Hope for Zeleke

Last Thursday, we were in the midst of preparations for our trip to Addis. During this trip we planned to drop off our many visitors for their return to the US. The car was going to be packed with 7 of us and all their bags.

A 6 year-old boy and his father arrived at our clinic that same day. The boy was blind and had weakness in his legs. Both symptoms had progressed over the past four months and his ability to see was completely gone. His father supported him as he tried to walk with great difficulty. He stared out with his big unseeing eyes, and my heart just melted. So did Marc, Alejandro, Kyle, and Rahat’s. I briefed them on the case, and once they saw the little boy, they demanded that we take him to Addis with us. So we did.

It is important to note here that I was extremely skeptical that anything could be done for this child. If the neurological problem was caused by a tumor, the father would likely have no choice but to take him home to die. I questioned whether the immense travel cost for this family was justified.

We took him to Dr. Rick Hodes who works at Mother Theresa Sisters of Charity in Addis. He’s an internist from the U.S. who cares for children with cancer, severe spinal disease, and cardiovascular problems. He specializes in getting surgeries for patients who can’t get them done otherwise and does some amazing work.

Dr. Rick saw our patient briefly and agreed that this was a serious case. With the help of some of our generous friends in the US, we were able to take him for a CT scan that day. It showed three cystic masses in his brain, the largest one being 7 cm. The fact that the masses were cystic is a good sign that it could be an abscess instead of a cancer. Within two days of arriving in Addis, he was seeing an American neurosurgeon and is now in the hospital undergoing his procedure. Unfortunately, his hospital costs will quickly add up to probably over $1000, and his father was only able to bring $40 for the trip. I don’t like to solicit money, but if you want to help this child, you can make tax-deductible donations to rickhodes.org. Just mention that the donation is for Zeleke Alumbo.

As I write this email I find myself re-invigorated with hope—hope that this child can be saved, hope that his eyesight might be restored, and hope that a simple act might make the world of difference for one child.