The Oumprasert family prays
for a better future for young Nopakorn.
Patcharapol Panrak
An American doctor has come to the rescue of a Sattahip
toddler suffering from “elephant man” syndrome after Thai hospitals wrote
off his case and advised his impoverished parents to prepare for the baby’s
death.
Dr. Howard Resnick, 73, came forward Dec. 30 to place
31-month-old Nopakorn Oumprasert in Bangkok Hospital Pattaya and cover all
treatment costs for parents Amporn and Pramod Oumprasert. Little “Nong Kaan”
has suffered from hydrocephalus since birth and has been lying in bed
waiting for help in a small rented room on Soi Thepburapha.
Thanks to American Dr. Howard
Resnick (left), young Nopakorn might actually have a future filled with much
less pain and suffering.
Amporn said the toddler saw government doctors at
Sattahip Km. 10 and Chonburi hospitals in 2010, but doctors said they were
not able to do anything. They were told that the water on the brain syndrome
was untreatable and that they need to prepare for their child’s death.
More than a year later, however, Nopakorn is still
breathing, cared for only by family in their apartment. With a cranial
circumference of 92 cm, he suffers from crippling headaches and never leaves
his room.
Pramod, a driver for the deputy mayor of Udomsak
Sub-district, earns only 6,500 baht a month, leaving nothing extra to pay
for doctors for Nopakorn. So they decided to appeal to the media for charity
and hopes a hospital will admit their child for free.
Resnick, a professor at Rajamangala University of
Technology Krung Thep, said he didn’t understand Thai doctors’ decision to
let the child die, as there is a treatment method - albeit a very expensive
one - for hydrocephalus. Nopakorn’s parents didn’t have the funds to cover
the surgical procedure, which implants internal cerebral shunts to
continually drain excess cerebrospinal fluid.
A May 2005 study in the medical journal Neurology said
the cost of shunt systems is beyond the means of most in the developing
world and most patients die without getting treatment. The procedure does
have risks of infection or shunt failure and most hydrocephalus patients
have to have later surgeries to maintain their shunts.
Shortly after publicizing their son’s condition, the
Oumpraserts received 1,600 baht from Sattahip District Chief Chaichan
Iamcharoen and his wife Nitaya, the head of the local Red Cross chapter. The
Chonburi Independent Living Center on Dec. 28 agreed to give the child a
government insurance card allowing them to receive an additional 500 baht
per month. And the Udomsak government offered free ambulance service.
Other than that, however, no Thai hospital, physician or
government agency stepped up to help.
The Oumpraserts thanked Resnick profusely for his
generosity, as well as those who donated privately, including Chong Semsaan
Temple, Singh Samut School and numerous individuals who sent money to
Pramod’s bank account.
