My youngest grand child, a beautiful baby boy that my son and his wife named Tuvia, is undergoing a painful time in his very young life. He is having trouble breathing, and keeping anything down after feeding.

He was born healthy in July 2018 but doctors noticed some troubling changes in him during a January 2019 routine pediatric visit. His head was swollen and they suspected he may be developing hydrocephalus, which is fluid in the brain. Further testing also indicated that his heart was getting enlarged.

The doctors were looking at surgery to try and fix whatever the problem was but, first, further testing was necessary. Well this week, those test results came back and the doctors now say the baby's little body has several other issues, including cysts in the brain and in the liver.

Now they say that surgery is not an option and that we just need to make the baby comfortable...  basically, to place this beautiful 5.5 month old baby in hospice care. Worse, they haven't even given us a proper diagnosis. (UPDATE: We have recently been granted an appointment to Kijabe Hospital in Kenya, in May.)

The baby's parents live in Nairobi, Kenya and I live in Richmond, Virginia on a legal permanent visa. In Richmond, I work in nursing and serve in ministry at El-Shaddai Gospel International Ministries.

Our family is shaken but we are not giving up because from birth, this baby has been dedicated to God. We believe that God has a great plan for baby Tuvia and while we may not know what that plan is quite yet, we believe that he was born for a reason. 

The baby's first name, Tuvia, is of Hebrew origin meaning "God is good". His middle names are Bezalel and Chiwo. Bezaleel, in the Bible, was the chief artisan of the Tabernacle and was in charge of building the Ark of the Covenant and Chiwo means "gift" in the Luo dialect/tribe in Kenya.

We believe that God will work in fellow believers and well wishers who can help us get the baby to the United States for proper diagnosis and medical care, which we know will be costly but which we are willing to pay overtime. 

The most urgent need at this time is funds for medication, passports, visas and airline tickets. My son and daughter-in-law are parents to three other children -- two boys, ages 2 and 4 and a precious 9 year-old girl, whom they adopted as an infant after she lost her bio-parents.

Visas range from $200- $400 per person and airline tickets range from $1,000-$2,000 per person.  

We appreciate all donations. No amount is too little, but this platform wants a minimum of $5. 

Please help us get baby Tuvia on the road to being well again. Thank you!