Save A Child with Spina Bifida

Help save the life of one child who was born with spina bifida in Kenya. $500 will cover the cost of life-saving surgery and the child's stay at BethanyKids Hospital in Kijabe, Kenya.

Please meet Baby John. He was born six months ago with three different disabilities: spina bifida, hydrocephalus and a deformed backbone. If he were born in the U.S., Baby John would be able to undergo life-saving surgery within the first few weeks of life and look forward to a good quality of life surrounded by his family. With Baby John's home being in Kenya, he was unable to receive immediate care and Mama John hid him for three months because of superstition and fear. Because of donations and the amazing work being done at Bethany Kids/AIC Kijabe Hospital, Baby John was able to receive neurosurgical care from the highly-trained pediatric neurosurgeons. Please help me save the life of an African child with spina bifida by raising $500, which will cover the cost of life-saving surgery and the hospital stay.

I am a fourth year medical student at University of Pittsburgh, and I will be rotating at BethanyKids' pediatric neurosurgery service for the month of June 2013. I found out about the work of Dr. Leland Albright and Susan Ferson on the pediatric neurosurgery service at BethanyKids in February of 2012, and it has been my dream since to help with their mission of helping East African children. I am personally paying for this trip with partial support from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Alumni Association. Global Links of Pittsburgh has expressed interest in donating medical supplies that I can bring to the hospital. However, financial support is needed to cover the cost of children's stay at the hospital. Please help me raise the money to save the life of one child. It may seem like a drop in the ocean of the turmoil of our world but it makes me think of the quote from Schindler's List: "he who saves one life saves the world entire".

Thank you so much for all of your support! Any amount will make an enormous difference. As a sign of my eternal gratitude for your help, I will send you a special thanks and a photograph from my trip. Your donation will be sent to BethanyKids U.S. headquarters directly in support of pediatric neurosurgery patients. You will receive a tax receipt for your tax-deductible donation from Bethany Relief and Rehabilitation International (EIN 52-2344177 for your tax records).

Please keep visiting this page as I continue to share more about pediatric neurosurgery in Kijabe!