Kamene is an adorable three-month-old girl from Kenya. The family of three children lives in a one-room rental house. Her parents do casual tasks, such as laundry and farming, to sustain the family’s needs.
At birth, Kamene was diagnosed with spina bifida, an incomplete formation of the spine. She was at risk of developing tethered cord syndrome—a neurological disorder that limits the movement of the spinal cord—and paralysis of her lower limbs. Unfortunately, there was a doctors’ strike at the time of Kamene’s diagnosis. Her family traveled to Tanzania to repair the spinal defect. They are still in debt to the hospital in Tanzania.
Later, when Kamene was two months old, her head began increasing in size. A scan was conducted, and Kamene was diagnosed with hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid accumulates in the skull, causing the brain to swell. If her condition is left untreated, Kamene is at risk of increased intracranial pressure, which may result in brain damage.
Kamene was referred to our medical partner’s care center, BethanyKids Kijabe Hospital, and brain surgery was recommended. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, has requested $685 to fund the treatment. The surgery is scheduled for April 13.
“Each day has brought pain and struggle in our family as we watch Kamene cry helplessly,” says Kamene’s mother. “If there is anything I could do, I would not hesitate, so as to eliminate whatever she is undergoing. I hope that someday she will be well.”
