Single mother has two special-needs children who need your help this holiday season

Tajjii Ferguson was 34 weeks pregnant when her blood pressure elevated to where she was at risk of a stroke. Doctors at Jackson Memorial Hospital said she needed to deliver the baby soon or both lives would be at risk.

They decided to induce labor, which lasted over 24 hours. When the baby was born on May 29, 2022, it was clear something wasn’t right. She weighed only 4 pounds, 6 ounces, and within minutes her tiny body began convulsing with seizures. The staff rushed her to the hospital’s NICU where she spent the next two months.

“It was a touch-and-go emotional type thing,” Ferguson said. “They laid her on me for a half a second and then took her away.”

The infant, whom Ferguson named Ro’niyah, was born with cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVT), a rare condition where blood clots form within veins in the brain, The condition can lead fluid to build up that sometimes causes seizures. Ro’niyah’s were severe.

Ro’niyah is not Ferguson’s only child. She also has a 9-year old brother named Raheem, who was born paralyzed on the right side of his body. He also faces health challenges including autism spectrum disorder and ADHD. And he is severely developmentally delayed.

“I basically have two toddlers,” Ferguson said.

When Raheem was just five years old, his father, Robert Darlington was diagnosed with stage four stomach cancer.

“Raheem’s dad was very involved even though we didn’t stay together,” Ferguson said. “Raheem and him had their own little things that they did.”

In 2019, Raheem was five years old and could not understand the severity of his father’s condition.

“I remember one morning Raheem jumped out of bed at 6 a.m. screaming for his dad,” Ferguson said. “I called and called and no one picked up the phone.”

Raheem’s dad had died that night.

Around the same time, Ro’Niyah’s father entered Ferguson’s life. They were together for a time, but he left and became homeless soon after Ro’Niyah was born, leaving Ferguson to care for the two children on her own.

The next few months were difficult. At two weeks the little girl underwent her first brain surgery. Ninety days later she had her second.

During the second brain surgery, doctors hit an eye nerve, resulting in partial blindness in Ro’niyah’s left eye and no vision at all in her right.

Meanwhile, Ferguson learned CPR and how to care for a child with Ro’niyah’s condition.

“I was finally able to hold her on June 7,” Ferguson said. “It was bittersweet; that was when they could finally take her off the breathing machine.”

When a drainage tube clogged, doctors drilled through her cranium and into her brain.

“They created a hole in my child’s brain to help the fluid drain,” Ferguson emphasized.

CHILD CARE

Now, two and a half years old, Ro’niyah still faces daily health challenges while her mother struggles to keep the family on their feet. “I have to monitor every symptom. Whether it’s a runny nose, a sneeze, a headache – even sleeping too much can even mean a problem.”

Ferguson’s mother provides some assistance.

“My mom will sometimes help with Raheem,” she added. “But Ro’niyah is only me.”

Yet somehow in May 2024, Ferguson completed a degree at Miami Dade College and became a certified nursing assistant. She has attempted working remotely, but the unpredictability of her schedule and having to take her children to daily therapies and medical appointments has caused her to lose even those jobs.

SPECIAL SCHOOLS

She continues to ferry Raheem every day to school at Diamond Minds Transformational Leadership Academy in Miami Gardens. He is now in fourth grade.

Many of Ro’niyah’s therapies take place at the Miami Lighthouse Academy where she attends pre-school and is adored by staff.

“When she first came into the program she was in a wheelchair, but through the program and intense therapies, she is learning to walk and eat by herself,” said Mara Gonzalez, academy director at The Miami Lighthouse. “She’s an independent girl.”

The family receives little support from the government. They used to be enrolled in Medicaid but, recently, Ro’niyah lost her coverage. Though Raheem still qualifies, Ferguson explained that it does not accommodate the unique therapies he needs.

This holiday season, Gonzalez nominated the family for the Miami Herald/El Nuevo Herald Wishbook. Raheem needs a laptop for school and to attend some of his therapies online. The family also would like clothing for both children, sensory toys for their enrichment, and personal hygiene items.

“They are very loving kids and a loving family,” Gonzalez said. “Tajjii is always on top of them, making sure they have what they need. But she’s a single parent and doesn’t always have, financially, the things she needs.”

HOW TO HELP

To help this Wish Book nominee and more than 100 others who are in need this year:

▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook

▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or email Wishbook@MiamiHerald.com

▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans

▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook