Baby in viral post gets treatment
If not for the dextrose connected to her right wrist and a few patches of peeled skin, no one would have guessed that one-year-old Jhendy Rose Sanchez was the baby in a Facebook post that went viral.
Maryrose, Jhendy’s aunt, posted on her personal Facebook account last March 1 three photos of her niece’s body wrapped in scabs and peeling skin.
She asked her friends to share the plight of her niece and find who can help them, saying Jhendy has not stopped crying for two weeks because of her condition. She also included her number so that those who wanted to help could contact her.
The viral post reached the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (Opav).
But before Jhendy’s skin condition caught public attention, her parents took her to a village healer to seek remedies.
Mary Rose, Jhendy’s mother, recalled that a small scab first appeared on her daughter’s head some two weeks ago.
Unsure of how her child got the wound, Mary Rose and her husband Jundy agreed to take their baby to the healer.
“Ang giingon sa albularyo kay nabuyagan kuno sa tubig ang bata. Aron maayo, iyang giingon kay liguon namo sa init na tubig si Inday, unya dili siya pwede maligo matag Martes ug Biyernes. Dili pud siya pwede pakaunon og manok, pasayan ug mga utanon na mokatay (The healer said she was charmed and that we should bathe her in hot water, except on Tuesdays and Fridays. She was also to avoid eating chicken, shrimps and vegetables that grew on vines),” Mary Rose told SunStar Cebu.
Although they religiously followed the healer’s advice, Mary Rose said more scabs soon appeared on her daughter’s body the following week. Soon, Jhendy’s entire body was filled with scabs and peeling skin.
This caused the baby to experience difficulty in sleeping, as the slightest graze caused pain.
After seeing Jhendy’s condition, Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Dino ordered the immediate admission of the child to Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC), said Opav and Malasakit Center national coordinator Girlie Veloso.
Personnel from Opav arrived in Toledo City last March 2 and brought with them an ambulance from Pinamungahan town so that they could transport both mother and child.
“But we had to do a lot of convincing and explaining because they were hesitant to go to Sotto. They said they had no money, and that they were not familiar with Cebu City and the hospital,” Veloso said.
Mary Rose is a housewife who tends to her two little daughters, while her husband earns P200 a day from driving a trisikad.
After some convincing, Mary Rose decided to take her daughter to the VSMMC.
Jhendy was diagnosed with staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS), a serious skin condition which causes the skin to peel over large parts of the body.
While the SSSS can occur at any age, children under six have a higher risk of getting it.
To manage Jhendy’s skin infection, doctors at VSMMC advised the application of lotions, mineral oils and taking medication.
Veloso said Sanchez’s medical bills are shouldered by the Malasakit Center, while the baby’s other needs are tended to by the Opav.
After five days at the hospital, Jhendy has shown improvement.
Although her skin still looked flush and tender, the scabs were gone while the peeling skin has started to heal.
Mary Rose said she learned a lesson from Jhendy’s case, and that is not to wait until things get worse.