Dorothy’s face which grew. As the tumor grew, so did the right side of her face, which left her face deformed and it looked like her eye might fall out of its socket.
Surprisingly this wasn’t a painful tumor for Dorothy, but the heckling from those around her was painful enough. She experienced incredible mental anguish as a result of those around her who were even afraid of her and rejected her.
They not only would joke about her and point fingers, but they would literally run away from her as well! Gradually Dorothy began to prefer to stay at home away from everyone.
Leaving her house became more and more difficult for the young girl and her parents were worried. Realizing that their daughter’s life might be totally ruined by this rare case of a tumor, they tried their best to find a doctor that would perform the necessary surgery on her.
But alas, no one wanted to perform the surgery because the condition was so rare that they did not have much experience with it. Then one day her parents received a miraculous phone call that would change the course of all of their lives.
An Atlanta, Georgia organization called the Children’s Cross Connection International, called up Dorothy’s parents and offered to help them out. This organization helps kids from third-world countries which are in need of medical services.
In 2014 the family flew out to Atlanta where they had her tumor safely removed under the direction of Dr. Jim Robinson. Dr. Robinson said that the tumor was actually a life-threatening one.
He talks about how the tumor goes deep inside of her head and indicated the shift and pressure in the brain. This was a tumor that had cosmetic appearances as it grew bigger and bigger, but what was underneath was even worse.
Dr. Jim Robinson saved Dorothy’s life and gave her hope for a future of positive experiences and not being rejected by her community. Dorothy was so thankful for the operation that she wants to give back and help those in need by becoming a physician assistant, which she is now studying for.
