Urgent: This 5-year-old's brain could be affected badly if something is not done urgently

When her fourth child, a son, was born, Shama believed that her family was finally complete. She hoped for him to grow happy and healthy, and had a lot of dreams for his future. But all these were shattered in the few months after his birth as he developed a fluid-filled swelling at the base of his head that just kept on growing. Today, it has become his ‘second head’ and has posed a host of problems for him and his family.

“I cannot sleep at night. The fear of losing my child keeps me up. I have terrifying nightmares of his swelling bursting open and killing him. No mother deserves this.” - Shama, mother of the 5-year-old.

Doctors have told us if nothing is done urgently he could become a lifeless body until death comes to take him 

The child suffers from a condition called meningomyelocele, an abnormal protrusion of the spinal cord and its covering membranes through a congenital defect in the bone of the spine. Additionally, he also has fluid retention in his brain, which complicates matters.

It weighs on his little body and his life

Shama and Naeem’s 5-year-old has not achieved any milestones that a ‘normal’ child his age would. He cannot walk, he cannot sit comfortably, he cannot eat, drink or even use the washroom comfortably. His ‘second head’ weighs heavily on his little body, and prevents him from moving about. He cannot even communicate his pain to his mother properly as it is affecting his brain too.

“Doctors have told us that his brain could be affected badly if something is not done urgently. His arms and feet can cease to function, he could be a vegetable…a lifeless body until death comes to take him. I do not want that for my poor child. Even through the pain and suffering, he smiles at me, making me feel guilty.” - Shama, tearfully

Surgery can save him, but they don’t have the means to afford it

The child’s father, Naeem works as an ordinary day-labourer in their hometown of Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh. He has meagre monthly earnings of INR 9,000 at most - which is not enough to feed his family and take care of all their needs. Additionally, he has not been in the pink of his health for the past few years because of back pain from doing strenuous labour. This family is not in a position to save their youngest child, and are hoping that you would help them.

“My children are all I have. They are my assets. I want my youngest child to survive, to grow up into an able young man and have a better life than me. Is that too much to ask for, as a father? Please help us save him before it is too late.”- Naeem

They need your help and support urgently. Click here to contribute and save the innocent child.