Nicole is a five-month-old baby girl and is the youngest of her young mother’s two children. They live in a one room house in the Nyanza region of Kenya, together with Nicole’s brother and grandmother. Nicole’s mother is a fresh high school graduate, a mother of two, and is currently unemployed. Nicole’s grandmother, the sole provider of the family, is employed as a house help and only makes enough to sustain her family.
Nicole had an uneventful birth and a normal first few weeks of life until she was four-weeks-old, when her mother started to notice her head size was progressively and rapidly increasing. Nicole’s mother thought the head growth was normal but upon a routine checkup at a local hospital, she learned that Nicole’s symptoms were consistent with acquired hydrocephalus, an abnormal buildup of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the brain from a blockage due to a tumor, injury or disease. A specialist confirmed the diagnosis. To prevent further complications, Nicole urgently needs surgery to place a shunt to drain the excess CSF.
Some money has been raised by family and friends, but Nicole’s mother cannot afford to pay the remaining $685 for the surgery. She has hope that her fortunes will change for the better and Nicole will receive help.
“I am glad to have found a place where Nicole can be treated. My only plea is that you will help fund for her surgery as I have no means,” Says Nicole’s mother.
