Ben Lenarts
Ben's Story

Ben joined Watsi on July 13th, 2014. 17 other people also joined Watsi on that day! Ben's most recent donation traveled 4,100 miles to support Michael, a four-year-old from Kenya, to fund hypospadias treatment.

Impact

Ben has funded healthcare for 68 patients in 10 countries.

Patients funded by Ben

Nasma is a ten year old girl from Tanzania who has had a challenging health background since she was young. When she was one year old, Nasma's ability to walk and talk was affected. This was followed by increased head size due to fluid accumulation in the brain. Nasma previously had surgery and she recovered well, albeit with slow growth. Unfortunately in 2016, she fell sick again and was in a coma for 6 weeks. Her parents had lost hope and thought she would pass away. However, she made a remarkable improvement and further needed hydrocephalus care. Her parents were not able to settle the hospital bill and went back to the village. With a continuous head migraine, Nasma's parents brought her to our medical partner in June 2019 where she had VPS shunt insertion with Watsi donor support. Later in December 2019, she was brought back with complaints of cries and head migraine. Upon review and several days of observations, the surgeons recommended a shunt revision to reduce intracranial pressure. She is in much pain, neither able to walk nor talk. The surgery will greatly reduce the pain and chances of brain damage. Nasma's parents are peasants who rely on subsistence farming to make ends meet. They had to borrow bus fare to reach our facility. Nasma has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which excess cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain and increases intracranial pressure. As a result of her condition, Nasma has been experiencing Increased head circumference and persistent pain. Without treatment, Nasma will experience severe physical and developmental delays. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $728 to cover the cost of surgery for Nasma that will treat her hydrocephalus. The procedure is scheduled to take place on January 2nd and will drain the excess fluid from Nasma's brain. This will reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve her quality of life. Nasma’s mother says, “Please help my daughter get this treatment so that she may even be able to smile and talk again.”

$728raised
Fully funded