“I am hopeful that my daughter will get well soon. That is my deepest prayer right now,” shares Blessing’s mother. Blessing is a six-month-old baby girl from Kenya who lives with her parents and older sibling. Her parents are both trained teachers but her mother is currently unemployed.
Blessing has hydrocephalus—a condition in which a buildup of cerebrospinal fluid in the brain causes one’s head to increase abnormally in size and eyes to fix downward. According to our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), Blessing is irritable and drowsy and “if not treated, she is likely to have delayed milestones.” AMHF continues, “The accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid will keep increasing Blessing’s intracranial pressure which may result in brain damage. She is also at risk of becoming visually impaired.”
The family relies on Blessing’s father’s income from teaching, but they have been unable to raise the funds needed for Blessing’s treatment.
For $980, AMHF will be able to provide Blessing with hydrocephalus shunting, which will drain her brain of the excess fluid. This treatment is expected to help stabilize the high pressure in Blessing’s head and reduce the chances of brain damage, blindness, and death. Let’s help Blessing get healthy!