Johnson is a 2-month-old baby boy who was born with esophageal atresia, a disorder of the digestive system which causes his esophagus (feeding tube) not to extend all the way to his stomach like it’s supposed to. Instead, Johnson’s esophagus opens into his windpipe. He can’t eat without food particles ending up in his lungs and causing pneumonia.
Johnson cannot live with this condition. Right now, he is feeding through a tube in his stomach. He needs tracheoesophageal fistula surgery to repair his esophagus and close it off from his trachea and lungs, enabling him to eat and breathe normally.
A staff member at Arusha Lutheran Medical Center in Tanzania, where Johnson is hospitalized, says, “Johnson’s mother, Anna, simply hopes that her infant son will live. He is 2 months old and fighting for his life. The father works as a mason and Anna is a housewife, so they don’t have enough money for the surgery.”
ALMC is the only medical center in the region with a surgeon capable of performing the operation Johnson needs to survive. It will take $1000 to cover the cost of Johnson’s treatment, which will be life-saving. Let’s help Johnson get access to the medical care he needs to live.