Help saught for Swakop's baby Joy
Financial support is being sought for a seven-month-old baby girl who was left in the Ruach Elohim Foundation on Swakopmund's baby box over the weekend.Baby Joy has hydrocephalus - a condition also known as hydrocephalus - and urgently needs an operation to relieve the immense pressure on her brain and reduce her pain and discomfort.
Left with baby Joy was her medical passport showing that she had already shown signs of hydrocephalus from a month old, with her mother calling several times at a clinic for help but apart from her vaccinations being up to date, never received any support from the state.
According to Ronel Peters from the foundation, she could already see that something was wrong with baby Joy when she arrived in the baby box on Saturday evening. Apart from the fact that her head was badly swollen, she was also very malnourished and dehydrated. A severe fungal infection in her mouth and extending through her body meant that she could not swallow or suck at all.
"She was cold and looked dead, this beautiful, little person," says Ronel.
Ronel dripped a cup of milk into her mouth and immediately got medication from a local pharmacy. By Sunday, Joy, who according to her medical passport is seven months old, started to look better, but according to Ronel, was sleeping a lot.
"I peeked in on her and then saw that she didn't seem to be breathing."
She administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, grabbed Joy in her arms and rushed her to the hospital.
"I was hysterical and shouted to the Lord to please not take her from me. Close to the hospital she opened her eyes and started crying."
Baby Joy was admitted to the hospital and she was given a feeding tube, among other things. A diagnosis confirmed she had hydrocephalus with an operation urgently needed to relieve the immense pressure on her brain.
"We don't know if there is any damage. A scan confirmed she has hydrocephalus. To alleviate this, a tube is implanted in a chamber of the brain that leads down to her stomach where it drains and she wees it out."
However, before this can happen, baby Joy must first fully recover from the fungal infection and build up her strength for the operation.
Ronel and her Ruach Elohim foundation themselves do not have the funds for the big operation and money is now being collected to give baby Joy the relief she should have had months ago.
"I'm willing to sell my car, but I can't let her suffer like this"
Donations can be made to Ruach Elohim Foundation; FNB, cheque account no. 62269248954; reference: Baby Joy.
For more information, Ronel can be contacted on 081 242 6396.
Since the Ruach Elohim Foundation was set up in 2020, twenty-two babies have already been left in the baby box. – [email protected]