The note today came to me like this –
“I am very humbled by all the people who have come to the rescue of this little angel. She has fought so hard to be alive. Thanks for helping her in this fight. Thank you all. And God bless you.”
This from Wanyama Wangah, the father of Baby Eliana, the Ugandan miracle baby noted previously in this space here.
Eliana survived birth at a remarkable premature term of just 25 weeks, 15 weeks early.
It was in October when she was born, weighing a mere 600 grams, almost as small as a mouse. Humanly speaking, she shouldn’t have survived. Not that small. Not in sub-Saharan Africa.
Eliana has since been in intensive care, has undergone several surgeries, including a colostomy a few days ago. She has continued to fight daily to get to where she is, that is a weight of a little over 1 kg.
That’s still less than half the birth weight of an average Ugandan newborn. But she’s alive.
Eliana’s mother, Joan, has traveled what can be a daunting trip into Kampala to the hospital every day for feeding and so-called “Kangaroo Care.” Now being weaned off of oxygen support, Baby Eliana appears to be out of the woods.
The most recent news for Wanyama and his family is the bill. On Wednesday Wanyama and Joan were presented with an interim bill of 86 million Ugandan Shillings, which, in Canadian dollars, is $36,000
Even with loans from the bank, Wanyama’s employer and other sources, the cost to Kampala International Hospital is far beyond what this middle class Ugandan family can handle. So the family is asking for your help at this time again.
The Indiegogo campaign started last month has raised about $2,000. It doesn’t seem like much, but it’s something. For Wanyama and Joan, it’s $2,000 more than they otherwise would have had.
In a spirit of gratefulness, they know this. And they note how any amount is still appreciated. They are hoping to increase the $2,000 to $3,000 in the coming days.
The family has also produced a video showing Eliana’s care in the hospital. Would you take a minute and watch the video here and then contribute to this campaign? You can easily contribute here.
Thank you for anything you can do to be part of this miracle story.