By Troy Martens
Little "Rejoice" was born into a cruel world on Christmas Day in 2006 - she was abandoned by her mother and bore the features of a life-threatening birth defect.
Fortunately for this little girl, she was put into the loving care of Cheryl Pratley at the Shepherd's Keep home for abandoned babies.
"As soon as she came into my care I knew there was something odd with her from her appearance," said Pratley, a qualified nursing sister.
"Her little face had a very concave profile, making her eyes look very big and bulging out," she explained.
After taking Rejoice to a specialist, it was discovered she had a condition where her skull bones would crush her brain, and would have left her brain damaged: the condition is called craniosynastosis.
A group of specialist surgeons from Albert Luthuli Hospital performed a life-altering operation on Rejoice to rectify the problem on July 4.
"The surgeons and professors who performed the operation were incredible; they had to remodel the vault of her skull so it would no longer put pressure on her brain," said Pratley.
The seven-month-old now laughs joyfully and plays only days after her operation. "The results of the surgery are miraculous. She has a new, beautiful face, she now has a perfect profile," Pratley said.
Rejoice will stay in the Shepherd's Keep high-care facility until she has fully recovered.
Shepherd's Keep has been home to hundreds of abandoned babies over the past nine years and relies completely on donations.
"Women abandon their babies for many reasons, but we like to turn these tragedies around and believe there is a happy ending for every baby," said Pratley.
Her husband Collin Pratley, a well-known singer, recently released an album - Voice for the Voiceless - to raise funds. It can be purchased on email - info@shepherdskeep.org.za - for R100.
