Randy Jackson (brother of the late Michael) did some good this week, with the help of my very own husband (Dr. Andre Panossian, below) at Children’s Hospital LA. People might notice this story for the “celebrity factor,” but as a future mom it affected me in a much deeper way. What kind of birth defect is this? What if my baby had to deal with this? With ample direction from my hubby, here’s a quick explanation and advice about what YOU should do if you have a baby born with this condition.
In the article below, 11-yr old Treasure (yes, that’s her name) suffered from a lymphatic malformation (or, lymphangioma), a condition that she was most likely born with resembling a bunch of colorful blisters on the tongue. Some people call them birthmarks, some call them tumors, but no one knows what causes 2-3 out of 1000 babies to be born with them. As the article explains, they can severely affect speaking, eating and swallowing abilities, and are known to cause flare-ups of pain and swelling. Ouch.
The good news: this condition can be mostly removed/corrected by a 2-hour surgery. If your baby is born with this condition, don’t panic. Get his/her pediatrician to refer you to a dermatologist, plastic surgeon and/or general surgeon WITH A SPECIALTY in either “vascular anomalies” or “vascular birthmarks” AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
After all, not everyone has Randy Jackson coming to their rescue.
Randy Jackson has kept his promise to 11-year-old Treasure Dearsaw by donating over $60,000 towards her life-saving surgery to help correct her condition called vascular malformation. Randy tells X17online that the young girl’s surgery yesterday at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
was a “huge success.”
Vascular malformation is a condition in which a lesion on the tongue becomes a life-threatening disease. The mass on the tongue bleeds, preventing the sufferer from closing their mouth, eating and talking…and possibly swelling so much that it causes the person to choke to death.
Treasure’s mom, Chelsa Dearsaw, tells X17online that her young daughter had already undergone nine procedures. “Mom, I’m afraid I’m going to die,” is a phrase that Chelsa told us she couldn’t bear to hear anymore.
The surgery was performed by Dr. Andre Panossian. Randy, who gave Treasure a pep talk before surgery, tells X17online exclusively:
- “No child should be afraid that they’re going to die. It breaks my heart to see her suffering like that. Treasure’s a beautiful child, and it was God’s plan for me to help out. This is the least I can do. She deserves to be happy.”
