Vulnerable babies in North-western Ethiopia

A little severly malnourished baby was found on the top of a cliff. He was rushed to the hospital in order to safe his life. We were informed and while we sent our caregivers to the hospital to take care of this little fellow we als initiated our tracing activities to find the parents of this baby. While in the hospital the baby developed infections and at the same time his growing head was noted and he was diagnosed with hydrocephalus. His health was going up and down, he was on and off oxygen and antibiotics and even though he was putting on weight, it was not at the rate that we had hoped for. The doctors assumed that the hydrocephalus may impare his recovery and we were given the difficult descision for surgery or to wait. In a way waiting was not an option but surgery for such an underweight baby also would come with serious risks. We decided to take the risk and go ahead with the surgery, which entailed putting a shunt from his brain to his abdomen to drain the excess fluid and so also the pressure of his brain. Fortunately our little baby survived the surgery and was doing so well that he was discharged 2 days later. He is doing very well and is putting on weight! We continue to search for his family as we believe that babies are mainly abandoned due to a crisis and people panic. We would love to reunify this little fellow with his family and help them to be the family that they were intended to be. Thank you so much for your assistance for babies like this. Without your support we would not be able to care for the most vulnerable ones!