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Too far, too soon
Pic by Athula Devapriya

Want to help a little girl lead a normal life without leaving her childhood behind prematurely? Then think of little Dilupa Prasadhi, whose parents are desperate for donations in cash or medicine.

Donations could be credited to Account No. 0295-2-027098-4 at the People's Bank branch Uda Walawe in the joint names of J. Dilupa Prasadhi and Inoka Priyadharshani Weththasinghe.

"If anyone could get us the medicine, 'Lucrin Depot' or 'Prostap', we would be very grateful, says Dilupa's father who can be contacted at 071-322793 or on e-mail: upul@slt.lk for a copy of the import licence and prescription.

By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
"What is happening to me, Ammi? Why do I seem different to the other girls in my class?"

These are some of the questions 30-year-old Inoka Weththasinghe has to deal with when her little daughter Dilupa Prasadhi, keeps pestering her for an explanation. But for Inoka and her husband Jayasekarage Gunasiri, the puzzled questions of their one and only daughter are the least of their worries.

Pic by Athula Devapriya

The questions need answers, difficult though they may be, but what keeps them awake at night is the bigger issue of "finding money". Finding money to keep their little girl a little girl for a while more.

For though Dilupa Prasadhi is only six plus, her body is growing beyond her years. She has developed the biological characteristics normally seen in a teenager.

"This is called Precocious Sexual Development or Precocious Puberty and in most cases the cause is unknown," explains a senior paediatrician of the Lady Ridgeway Hospital who is treating Dilupa Prasadhi.

Usually, coming of age occurs around 14 years in girls and 16 in boys, but would be dependent on various genetic and environmental reasons. However, in certain others the hormones which stimulate the sexual organs or gonads (ovaries in girls and testes in boys) get activated before that time. There is a premature secretion of gonadotrophins, which occurs more frequently in girls than in boys.

"And with it comes the development of breasts and the appearance of pubic hair," explains the paediatrician, adding that sometimes there is also early menstruation.

Unfortunately, when this happens in younger children, such as Dilupa Prasadhi, they are not physically or mentally fit to deal with it. "Then we need to block the hormone by giving an analogue," says the paediatrician.

When Dilupa Prasadhi's parents realized that she was developing before her age they showed her to a paediatrician in their home town of Embilipitiya. From there they were referred to the Lady Ridgeway Hospital where all the tests were done.

She became a 'big girl' in December last year says Inoka.

To suppress the hormones, the doctors have recommended Lucrin Depot injections every 28 days. The injections have to be imported from India and the parents are in despair as their monthly income is just not enough to meet this extra cost. Dilupa Prasadhi's father is a laboratory assistant at the Uda Walawe Sugar Cane Research Institute on a salary of just over Rs. 6,000 and her mother a housewife.

"Salli hoya ganna eka thama amaru" (Finding money is the difficulty), says 37-year-old Gunasiri, adding quickly that they have been able to meet the cost so far due to the kindness of relatives, friends and well-wishers.

"The child needs to take the injection every 28 days, until she reaches the pubertal age," explains her paediatrician.

But how long they can continue is the major worry for both Gunasiri and Inoka. For it costs nearly Rs. 20,000 per injection and the dosage may have to be increased soon, resulting in a higher cost.

"Puluwan dura yanawa" (We'll go as far as we can), says Gunasiri, while Dilupa Prasadhi oblivious of her parents' heavy hearts talks light-heartedly about school and her classmates in Grade 2.

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