Over a year ago, we shared the story of Mustapha with you, our supporters. At a fragile eight months old, Mustapha was diagnosed with biliary atresia, a deadly liver disease that required a transplant. There were no hospitals in West Africa that could undertake this life-saving procedure.
The HealeyIRF team jumped into action and reached out to various children’s hospitals in the area, in hopes that someone would help precious Mustapha.
“We called the University of Pennsylvania, the Children’s Hospital, St. Jude, all of them—nobody would take him unless he lived here so he could have follow-up treatment,” Executive Director Ben Parra recalled, “We found out there was a hospital in India that could do the transplant, but they told us it would cost $30,000. We didn’t have the money to cover it.”
Despite encountering difficulties in the beginning, this story has a happy ending.
You, our compassionate supporters, helped us to raise $45,000 for Mustapha’s surgery. In June of 2018, Mustapha’s mother, Christiphine, donated part of her liver to save her child’s life. After a successful surgery, Mustapha and his family stayed in India temporarily to ensure a healthy recovery.
With a huge thank you to those who support and continue to support the efforts of Healey International Relief Foundation, Mustapha is now happy, healthy and home.
