Leshan is a handsome six-year-old boy from Kenya. In April this year, Leshan began suffering persistent headaches. A visit to a local hospital had him diagnosed with malaria and pneumonia. Leshan received treatment for two months, but his condition worsened. Leshan, who was always the best in his class, could not keep up, and his performance drastically dropped.
Eventually, his vision became blurred and his lower limbs weak. These symptoms forced Leshan to quit school early July 2016. His parents took him to a different hospital where a scan revealed that Leshan has excess fluid on his head and a tumor known as medulloblastoma. Urgent specialized treatment would be required, and Leshan was referred to Bethany Kids Hospital, a Watsi partner. Leshan’s parents cannot afford the treatment he needs to remove the tumor.
Leshan’s father is a pastoralist while his mother is is a stay at home mom. The family lives in a traditional house in Rift Valley Kenya. Leshan is the twenty-second born in a family of twenty-seven children and the last born to his mother who has nine children.
If not treated, Leshan faces the risk of increased intracranial pressure, which is likely to cause brain damage or even death.
“Leshan is such a bright boy and we would like to see him back to school,” his father shared. “He has a bright future ahead of him and that is what we wish for him.”
