NOAH’S INDOMITABLE SPIRIT: By Joe Van Langenberg
Photo Source:NewsWeek
Napoleon Bonaparte was one of the, if not the greatest French emperor who ever lived. He was also the one who so famously said thus: ”The word impossible can be found only in the dictionary of fools”.
Napoleon’s inspirational quote has proved to be spot-on; as evidenced in the case of 07-year-old Noah Wall; a boy who made his initial foray into the world, with only two percent of his brain intact.
The rest of his grey matter was obliterated, as a consequence of his head filling up with excessive fluid, leaving his head swollen & his life hanging precariously in the balance. Noah’s grief-stricken mother Shelley was repeatedly cautioned to terminate her son’s pregnancy in 2012, given the disconcerting fact, that Noah’s head had been expanding to dangerous proportions. Nonetheless, she hoped for a favourable upshot, while simultaneously bracing herself for the worst case scenario.
To make a bad situation worse, she had to agonizingly watch her baby, suffer the added painful effects of spina bifida, which has since left him paralyzed from the waist downwards; a pain which has sucked the wind from her sails, so to speak. The heartache of a mother becomes all the more palpable, when the physical, mental & emotional well-being of her child gets placed on the line. And this needless to say, was what happened in Shelly’s case. Back in the United Kingdom where Noah was born, London Imperial College researcher Dr Gregory Scott, decided to take a closer look at Noah’s initial scan taken in 2012, at birth.
However at aged three, a second scan showed that the toddler’s brain had mysteriously grown to almost 80 percent; a transformation which could have only be described as inexplicable & miraculous in their true essence. Noah it seemed, had cleared, some of the, if not all the insurmountable hurdles. And that was heartening. What makes this story so exceptional is Noah’s awe-inspiring positive mind-set.
Nothing fazes this pocket rocket. Notwithstanding this cherub remaining so philosophical in the hideous face of monumental adversity, which he has been facing head-on with unflinching determination & the will to carry on, he does experience the good days & the bad days, but like a real trooper, he separates the grain & with a breath of kindness blows away the chaff; thus proving that he possesses the substance champions are made of. At this crucial juncture, Noah’s future seems promising.
He has progressed in leaps & bounds; attending school in the United Kingdom. He has astounded the medical fraternity & also become very much of an international celebrity.
His unique capability to engage with people of all ages, has earned him the ungrudging admiration of one & all. At the outset, neurosurgeon Claire Nicholson was of the view, that severe hydrocepholus which had been responsible for Noah’s spina bifida, had a high mortality rate. But hitherto, the young battler has proved the learned surgeon wrong. Dr Gregory Scott attributes Noah’s ability to eat, drink & breathe, to his brain stem being intact.
This little dude’s dyed-in-the-wool zest for life, should serve as a reminder, to all those who cuss, froth & swear at the drop of a hat, when something goes wrong in their lives, the paramount need to count their blessings & soldier on, without blaming life for the cards they have been dealt. Noah has never been in short supply of tender loving care (TLC). He has a family who loves him unconditionally & unreservedly, doting sisters who worship the very ground their little brother walks on.
Though still in his formative years, Noah stands tall. He is a beacon of hope, to all who walk in the valley of doom & gloom, hoping against hope, that they will eventually emerge & rise from the bottomless pit, like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes of despair. Noah turned seven years of age in March 2019; an impressive milestone on all accounts. Many more could be in the pipeline. He is wished only the very best that life can possibly offer!!
