Surgery girl faces deportation threat

Published on Saturday 26 June 2010 20:07

A TEENAGE girl from Trinidad brought to Scotland for life-changing surgery faces being sent home by immigration officials before her treatment can take place.

Kade Romain, who was brought up in a children's home, has been fostered by a high-profile Scots couple who want to give her a new life.

The 15-year-old was born without normal ears and a leading private hospital has agreed to waive the 50,000 cost of extensive plastic surgery to create them. Her foster parents are themselves paying 10,000 for a hearing aid implant that will allow her to hear.

But due to a problem with her visa, Kade has been told she must return to Trinidad next month. Surgeons need at least 18 months to carry out the complex treatment she needs.

Speaking at their Montrose home, Robina and Derek Addison said their foster daughter faces a life on the streets in Trinidad without the healthcare and educational opportunities they can offer.

However, immigration officials have so far rejected moves to extend her visa, forcing them to make a last-ditch appeal to Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Home Secretary Theresa May. "I don't want to argue with the Home Office, I just want them to agree that this kid can get this magnificent chance," Robina said.

"Kade's greatest wish is to have ears. This is an amazing chance for her but it's imperative she stays."

Robina, a dance teacher who has received an MBE for charity fundraising and holds the post of Deputy Lieutenant of Angus, first met Kade 11 years ago while visiting her care home in Port of Spain, the Caribbean island's capital, on a dance tour.

Kade's mother died when she was a baby and her elderly father cannot care for her himself. She was put into a home for children with learning disabilities because of her deafness, which only provides a basic level of care.

Robina, 62, said: "She was sitting there, wearing a red bow in her curly hair, and she was so feisty, there was a rapport there. It's like she was waiting for us. She was in a home with people of all ages who were mentally handicapped and I felt it was not the place for her. She didn't trust anyone and couldn't believe children didn't get beaten.

"She is very intelligent but there is no special needs system in Trinidad. I came home and I was quite upset to think that's where she was."

After making several return visits Robina and her businessman husband, who have four grown-up children, eventually got permission to fly Kade to the UK for private medical treatment last year. The youngster is not entitled to NHS treatment because she is not British.

Her condition, bilateral microtia, affects one in 6,000 babies and means the outer ear is small and under-developed. In Kade's case the inner ear is thought to be normal, which means she could hear with the help of a hearing aid surgically embedded into her skull. When they heard about her case, medical staff at Spire Murrayfield Hospital in Edinburgh agreed to treat the teenager for free. The surgery, which would normally cost 50,000 will take a total of 28 hours over several hospital visits using cartilage from her own ribs sculpted into 'ears' that are then grafted to the side of her head.

She will then have a hearing aid implanted into her skull to give her near-normal hearing.

Robina added: "I was assured that all the paperwork was in order. I spoke to immigration and they said she didn't need a visa. But we were misled and we now know she needs a medical visa.

"The Home Office have said she has to return to Trinidad and apply for a medical visa, or return and apply for re-entry, but there's no guarantee she will get it. We don't want that because it will take a long time and a lot of good has been done with her in terms of her education and social graces."

With Kade enjoying her new life in Scotland, the Addisons are now in the process of formally applying for an extension before her visa runs out on 20 July. But they are concerned that the paperwork is so complicated the application will be rejected.

The Addisons do not intend to formally adopt Kade, but hope to help her with her health and education enough to allow her to make a success of her life back home on Trinidad.

"We want her to get a job and help people in a similar situation. If she does not get this opportunity, her future will be working on the streets, stealing. It's the difference between the chance of a lifetime and nothing, and she has got so much to offer."

The operation to restore Kade's appearance is due to be performed by Scotland's leading expert in ear reconstruction, consultant plastic surgeon Ken Stewart at Spire.

He said: "Kade is very self-conscious and has very little hearing. The cost of the operation would be prohibitive so after I saw her I approached my managers at the Spire for help and we are all going to waive our fees.

"But this is nothing compared to what Robina is offering her, which is a new life."

Yesterday, the Home Office refused to offer any hope that Kade would be allowed to stay. A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: "Those entering the UK to access private medical treatment must apply for the appropriate visa. Individuals can also apply in country for extension to their stay but must satisfy the appropriate immigration rules."