Struggling to help my baby - Mother needs money for child's medical bills

Shaddae Lobboan was overjoyed to be able to give birth to her son, Jehu Curry, but the minute the doctors took him away, she knew something was wrong.

He wasn't crying, and the doctors took him to another room. As the minutes stretched into hours, the suspicion crept in that something was not right.

That was confirmed to her some two hours later when the doctor gave her the news that an ultrasound showed that her son had hydrocephalus (fluid in the brain) as well as dandy walker syndrome a rare group of congenital human brain malformations.

"I was devastated, but I made up my mind I would do everything for my baby," Lobban told THE STAR.

Keeping that promise has been challenging, as she is now unemployed, having been laid off two months before she gave birth.

"Right now, he has a tube in the brain draining water," she said.

It is even harder for her as she must take him to a paediatrician each time he is ill. And with him being prone to urinary tract infections a side effect that comes from the tube in his brain he must be under constant medical attention.

"I nearly lost him in February; while feeding him, he went blue, and it was then I found out about his heart, too," she said, sharing that her son is now on heart medication.

Watching the now 10-month-old Jehu, it is hard to imagine him being chronically ill as he readily smiles and pounces about in his stroller.

MANY HOSPITAL VISITS

Jehu has been in and out of the paediatric ward at the May Pen General Hospital as well as the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

Lobban's son must also do frequent physiotherapy, which costs $3,000 per session. He now has another MRI to do, but the Kingston Public Hospital's machine is down, and Lobban and the child's father can't come up with the money.

"The medical bills and his medication and follow-up visits drained us both. He has follow-up doctor visits, [at the] heart clinic and neuro clinic.

"I am so stressed right now," said Lobban.

But she emphasised that she is not looking for a handout as what she really needs is immediate assistance for her son to get the MRI and a job.

Certified in business management, she said she is willing to take on any job that would give her time to take care of her son.

A past student of St Hugh's High School, her ultimate dream is for her son to enjoy as normal a life.

"Is a rocky road ahead as there's the risk of him having seizures and other diseases, but I am putting my trust in the Lord," she said.