“I treasure him so much,” Miracle’s mother says of her second born son. A baby boy from Malawi, Miracle is living with hydrocephalus—a condition in which there is blockage in the pathways of cerebrospinal fluid (water in the brain). This blockage causes water to accumulate within the skull, putting increased pressure on the brain.
Miracle’s condition causes his “head to be very big, making it difficult for him to support his neck,” says our medical partner, World Altering Medicine (WAM). The condition has also led to “delayed milestones, in that he is cannot see and has problems eating.”
If left untreated, the damage to Miracle’s brain will increase and neurodevelopment will cease. Miracle’s mother, however, does not have the funds to pay for Miracle’s surgery.
With $992 in funding, Miracle will receive an endoscopic third ventriculostomy (ETV). In this procedure an endoscope is used to make a small whole in the brain to bypass the blockage. Funding also supports Miracle’s post-operative medication and a ten day hospital stay.
WAM explains that after the procedure, “the pressure in Miracle’s brain will normalize and his head will return to normal size. He will be able to see properly and it will ease his eating difficulties. He will also be able to sit down on his own.”
Miracle’s mother tells us she “would be very happy if he could get treated.” Let’s help make it possible!
