Meet Kennedy, a smiling five-year-old boy from Kenya. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares, “Kennedy is the last-born in a family of two children, and has been experiencing headaches and persistent vomiting.”
Kennedy has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid accumulates within the brain, causing increased intracranial pressure. If Kennedy goes untreated, this increased pressure could result in permanent brain damage or even death.
Kennedy lives with his parents and elder sister – a special needs child who also requires medical attention. According to AMHF, “Kennedy’s father serves as a church cleaner earning a meager monthly income of $45. Kennedy’s mother on the other hand hawks porridge in the streets.” Their combined income is not sufficient to sustain the family, especially since both children are in need of care.
In addition, as a result of his symptoms and delayed development, Kennedy could not be enrolled in school. For that reason, and in hope of her son securing a better future, Kennedy’s mother looks forward to the treatment: “It has been trying watching my children grow up like this. I really hope Ken can get treated,” she says.
For $980, we can fund Kennedy’s treatment. He will receive a shunt to drain the cerebrospinal from the brain into another part of the body where the fluid can be absorbed.
AMHF states, “Kennedy’s surgery will help reduce the intracranial pressure thus stopping the headaches and vomiting. Kennedy will also be enrolled in a learning institution and live normally among his peers once he starts developing normally.”
Let’s help Kennedy receive the treatment he needs to live a pain-free childhood!
