The parents of Little Pemerika Tauiliili, the 7-year-old boy who developed bleeding in the brain and was rushed to Honolulu, have provided an update on his condition.
His father Ionatana and Peme’s three siblings were able to fly to Hawai’i on Wednesday night using Mr Tauiliili’s Hawaiian Air employee benefits. The Dad is also an employee of the American Samoa Power Authority.
They arrived in time for little Peme’s extensive surgery on Thursday that lasted about 6 hours.
Aunt Olivia Reid Gilette said the doctors were able to clear out the dried blood from the initial ruptured vein in his brain and repaired or removed other veins that were at risk of the same problem.
The neurosurgeon said that the surgery went very well and he’s breathing on his own now.
He still can’t eat or drink normally yet, but can be given small sips of water.
His left side was initially paralyzed, but now he’s showing signs of movement in his left arm and left foot so it’s promising that, with extensive physical therapy, he’ll be able to regain functional control of his left side again since he’s still young.
Peme’s vision is currently affected, but they’re hopeful that this will start to improve after the surgery, otherwise, they’ll look at other options for correcting any vision problems.
His parents have also been able to secure medical insurance coverage with the assistance of Kapi’olani Hospital’s social worker so they’ll be deactivating the GoFundMe/LilPeme account online and removing the collection boxes. T
Through GoFundMe, they raised $15,755 and the collection boxes rendered $4,409.90 total.
Ionatana and Falaga Tauiliili will use these funds to pay for any unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenses.
Peme and his mother will have to remain in Hawai’i for extensive physical therapy for an uncertain number of months possibly up to a year.
The parents are extremely grateful for the generous support they received from the LBJ staff especially Dr. Naomi Dane, Dr. Maria Gayapa, Dr. Nestor Devesi, Kalala Fa’ali’i-Meredith and the ICU doctors and nurses plus government leaders such as Governor Lolo Moliga, Lt. Governor Lemanu, Executive Assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, family, friends and complete strangers who felt their pain.
“Peme had only a 26% chance of living when he was first treated at LBJ so you can imagine how they are feeling now with their renewed hope for Peme’s recovery,” says Reid Gillet.
“He is still in the ICU, but everything is progressing well. God-willing, he will continue to get stronger. He’s a fighter so we remain hopeful to have them back home sooner rather than later.”
