Joseline Elizabeth Vasquez Santay, a two-year-old from Guatemala, may finally have a chance at a normal childhood thanks to doctors at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.

Josie had a large lymphatic malformation on the side of her neck that was the size of her head and was hindering her ability to eat, breathe and move her neck normally. Surgeon Steve Goudy spent almost 15 hours in surgery painstakingly removing hundreds of fluid-filled balloons that made up the tumor.

To view a slideshow of Josie’s arrival and surgery, visit http://www.vanderbiltchildrens.com/atw_blog/.

Josie came to the U.S. with her mother Veronica Santay, after more conventional treatments in Guatemala failed. The nonprofit Shalom Foundation helped bring her here, and the Children’s Hospital and her doctors are donating surgery and treatments for her.


Contacts: Carole Bartoo or Laurie Holloway, (615) 322-4747
Carole.bartoo@vanderbilt.edu
Laurie.holloway@vanderbilt.edu