GLORIA
 It is a great wonder how a
child who was born with a deadly disease with no permanent cure could turn to be a renowned artist and her greeting cards could reach the world market. A mother's sacrifice and service to her disabled daughter and the indomitable courage and interest of the ever sick child are the answers for the same.
When Gloria was born, her parents were extremely happy as their first
child was a still born and the second one was an abortion in the third month itself. But the new born baby looked different from other
children. She had scratches all over her face and neck. The agitated parents asked the doctors about her condition, but were told nothing to worry as the child was delivered by surgery.
Within a short time they came to know after clinical tests the seriousness of the case and it was not due to
surgery that she has the scratches but because of the attack of a deadly disease called Epidermolysis Bullosa. It did not stop with the scratches alone. Her whole body would get big boils as if she had met with a
fire accident. The boils were full of puss which was to be removed through a pierce of a pin. Same pin or needle could not be used for removing the puss from other boils. Every boil should be pocked by a new needle. Gloria could not bear the pain at all. The whole body was affected and her cry could be heard by the neighbours too. Her mother Priscilla would be with the child all the time doing this work.
On the third day of the poking of the boils, the skin would become black and dry and fall down. But within one week, Gloria would again have boils on her body and the same process continued. The eyes were also affected by the boils at least twice a month. Then the suffering is unbearable and inexplicable as the eye lids could not be opened as they get pasted with the puss from the boils. They could not leave the lids like that, because if they are not opened, the puss inside the eyes would affect the eye sight. So with utmost care Priscilla uses soft cotton to open the eye lids and wipe off the puss in the eye and keep them neat and clean.
Some times young Gloria could not co-operate with the treatment to open her eyes. Then her mother would ring bells making good sounds and show colourful objects to attract her attention which would result in Gloria opening her eyes. It is a pathetic scene to see her cry, because when she cries, the pain is doubled and her suffering increases.
Twelve year old Gloria looking like a three-year-old girl is unable to stand of her own. She could not even crawl. All protein of her body gets excreted when it has been transformed into puss. As she could not eat like normal children, she has no energy too. She lives all the time in an air-conditioned room, because her body is full of sores causing pain due to the boils. The medical experts opine that one in lakh children get this disease and necessary remedial measures and medicines have not been found so far. Pricilla has taken Gloria to great skin specialists in Chennai like Dr. Thambaiya, Dr. Jesudaiyan and many others but no one could cure this little girl. They could only advice the mother how she could take care of the skin of the child when the boils trouble her. Priscilla thought that she could try Unani, Ayurvedic, Siddha and Homeopathy to treat her daughter. But there was no cure for Gloria in any system. Gloria has been a great challenge to the medical world. Indian doctors contacted their American counterparts and sought their advice and help to cure the suffering Gloria. They received a negative reply only as there is no complete cure for this disease. But they also suggested how she should be handled to reduce the pain and seriousness of the disease. Her hair also does not grow. She has scanty hair and when they come out, Pricilla covers the head with a scarf to hide the baldness of Gloria's head.
Another strange thing about her health is that she did not have her teeth for a long time. So her eating was also very poor. She could eat biscuit, bread and some porridge only. When she had her teeth, Priscilla was very happy as she thought that Gloria could eat well with her teeth. Contrary to her expectations, the child suffered more as her teeth became very weak and got broken. New teeth would grow but soon they also broke. She could eat only idly and porridge which were not sufficient for her. She continues to be very weak and she looks like a three-year-old child though she is twelve-year-old.
Gloria is getting fever often and it is very difficult for the doctors to give injection to stop it as there is no flesh in her body. Only a thin layer of skin covers her slender body. When Gloria was just two and a half years old, she had severe fever and the doctors even lost hope. Reluctantly Pricilla brought back her daughter to her house, Gloria cried a lot because of severe fever and pain.
Priscilla surrendered to God for mercy and cure. The fever continued for more than fifty days. Though Gloria was little relieved of her fever there was no end for the same. Fever continues now and then. Nobody knew that there was a great talent hidden in the sick child. How she developed a love for drawing and painting is an unbelievable but real story.
