"As Angelina kept growing, so did the mass," says our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). "Despite her condition, Angelina is an active and happy baby."
Seven-month-old Angelina is from Tanzania, and was born with a closed myelomeningocele -- a mass on her lower back which can rupture anytime. If it were to rupture, AMHF tells us, the loss of cerebral spinal fluid would be life-threatening for her.
For $1100, AMHF can operate on Angelina and remove the mass. She will no longer have the condition and her family will not need worry about a potential rupture. Her parents work hard selling maize and millet to support the family, but cannot come up with the funds for her surgery.
“It is our great hope that our daughter will get the right treatment to remove the swelling on her lower back as it keeps growing bigger and bigger," says Angelina's mother. "We want her to be able to crawl, walk and continue with normal growth like the rest of our children so that later on she can also go to school."