The story about Logan van Zyl
Logan was born with no smile. At the age of 1 he was diagnosed with Moebius Syndrome. It is an extremely rare congenital neurological disorder which is characterized by facial paralysis and the inability to move the eyes from side to side. A small thing which most people take for granted.
In October 2011, Logan was chosen along with 2 other children, to receive a facial reanimation operation. This is a very long and tricky procedure. Facial reanimation consists of one or two microsurgical procedures that involve connecting a specific nerve in the face from a transferred functional muscle taken from the leg. The nerve serves as an energy source while the muscle acts like a motor to create the motion needed to smile. Prof. Psaras from Greece is one of only a select few surgeons in the world skilled to perform this complex surgery.
As a person I can explain to you the experience that we had, but as a Mother I can never explain the emotions that went along with it. How do you explain to someone what you feel when your only child is taken to surgery at 7 in the morning and by 5 that afternoon, you find yourself sitting in front of the “Do not cross” line waiting for any news. And when you receive the news that it will still be another 2 hours, your heart breaks and you ask yourself again if you did the right thing?
After 8 days Logan was released from hospital. Now the long wait started with the hoping, praying that the muscle transplant was a success. On Sunday, 14th January 2012, we got our first glimpse at a moving cheek that has never had any movement before. With this the hard work starts. Facial exercises or as we call it Smile exercises. What we take for granted and sometimes find to difficult to give, this little 5 year old had to learn how to show.
2012 will be a tough year for my little boy as there is check up after check up waiting for him. He will also be going through the same surgery on the other cheek later during this year as well. We have been blessed with this opportunity as well as so many caring friends and family. We appreciated your love and support.
As a campaign of awareness we are involved in the Moebius communities from around the world and have dedicated the 24th of January as Moebius Syndrome Awareness Day (MSAD) and want to encourage people to wear Purple on this day in aid of making everyone aware to the cause of this rare disorder. For more information, please visit the website www.manyfacesofmoebiussyndrome.com , www.moebiussyndrome.co.za and also on facebook.
You can also contact me on 073 346 2862 if you would like to find more out about the campaign.
Thank you
Sandra Van Zyl