Meet Samuel, a 12-month-old boy who lives in Ethiopia with his parents and siblings. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF) tells us that Samuel has Hirschpsrung’s disease, which is a condition of the colon that causes difficulty passing stool.
“Samuel was born with stooling difficulty and as a result he developed bowel obstruction. A colostomy, creating a temporary hole in the surface of the abdomen for the intestine to drain stool, was done to Samuel when he was a newborn,” AMHF explains. “Samuel has been using the colostomy to pass stool for the last year and is still waiting for the reconstruction of a stooling hole.”
His parents have other children to care for, making it difficult to cover the expenses of Samuel’s care. For most kids, death or severe growth retardation will develop without surgery.
$1,500 will provide Samuel with a Hirschsprung pull through procedure. Little children like Samuel require a two-stage procedure, first with the removal of the paralyzed part of the colon followed by re-attaching the colon and closing the colostomy.
After the surgery, AMHF shares, “Samuel will be able to pass stool normally. Samuel’s family hopes that once he is well, he will be able to go to school.”