WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Haitian toddler comes to Virginia for surgery, leaves with more

Haitian toddler comes to Virginia for surgery, leaves with more

For one toddler from Haiti, the trip to Virginia was only the beginning of a long journey.

Chrisno Jeudi, who is 18 months old, has hydrocephaly an abnormal buildup of fluid in his brain. It's a huge weight for his small body to bear.
 
A group based in Salem called Angel Missions Haiti brought him to Virginia in September for life-saving surgery.

"He was very well taken care of, and his young mother was doing everything she could possibly to get him well," says Vanessa Carpenter, who is the director of Angel Missions Haiti.

While recovering from his operation, his host mother Darlene Gunnell thought of something else.

"I'd put him in a baby walker, and I'm like, 'If we could just get something to help support himself, maybe he could walk in this baby walker and start developing his legs," says Gunnell.

She went to Virginia Prosthetics in Roanoke. It built a brace for Chrisno.

"We just devised and made a custom splint, so he can basically balance himself... so he can begin to pull up and walk," says Doug Smiley.

Chrisno returns home to his mother Saturday, and he leaves behind a new family.

"It's just been really an enlightenment.  It's been really nice; he's been a joy and a blessing to us," says Darlene Gunnell.

He'll wear the brace about a year; by then his body should be strong enough to support itself.  The organization Angel Missions is anxious to see how successful the brace will be.  It may be the next step towards helping other children.