From death’s door to the happiest little girl in Roodepoort
When Willow James was born, she wasn't expected to live long, but she has surprised everyone in the best way possible.
Every parent hopes and prays that when their child is born, the little angel will be healthy and happy. No one expects things to go wrong, and a lot of the time they are right.
Having already had two children, Carika and Warick James were convinced their third child would arrive without a hitch, but everything doesn’t always go to plan.
On 14 February 2012, the James family anxiously welcomed their newest addition, Willow Valentine James. Willow’s birth, while a blessing, was extremely concerning because she was born prematurely, at 27 weeks, with five per cent blood in her body. She weighed 1,3kg and measured only 30cm; she was so small that her arm could fit inside her father’s wedding ring.
Warick recalled the pitch-black colour of his little girl’s skin the day she was born because of the lack of blood in her body. The tiny girl was given an extremely slim chance of survival and spent 56 days in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Life Wilgeheuwel Hospital.
Carika suffered no complications when giving birth to their two sons, so Willow’s early arrival was a huge shock. The few months that followed Willow’s birth were agonising for the James family. Her parents and two brothers were terrified that she would not survive, but after five blood transfusions and a lot of love and care, things seemed to be looking up.
Now, nearly eight years later, you would not say that Willow is the same child. She lives with her parents and brothers in a quaint house in Roodepoort North and is a healthy, strong, vibrant, and generally energetic young lady. Her only health-related problem has been anaemia – a red cell or haemoglobin deficiency in her blood – which means she is extremely prone to viruses and gets sick quite a lot. Some days she is extremely tired and lethargic.
Because Willow is sick so often she misses quite a lot of school, but that hasn’t stopped her from achieving excellent results. Warick and Carika were overjoyed at Willow’s 2019 end-of-year results.
Among her Silver Bar and Gold Bar awards, the seven-year-old girl took home medals and certificates for:
• Best reader in her class
• Best reader in Grade 2
• Dux Student of 2019 in Grade 2 for academic excellence
Willow loves school and takes extreme pride in her academics and her athletics, but admits to not having many friends. She said that there is no particular reason for her small friendship circle; she just prefers her own space and spends her time reading fairy tales and catching up on school work she has missed.
When she was asked what she wanted to do after finishing school, she responded that she had no clue and just wanted to do well at school.
It is rare to see a child so invested in their academics, especially at such a young age, but Willow is not just any child. The James family is expecting great things from their beautiful daughter, and it is no surprise as to why.
Willow has just started Grade 3, and has been happily welcomed into a new school closer to home. She is set to start gymnastics lessons this year, and is hoping for even more awards from her new school.
