In the Philippines, Grace Puyo has been fighting to improve her son's quality of life for eight years.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Josh Puyo was born without an anus and the family could not afford to pay for an operation to correct the defect, so a colostomy was performed.
This allows fecal matter to collect in a colostomy bag near the belly. But in Mindanao, where mother and son live, colostomy bags are expensive and their supply is erratic, so usually Josh's stoma was covered with cotton and his belly was wrapped with gauze.
The eight-year-old is also autistic, so cleaning the area became a frightening and difficult ordeal.
In Australia, children born with the defect usually undergo operations to close the stoma and create a new anal opening by the time they are 12-months-old.
Ms Puyo tried everything in her native Philippines to get further treatment for Josh, but it was not until Canberra Hospital agreed to treat the boy free of charge that she began to hope her son's life would improve.
''When he poos on the cotton, it gets really stinky, so I can't bring him to play groups, or to a store because it's so smelly,'' Ms Puyo said.
''He cannot really socialise, but he needed it for his condition, because he's autistic, so it was really hard.''
Canberra Hospital agreed to treat the little boy under a partnership agreement with Rotary Oceanic Medical Aid for Children, which helps children from developing countries afflicted with severe medical conditions. Australian National University medical school Associate Professor of paediatric surgery David Croaker said there was a 30 per cent chance Josh would learn to control his bowel movements.
The paediatric surgeon has performed two four-hour operations on the boy. ''His quality of life was affected by the stoma urinary tract infections, and unless you have quite a lot of money to get the stoma appliances, it can be difficult,'' Dr Croaker said.
''We have improved his quality of life by taking out his colostomy and making it easier to manage. But his mum will still have to look after an autistic boy.''
The 32-year-old single mother said she could not express the depth of her gratitude to the doctors and nurses at Canberra Hospital and Rotary.
''It will be so much easier for me and for Josh now,'' Ms Puyo said.
Dr Croaker expects the pair will be able to return to the Philippines before Christmas.
