Tricia is a one month old baby girl. She is being raised by a single young mother who completed high school and is planning to attend beauty college to become a hairdresser. Tricia and her mother live with Tricia’s elderly grandmother who is a small-scale farmer in a one-acre ancestral home. Tricia and her mother do not have active medical insurance and have been dependent on support from relatives since her birth.
Tricia 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, Tricia’s head started swelling at birth and has been increasing in size over time causing her family to worry. Due to complications, Tricia was referred to our medical partner’s care center Bethany Kids Hospital for a neurosurgical review. Doctors diagnosed Tricia with hydranencephaly; a central nervous system disorder that requires Tricia to undergo surgery to eliminate the risk of severe physical and developmental delays.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Tricia’s mother raise the $720 to cover the cost of the surgery scheduled for March 3rd. This procedure will reduce intracranial pressure and greatly improve Tricia’s quality of life. With proper treatment, Tricia will hopefully develop into a strong, healthy young girl.
Tricia’s mother says, “I am a new mother learning to raise a sick baby by myself. I have been left with all the responsibilities. I have hopes that this surgery will help with the increasing size of my baby’s head which is giving me worries.”