Cassidy Claire Nicholas, Jeremy and Eva Nicholas' first child, was born with Treacher-Collins Syndrome on August 5, 2012. Born seven weeks early, her parents and doctors had no idea that she had this rare genetic disorder before her birth. Had Eva not gone into labor early, there was a very high chance that Cassidy would have died at birth as she had no viable airway. Her doctor, Dr. Andrew Scott,
who will be treating her, said it was a miracle that she survived. Since Eva had an emergency c-section, the critical birth staff were on hand for the delivery and struggled to get a tube into Cassidy's airway but they managed to do it and it saved her life. Jeremy and Eva have been married for three years and have been together since 2003. They had been trying for a baby for a few years and had saved enough money to cover their bills and expenses while Eva was out on maternity leave. Because of Cassidy's condition Eva will not be able to return to work as Cassidy will need around-the-clock care for the forseeable future. She will be in and out of the hospital for multiple surgeries for years to come. Treacher-Collins Syndrome can cause very mild to severe malformation and deformation of the face and the anatomy within it. She has no viable airway to breathe. There is no passage from her nose to her throat and because her jaw never fully developed, it causes her to choke on her tongue. She will have surgery to repair these but her jaw has no hinge so a jaw distraction can't be done until she grows the bones needed for it. If not, then Dr. Scott will remove a piece of her rib bone and implant it with hopes that it grows. In the meantime, she will has had a tracheotomy so that she can breathe on her own. Since Cassidy can't be fed by mouth until her jaw is fixed, she will be fitted with a feeding tube into her abdomen directly to her stomach. She has a cleft palate and that will be repaired by surgery also. Her earlobes never fully developed and has no ear canals, ear drums or the bones of the inner ear but her left and right cohcleas are intact and the nerves are connected so she does have minimal hearing. She will be fitted with a hearing aid attached to her skull that will work by vibration and transmit sound to her cochlea. The openings of her eyelids are very small but her vision should be OK and she has no cheekbones. Her doctor says she will have to undergo up to fifteen surgeries to correct the effects of TCS on her. To donate to Cassidy please click link and Thank you very much
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