She’s 16 years old and extremely shy. She comes from the village of Madamn Bauje, the same village that Ti Mika came from. It is a very, very poor village, mostly covered with dust and some rocks.

We first saw her walking from the left to right side of the dirt path, through some scrub bushes. She had a ripped and dirty sweater that had two small “ties” at the top. She was chewing on these cloth ties, and walking with her head down. When she finally looked up, I was horrified to see growths all over her body, in addition to her malnourished red, straw-like hair. She had nerve damage to one side of her face, that has always “drawn up” a little, and she constantly chewed on one side of her hand. Personally, I felt that she had been horribly abused and made “fun of,” and that was why she walked with her head down.

We asked her aunt (the one I thought abused her) if we could take her to our orphanage to see a doctor. Her entire body was covered with small growths sticking out, which some people call “the tree-trunk syndrome.” Even though we had many of them cut off, they just grew back again.

We sent her to the states to a special skin specialist who sent medications for her. Her face is fine but her hands, arms, legs, and feet, are horrible. She must stay out of the sun as much as possible. Due to this, Miliana is very shy, nervous, and stays by herself. We wish we could send her to someone to have “every growth removed,” and treated so that they would never grow back. I have never seen another child with these growths.

She is a sweet, hard-working young lady, and does well in school. She really loves the Lord and we all love Miliana. If anyone knows about this disease and what to do about it, please comment. I’m not sure if there is a “natural cure,” but each time she has had growths removed, they come back. Please pray for Miliana, because I am sure God’s hand is on her life.

God bless you, Sherry