Dorothy Anning, who is now 21, traveled to the United States in 2008 to have surgery to have the tumor that had taken the place of her eye socket removed.
Her difficult operation was performed by neurosurgeon Dr. Jim Robinson, who had never seen a patient with symptoms as severe as Dorothy’s.
She was in the hospital for approximately two months while she recovered, and now she is back in Ghana with the intention of working with people who have deformities or impairments, just as her former doctor did.
She was quoted as saying, “He is the very best physician I have ever known.” Because of the tremendous motivation he provided, I decided to pursue a career in medicine and am now enrolled in a medical school.
Dorothy was only six years old when she was diagnosed with a cranial tumor, which originated from the bone in her skull and extended beyond the right side of her face. It was a benign growth.
The tumor grew larger as she aged, and eventually it took up residence in the socket where her eye should have been.
She described how people would become’scared’ upon seeing her and how they would even flee in fear when they saw her coming.
As the severity of her illness increased, a physician from Ghana got in touch with Children’s Cross Connection in Atlanta, and the organization offered to pay for her medical treatment and cover the costs of her journey.
She received treatment from Dr. Robinson, who had never before dealt with such an unusual and dangerous kind of brain tumor that was causing the brain to become compressed and distorted.
During an interview with AJC.com, he reflected on the incident and said, “You could see how deep it went inside her head as well as the shift and pressure in the brain.” There was an aspect of its appearance, but at the same time, it had been developing for years and had been steadily increasing in size. She had the tenacity of a rock. Additionally, she was a really kind person.
Because it would have been too dangerous to treat with radiation, his sole option was to completely remove the tumor with no trace of it being left behind.
The operation lasted more than 23 hours and took place over the course of two days.
Dr. Robinson said that the surgery, which entailed operating in the patient’s skull and face, was his “greatest accomplishment” as a surgeon. At several moments throughout the potentially life-threatening procedure, Dr. Robinson was required to operate “freestyle.”
After Dorothy had fully recovered from having the tumor removed, he proceeded to conduct a restoration of the missing portion of her skull and upper eye socket.
Following a protracted period of rest and recuperation, Anning and her mother, who was aptly called Comfort, traveled back to their own country.
Dorothy was able to ‘walk with my head up high’ for the very first time in Ghana when she realized that others wouldn’t shy away from her because of her looks.
She has maintained her relationship with her physician and is now enrolled in medical school at the University of Ghana.
She now has the goal of improving the quality of someone else’s life in the same manner that Dr. Robinson improved the quality of her own life.
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