Meet Klein, a one-year-old little boy from Burma. Klein has a condition called hydrocephalus -- an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the ventricles of the brain.
“His mother began noticing the health condition when he would not be able to be breastfed without soon getting a headache and crying," says our medical partner, Burma Border Projects (BBP). "His condition has gotten worse; the boy endures diarrhea, fevers, coughing, vomiting, runny noses, in addition to the gradual growth of the buildup of fluid."
Klein's parents are under financial strain from supporting their large family, and Klein’s father had to take a job in Bangkok to send wages home. They are unable to fund the surgery Klein needs.
For $1,485, BBP can insert a ventriculoperitoneal shunt to drain the fluid. “Treatment will allow him to sleep and eat normally which will help him develop normally. He will no longer suffer from nausea and headaches and bouts of fever,” says BBP.
BBP adds that "his mother would like to see him finish higher education, so that he may become a doctor one day."