“I pray that my son gets well soon,” says the mother of Brandon, a one-month-old baby boy who lives in Kenya.
Brandon was born with spina bifida, a birth defect characterized by the incomplete closure of the backbone and membranes around the spinal cord. “Brandon has a leaking sac-like protrusion on the lower backbone area,” shares our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF). Without treatment, Brandon is at risk for infection, a tethered spinal cord, curvature of the spine (scoliosis or kyphosis), and loss of muscle function in his legs.
Brandon lives with his mother, a college student, and his maternal grandparents in a two-room mud-walled house. His grandparents, who are subsistence farmers, and his father, who is also a college student, are unable to raise enough money to pay for the surgery that Brandon needs.
For $805, Brandon can receive a surgical procedure known as spina bifida closure. Doctors place the spinal cord and nerves back inside the backbone and cover them with membranes before closing the opening on Brandon’s back. Funding for Brandon’s treatment also includes a five-day hospital stay and three days of physical therapy.
“The surgery will help reduce the risk of Brandon developing infections, tethered cord, and/or paralysis on his legs,” says AMHF.
Let’s help Brandon fund the surgery that he needs!
