In 2008, the Northside Chronicle published an article about a little girl who was born without an anal opening. Now 11 years old, Amber-Rose Pennel is a perfectly normal child in Grade 7 at Weltevreden Park Primary School.
The article, written by the then trainee editor, Jack Birch, and published in the 28 March 2008 edition of the Northside Chronicle, explored the then eight-month-old Amber-Rose’s difficult journey in the initial stages of her life.
Amber-Rose was born at Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital on 27 June 2007, with an imperforate anus, a congenital defect resulting in a child being born with no anal opening.
While to many the defect might sound unheard of, it’s not entirely uncommon, something that made her parents Pier-Lynn and Kevin Pennel feel ever so slightly at ease about it. “The fact that it wasn’t extremely rare was good to hear, because this generally means they have had treatment processes in place for it,” Pier-Lynn said. This they did have, and at the age of three days, Amber-Rose underwent her first surgery – a colostomy.
Because of how small Amber-Rose was at the time, the family wasn’t able to find a colostomy bag the right size for her. “We had to use a wound bag for nine months,” Kevin said. At the age of about nine or 10 months, the doctors reversed the colostomy on Amber-Rose, and so her path to becoming a normal child began.
At four months old, she had undergone reconstructive surgery to have a rectum created, a process which would prove vital in Amber-Rose’s development as a normal child. As she grew, Pier-Lynn and Kevin had to use medical steel rods to dilate Amber-Rose’s rectum until it reached the desired diameter.
They had to do this three times a day, a process that was heartbreaking for Kevin and Pier-Lynn. “It was so difficult to do it,” Pier-Lynn said. “If we had done what we were doing to either of our other children, it would have been considered child abuse.”
But, mom and dad’s perseverance and strong will proved fruitful as now, 11 years down the line Amber is a happy, active child taking on the typical challenges of growing up. She is a grade above her age in Grade 7, a learner at Welties Primary, and is an avid partaker in cross-country and middle distance running.
The only evidence of Amber-Rose’s tough early years is a scar on her stomach from the colostomy, and the fact that she won’t be able to give birth naturally. “I think her scar is the most beautiful part of her, it shows how strong she is,” Pier-Lynn said. “Amber’s our little miracle, she fought against all the odds.”
