Rotary Club works to help teenager live a normal life

Cherry Mae Espedilla was a normal baby when she was born. But at nine months old, she suffered from a necrotizing bacterial infection that ate up her nasal tissues which nearly took her life.

Thirteen years later, Cherry Mae is scheduled to fly to New York. There, she will undergo four to five surgeries in attempts to reconstruct her deformed face after losing her nose to the infection.

The Rotary Club of Metro Cebu which spearheads Project Cherry Mae will be sending the teener to the New York Eye Ear and Nose Center.

Teary-eyed Cherry Mae yesterday said she is very happy at the thought of regaining her normal life after her trip to New York.

“Nalipay ko kay dugay na ni nakong gihulat. Naabot ra gyod. Nagpasalamat ko sa tanang nitabang nako,” she said.

Dr. Wyben Briones of the Rotary Club of Metro Cebu Service Projects said that Cherry Mae is just one of 60,000 cases of deformities each year worldwide caused by poor nutrition, poor genetic counseling, and abortion attempts.

Briones pointed out that Cherry Mae will be undergoing a series of surgeries in New York that will be led by Dr. Robin Dyleski, one of the surgeons who often visit the country to perform series of medical missions for Operation Restore Hope which already served some 1,400 children with facial deformities with its annual mission. 

He said that after an evaluation done on Cherry Mae, surgeons in New York will be working on a major reconstruction where plastic prosthesis will be placed for her facial skin to expand to form a nose.

The cartilage of her ears will be taken off and will be used to form a nose bridge. The operation procedures are estimated to reach US$100,000.

Briones also said that Cherry Mae will have to stay in New York for the recovery and monitoring period from eight months to a year.

Cherry Mae’s father, Charles, said that though he will be missing his daughter, he is happy that Cherry Mae will soon be living a normal life.

Cherry Mae is the third of four children of Charles and Maria Teresa Espedilla. — Jasmin R. Uy/MEEV