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Local Woman Makes Aid Happen For 'Baby Miracle'

Photo provided by Kristin Taylor

Kristin Taylor, of Riverview, poses with 'Baby Miracle' and the child's mom, Sefulu Nanai. Taylor arranged for the family to come to Florida for medical treatment.

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By D'ANN LAWRENCE WHITE, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 26, 2008

Updated: 02/25/2008 11:24 pm

RIVERVIEW - For Kristin Taylor, it wasn't a matter of whether she would help the baby, it was how soon.

The moment she saw photos of "Baby Miracle," born on an island in Samoa with numerous birth defects, including terrible facial deformities, Taylor said she felt compelled to help the child.

Born Sept. 1 on the main Samoan island of Upolu, the baby, born Tina Julie Nanai, wasn't expected to live. Her feet and spinal cord were deformed. Part of her brain was missing. She had a double cleft palate. She appeared to have no eyeballs, and she was missing fingers.

Doctors told the baby's parents, Mikaele and Sefulu Nanai, that because of Tina's misshapen mouth, she could not eat and would die a natural death in a few hours.

That didn't happen.

Three days went by, and the Nanais continued to visit their daughter in a Samoan hospital. They have described what happened next as nothing short of a miracle.

"I told her that she was a gift from God, and it doesn't matter what she looks like, and that if this is what God wants, then I love her no matter what," said Mikaele Nanai, who is in Miami with his daughter helping prepare her for corrective surgery.

When Tina continued to live, and her parents could see she was hungry, Mikaele Nanai bought a can of milk and smuggled it into the hospital beneath his shirt. Her parents began feeding her with a plastic syringe when the nurses weren't watching. The child began to thrive.

Word spread of the baby's survival against all odds, and the local media dubbed her "Baby Miracle." Since then, the family has changed her first name to "Miracletina."

Because Samoa doesn't have medical facilities needed to correct her disabilities, the country appealed to nearby New Zealand for help. But the New Zealand government denied the baby's family an entry visa in December, saying there was no treatment that would benefit her quality of life.

Local Woman Moved To Act

Taylor, a Riverview mother of 12 children, eight of whom are adopted, wasn't satisfied.

Friends and family weren't surprised to see Taylor get involved in the international fray. Ten years ago, she helped a Samoan baby with spina bifida, an opening in the spine exposing the spinal cord, travel to Florida for treatment.

Taylor is a co-founder of THORN Ministries. THORN is an acronym for Thankfully Helping Others in Real Need. In the Bay area, THORN feeds the homeless in downtown Tampa every weekend. In Samoa, THORN provides the Tupua Tamasese Meaole Hospital in Apia, the Samoan capital, with medical supplies and equipment.

When she learned that New Zealand had denied the family's visa, Taylor wasted no time. She contacted the U.S. Embassy in Apia.

The embassy approved visas and passports so the baby's family could travel to Florida for up to six months after John Ragheb, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Miami Children's Hospital, and S. Anthony Wolfe, chief of the hospital's plastic surgery division, agreed to provide medical services for the baby free of charge through the Child Foundation. The nonprofit organization, made up of physicians and volunteers dedicated to helping uninsured children born with physical deformities and birth defects, will pay for the baby's surgery.

"We had to ensure it was possible to meet U.S. legal requirements that sufficient funds were available for Miracletina's treatment," George Colvin, charge d'affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Samoa, said in a statement Feb. 5. "We wish Miracletina and her family all the very best."

While it's unclear whether the baby will have developmental difficulties, many are hopeful she can have a normal life.

"After having recently met with her team of doctors at Miami Children's Hospital, we are hopeful that we can help her embark upon a normal life, the life that she - and every child - deserves," Child Foundation spokeswoman Toni Garner said.

'She Has Been Gifted To The World'

Ragheb and Wolfe say they're confident they can help the girl.

"While we certainly cannot make her completely normal, she has a bilateral cleft lip that we can repair, a meningomyelocoele spina bifida and other bone defects of the skull that can be treated," Wolfe said. "These are treatments we would do for any child in this country, so why not give Baby Miracle some of the same resources we would provide our own children?"

Garner said an MRI on Friday showed Baby Miracle may have a lens in one eye as well.

"We don't know if she'll be able to see yet. We'll know more next week," Garner said. "She's a very healthy 5-month-old baby. She has deformities, but she's a living, loving child, and her parents love her dearly."

Taylor said she's thrilled to be able to play a role in Baby Miracle's story.

"She has been gifted to the world to show how precious all life is to God," she said. "She's a little angel without wings. We are so blessed to be a part of Miracle's journey."

HOW TO HELP

WHAT: Miracletina Julie Nanai's family is in need of financial assistance to pay for the baby's ongoing care.

WHERE: Donations may be sent through THORN Ministries, 10414 Deepbrook Drive, Riverview FL 33569.

CALL: (813) 653-4496

Reporter D'Ann Lawrence White can be reached at (813) 657-4524 or dlwhite@tampatrib.com.

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