“I feel like giving up at times, but Mercy’s heavenly smile gives me the courage to face tomorrow,” her mother shares. “I really hope she gets treated.”
Mercy is a three-month-old girl who lives with her siblings and parents in a single-room house in Kenya. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), says, “Mercy was born pre-maturely as her mother had high blood pressure.”
“Mercy’s head is progressively increasing in size, making her very irritable, and she is at risk of having delayed development,” AMHF explains. Mercy has hydrocephalus, a condition where cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain, increasing pressure and possibly damaging the brain.
AMHF continues, “Unfortunately, Mercy’s father has been ailing for the last three months and hence cannot help in providing for the family needs, so Mercy’s mother has been doing some casual tasks to provide daily meals for her family.” Mercy’s mother is struggling with her own health due to the strain of trying to support her husband and children on her own.
For $980, Mercy will have a shunt implanted that will drain the excess cerebrospinal fluid from her brain. “Mercy’s surgery will eliminate the pressure impacted on her brain and therefore improve the chances of her living a long, healthy, and quality life,” AMHF concludes.