Emmanuel is a baby from Kenya. His grandparents and mother are subsistence farmers who own two cows.
Emmanuel was born with spina bifida, a type of neural tube defect in which the spine does not properly close around the spinal cord. Without treatment, Emmanuel is at risk of lower-limb paralysis, infection of the exposed nervous tissue, development of tethered cord syndrome, and possible developmental delays.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,097 to cover the cost of Emmanuel’s spina bifida closure surgery. The procedure is scheduled to take place on January 23. This procedure will hopefully spare Emmanuel from the risks associated with his condition, instead allowing him to grow and develop along a healthy trajectory.
“I feel at home at BethanyKids where everyone I meet treats me well and this makes me garner hope that my son will recover,” says Emmanuel’s mother.