Beth’s body tells you that she is well-nourished, but her head isn’t proportional to the rest of her body. Her head is larger than that of the average three-month-old baby because she has hydrocephalus, a condition associated with excessive fluid buildup in the head. This puts little Beth at risk of increased intra- cranial pressure and subsequent brain stem compression.
Beth’s head began increasing in size at the age of one month. Her family took her to a local hospital where they were referred to someone else for specialized treatment. The situation was complicated further by the issue of money; the funds required for Beth’s treatment were beyond what her parents had anticipated.
Beth, her parents, and her four siblings live in a two-room house in eastern Kenya. Beth’s siblings are enrolled in school and doing well. Her mother is a housewife while her father, the sole breadwinner, is a security guard at a company near their home. The family managed to subsidize $52 of the treatment, but are not able to raise the rest of the funds required for Beth to get a shunt insertion.
For $615, the shunt insertion will be possible. The shunt will drain excess cerebrospinal fluid from Beth’s brain cavities into other areas of her body and thus will reduce the health risks associated with hydrocephalus.
“I can’t even begin to express how depressing this is for our family,” shares Beth’s mother. “I just wish I can get someone to contribute towards Beth’s treatment and have it all behind us. She is such a jewel and giving up on her is not and will never be an option.”
