#1
Meet Sarah Conque, a 28-year-old Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist who moved to Haiti back in 2013 from her grad school in Louisiana. This is a woman that should really be the one classified as a hero, and once you hear her story you'll probably feel the same way about it.
#2
While attending grad school Sarah realized exactly what it was she wanted to do with her life she wanted to help the disabled children of Haiti. This prompted her move and she started work as a missionary at Danita's Children's Medical Center where she remained for a year, when something heartbreaking happened the arrival of a little girl named Nika.
#3
Nika was brought in because she was suffering from a condition known as hydranencephaly; this is a condition where the brain suffers from a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid, causing the head to swell to accommodate the extra liquid. To top it all off, this little girl was completely malnourished due to the mother seeing her as a dirty little secret than as a daughter, neglecting everything the little girl needed and only taking her out in public wrapped in blankets.
#4
Sarah was mortified by what she had seen, and was determined to find a better life for this poor little girl so she visited the mother. During her visit she actually convinced the woman to allow her to take Nika into her orphanage family, and the rest of her story is a complete transformation!
#5
Sarah eventually went on to make a website (Little Warrior Nika) recording all of this information as she saw it, here's an excerpt:
"The first week Nika was in my care, it hit me just how neglected and malnourished this sweet little girl was."
Nika was dying from organ failure, and doctors told Sarah to pray for a miracle as things weren't looking optimistic but she survived.
#6
Sarah finally became Nika's full-time legal guardian back in February 2015, and after just six months of care you can already see a big difference. This is a little girl who, against all odds, survived things 99% of babies under one die from and still managed to recover!
#7
It's not just Sarah that stepped up to the plate though, her partner Stephen also supports and helps take care of little Nika! Sarah's even said that if it wasn't for him she has no idea where she'd be at.
#8
After her second neurosurgery and a VP shunt implanted little Nika has lost 5lbs from her head, all packed into around 2 inches of circumference.
From Sarah and Nika's website:
"Cue the tears. Nika tried out her new stander in physical therapy today! She wasn't supposed to survive the malnutrition. but today she stood.She wasn't supposed to thrive after having hydrocephalus untreated for so long. But today she held her head up.
She wasn't supposed to live with most of her brain missing. BUT GOD!"
#9
This is a story of a little girl fighting for her life, and hero that decided to go out of their way to help her.
