Jaesha Daly survives rare medical condition

jayesha daly

Most of the time, there is more bad news to report, than there is good news. Tonight we bring you a story of a courageous young girl, who was born with a disease that medically she was not expected to survive. We first met her in 2002 and have followed her over the years. Well, we are happy to now report that she has defied the odds and is approaching another milestone in her life. News Five’s Marion Ali reports on the story of this heroic little girl.

Marion Ali, Reporting

caroline jones

You might remember baby Jaesha Daly, who appeared on Channel Five, on August 26, 2002.  A cheerful thirteen month old toddler then, she was born with a life-threatening medical condition that even doctors and her parents feared she could not survive.

baby jayesha daly

Caroline Jones, Mother of Jaesha Daly

“She was born with a rare condition in Belize, called gastroschisis.  That is whereby the large intestines and the small intestines and a portion of the stomach walls was exposed.  She needed an immediate surgery when she was born.”

Baby Jaesha survived the first surgery but needed follow-up procedures to correct other complications that existed internally.  And even if those costly surgeries were to prove successful, doctors were sure that her life would be acutely restricted.

Caroline Jones

“The intestines weren’t properly aligned.  They were just jumbled up inside and then she also had a colostomy so the doctors were saying in the event that she do survive the first surgery she would have needed a reconstructive surgery and she would always have the colostomy bag, she would not be able to walk, she would always need to be fed from a tube. Her surgery was a hundred and fifty thousand dollars for the surgery alone and that did not include the medications and the other intensive care that she would have been in.  After the first story was aired on Channel Five American Airlines agreed to sponsor the ticket and we got overwhelming support from the public.  And what I want the public to know is that Jaesha has been doing phenomenal!.”

Phenomenal indeed! This is Jaesha Daly when we visited with her, today, the eve of her ninth birthday.  After given only a ten percent chance of survival, she has recouped from her medical condition one hundred percent, and according to her mother, has lived a perfectly normal, pain-free life. Her health has rebounded so well that it allows her to participate in extracurricular activities.  In fact, we heard it from the birthday girl first-hand!

Jaesha Daly, survived life-threatening medical condition

jayesha daly

“I’m so interested in school.  I am in ballet and sports and a lot of things.  I like get a lot of medals and first place, second place.  There’s one third place I have, all the rest are first and second.”

But while she enjoys all the fun things a nine year-old girl would, such as dancing, Jaesha also has serious plans about her future and about giving back to society for her second chance at life.

Jaesha Daly

“I want to be a doctor, mostly a surgeon because the surgeon is the person who saved my life and I want to save people’s lives just like how they saved my life.”

Come September, Jaesha will advance to standard three at All Saints Primary, and is still doing what she loves most, dancing ballet.  Marion Ali for News Five.

Gastroschisis, is a rare disease that no other child born carrying it in Belize has survived past three days.