When she was one and a half years old, Gloria had boils in her eyes. The poor child suffered a lot and the mother ran with the child to a doctor who prescribed some eye drops for her and told the mother to see that Gloria kept her eyes open for sometime as part of the treatment. Hence to keep her awake, Priscilla gave her some colourful toys and sketch pens and made some noise also with those objects. Gloria was attracted towards the colourful sketch pens and she started drawing on the floor with them. Though she drew some lines only she felt very happy about her own performance and continued every day. When she was three, Gloria painted beautifully whatever she saw around her. Not only Priscilla but their relatives and friends encouraged the little girl in her hobby and Gloria turned to be a great artist. Pricilla got her many painting brushes, water colours, paint boxes, painting sheets etc to satisfy her daughter. She could not walk or go to school. The only satisfaction and way to forget her disease is painting. Priscilla never denied these to her daughter though much of their money was spent on Gloria only. When she has been undergoing the daily treatment at home, to divert her attention, Pricilla used to show her books containing colour pictures. She would tell her the stories in the books. The young girl not only understood the stories but went a step forward to draw the incidents in the story. Sometimes she drew the pictures she saw in the story books. Everybody looked at her with wonder. How could this sick child who has not gone to the school, who could not eat good food, who could not even walk herself and who totally depends on somebody, have such good imagination and interest to draw whatever she wants? Gloria surprised everyone. But there is no answer. Her paintings were greatly appreciated by the local people and in course of time her paintings found their place in art exhibitions too. She was acclaimed as a great painter. Encouraged by these appreciations, separate exhibitions of Gloria's paintings were organised by her mother with the help of the well-wishers. Senior painters advised her to draw greetings cards to capture the national and international markets. She succeeded in that adventure also. Her paintings in the form of Christmas and New Year cards are being sold all over the world. She takes very little time to finish a painting. Very costly painting could also be drawn by her with in one hour duration. Her output is more than the marketing ability of her mother. Priscilla is trying to tap all doors for the sale of the paintings of her daughter. She does not have godfathers to help her in that endeavour. Having experienced hardship, she wants to lend a helping hand to children who suffer like Gloria. She is prepared to spend the money she gets out of her daughter's 'paintings for the welfare of suffering children.
 Gloria has developed another skill of drawing whatever she sees in television. It was a surprise shock for her mother and others when they saw Gloria painting the gruesome incident of
11th September when the militants grounded the
World Trade Centre in New York. She brought to life in her painting cruel way in which the twin buildings were attacked and ruined by planes Gloria is still carried and fed by her mother. Pricilla has spent a lot on Gloria. Even her husband has not co-operated with her in looking after the child. But Pricilla has made up her mind to live for her daughter. Many children have been affected by polio and their sufferings come to an end when they are educated and employed. But it is totally different in the case of Gloria. She remains a challenge to the medical world. The treatment continues but there is no cure.
The only consolation to the mother who has sacrified everything for her daughters the unbelievable talent of her sick child in the field of painting. What the child needs is not fame but money for her survival. Her medical and day to day expenses have been increasing. As she has to remain in the air-conditioned room all the time, the mother was keen on giving that comfort to her ailing daughter. It costs her nearly six to seven thousand every month. The total expenses for Gloria alone for a month comes to twelve thousand. What will the poor mother do? Though she is a talented person, her future looks bleak without proper financial support. Except her mother, no one including her father is willing to come forward to help the poor child. Priscilla is finding it very hard to make both ends meet. It is the duty of every sensible person to understand the condition of Gloria and buy and recommend her greeting cards and paintings so that she could improve her economic condition. She is enduring what could not be cured physically as there is no permanent remedy for her disease. But it should be remembered that the sick child does not take her asylum in a hospital and rest, but tries to express her hidden talents which even many healthy children lack miserably. It is necessary to lend a helping hand to the promising child of God.
Shanmugam can be contacted @:
No: 54 Kamaraj Road,
Ramakrishna Nagar,
Alwar Thirunagar,
Chennai- 600 087.
Phone: 248 60 221
E-mail: shanmugam@azagi.com
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Innovative
Painter
