John is a cute, one-year-old baby boy from Tanzania. He was born on August 18, 2015. He is the third child in the family. John is happy, active, and likes to mumble when playing with toys. He especially likes bright colored toys. John is able to sit and has started to crawl.
When John was still a little baby, his mother noticed what looked like two sinuses on each side of his neck, which were draining fluid. She took her baby to the hospital and was told she should just wait and the problem would go away on its own. It is now a year later, and nothing has changed. John’s appetite is not good, he often vomits and gets fevers. If not treated, John may develop further complications such as septicaemia or a compromised airway.
John’s mother has a small business of selling vegetables and his father sells fruits, mostly bananas. They are renting a house with two bedrooms and their two other children are going to school. The little that they earn is not enough to support the whole family as well as cover the cost of surgery which John needs.
For $920, John will undergo a mass excision surgery at Arusha Lutheran Medical Centre to remove the branchial cleft cysts from his neck. He is expected to make a full recovery with no lasting complications from his condition.
“I pray my baby will get well and grow up with good health,” says John’s mother.