Smile crosses Amanda's face for the first time

Nine-year-old Amanda Attard tosses her blond curls back and smiles. Smiling is one of the things that Amanda likes doing most.

But smiling did not come easily to her, and she can only do so through the sheer determination of her parents Anthony and Karen.

Memories of the emotional and financial strain they have been through over the past years fade as the Attards watch their only daughter curl her mouth into a mischievous grin.

Amanda was born with Moebius Syndrome, which causes facial paralysis, and until a few months ago smiling was just a distant hope for the blue-eyed girl. Apart from leaving her with an expressionless face, the condition, which affects one person in two million, also made it difficult for Amanda to eat and talk.

But a 12-hour operation earlier this year has given Amanda the ability to move one side of her face. Another operation at the end of the month will hopefully allow her to move the other side.

"If I could I would have done both sides in one go," Amanda says, showing her eagerness to be able to move her face fully. Neither does she seem afraid of the procedure although the first one was fraught with complications.

The first glimpse of hope for the Attard family came when Toronto-based facial paralysis expert Ronald Zucker ruled her as a perfect candidate for the complicated operation during which a muscle from the girl's thigh was transplanted to her face. Even the Lm40,000 price tag did not make them give up hope and they started tireless efforts to raise funds to give their daughter the smile she so wanted.

Thankfully, Prof. Zucker accepted to operate on Amanda in Birmingham, bringing down the cost of the procedure substantially, although his Lm25,000 fee remained a concern for the family.

Six weeks to the day after the operation, while watching television, Amanda felt the first twitch in the right side of her face.

"She started calling me and at first I was afraid that something had happened to her. But when I rushed over, she started pointing at her face and telling me that she could feel something," Mrs Attard, a professional soprano known as Karen Camilleri, said.

At first the mother could not see anything, but Amanda insisted that she could feel the muscle working.

"I knew what I was feeling," Amanda says.

Her father recounts the excitement he felt when he saw the first slight movement.

The Attards explain that Prof. Zucker had informed them that results would start being seen after six weeks, and every day Amanda would ask her mother how long had passed since the operation.

"I was impatient," she says by way of explanation. Her first half smile came just before Easter and she is hoping that she will be able to smile fully for Christmas.

There are no words to describe what the couple feels when their daughter smiles at them.

"We just want her to be happy, that's the important thing. This has made her happy so we are glad we did it," Mr Attard said.

The Attard family is still trying to raise money to cover the full cost of the operation. Donations may be made to HSBC Amanda Help Me To Smile Fund number 075039560050.