Child recovering, parents say thanks

The parents of two-year old Major Forde are thankful for the outpouring of support and prayers from friends, family, and well-wishers as they await the outcome of a biopsy that was recently conducted on their son.
On June 22, Dr. Evans Valerie who was flown in from Florida, U.S.A., assisted by local doctors at the Mount St. John’s Medical Centre, performed a procedure that was intended to allow the toddler to have normal functioning of his colon.
Forde who celebrated his second birthday on June 18, suffers from Hirschsprung disease, a birth defect that affects the large intestine of newborns, babies, and toddlers, preventing normal passage of faeces through the intestines due to missing nerve cells in the lower part of the colon.
The toddler’s mother, Christal Williams told OBSERVER media yesterday that her son is at home recovering after the surgery that lasted approximately two hours.
“It went well, they did the biopsy first. They did everything through the rectum, they adjusted it and now we are just waiting on the results of the biopsy to know when exactly we will have the second surgery. He is still crying for pain, we still have to give him the enema,” Williams said.
The toddler was released from the hospital the same day of the procedure and his mother said, barring the pain and discomfort, Major is back to his typical inquisitive and enthusiastic self.
 And while the toddler continues to make strides his parents admit that they have been on an emotional rollercoaster since his diagnosis a year ago.
Williams said she struggles to keep her composure while watching her son’s ordeal unfold.
Garette Forde, the boy’s father said that it is heartbreaking to witness the ordeal that his first and only child endures.
“He is the love of my life and just the thought of him going through the pain, the thought of someone cutting him, brought tears to my eyes. I will go to any length for my son, so any and everything that was needed for him to be better, I was willing to give. Financially it was a struggle. The day of the biopsy was one of the hardest days of my life [I] stayed up the entire night before just watching him sleep,” the father said.
Recounting watching the preparation for the biopsy procedure, the father said tears filled his eyes, and handing over Major to the medical team for the procedure was the hardest thing he had to do.
He added that when the doors closed for his son to undergo the biopsy, he could no longer hold back the tears.
“When he came out and said ‘Daddy’, with that million-dollar smile, it was like the day he was born,” Forde said.
Watching him during his recovery period and the pain, I can only imagine he is feeling hurt. It hurts me even now,” Forde added.