Fourteen-month-old Dhabuhi Parmar has been plagued with a rare condition that causes her head to be three times the size of a normal child. In desperate need of surgery to resolve the toddler’s swollen head, Parmar’s mother has resorted to crowd-sourcing the $15,000 needed for treatment.
According to the Huffington Post, a GoFundMe page was started by Caters News agency to raise the necessary money for Dhabuhi Parmar to go through with the surgery to reduce the toddler’s swollen head. The page quickly exceeded its £10,000 goal and is currently climbing from £11,300. To donate to support Dhabuhi Parmar, visit the GoFundMe website here.
Caters also produced a video explaining where the toddler’s swollen head comes from and how it can be cured.
The toddler’s swollen head can be attributed to a severe form of hydrocephalus, which has caused excessive fluid to accumulate inside her skull, resulting in a swollen head that’s 23 inches across. The fluid build-up adds so much weight to Dhabuhi’s skull that it’s virtually impossible for her to lift her head. This means the child is essentially restricted to her bed until the appropriate funds are raised and the procedure is performed.
The surgery would involve draining the fluid from the toddler’s swollen head and distributing it to other parts of the body.
Paediatric Neurologist Dr. Vineet Bhushan from Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi explained the condition.
“Hydrocephalus is a rare condition where the cerebrospinal fluid accumulates in the brain. It could be congenital or acquired which means it could either be by birth or developed by the patient later. The main treatment for this condition is to plant a thin tube called a shunt which helps bypass the flow and drain excess fluid from the brain to other body cavities. This condition is common among children and a patient, if operated at the right time, can be saved.”
The parents of Dhabuhi Parmar live in a remote and impoverished village in India, making it difficult to get medical treatment when it is needed.
“We took her to a few government hospitals in and around our village but they told us they are incapable of treating her and that we should take her to a better-equipped hospital,” said the child’s father. “But the treatment in better hospitals is beyond our capacity.”
He added, “Watching her suffer like this is devastating.”
Shakuntala Parmar, the mother of Dhabuhi, is equally affected by the toddler’s swollen head, claiming that it makes every aspect of life difficult for the whole family, according to the Daily Mail.
“The weight of her huge head is so much that she cannot even sit or crawl. She has to lie down all day and always looks up, as she cannot turn her face. I do not know why God is punishing us. I was very happy when she was born but now, I do not want to see her like this.”
Shakuntala Parmar
Since the toddler’s swollen head was properly diagnosed, her parents have been borrowing money from others out of desperation to provide what little medical care they can. But before the GoFundMe page, her father had resigned to simply making his daughter as comfortable as possible until the condition took her life.
“‘We feel helpless and dejected, so we we stopped taking her to the doctor two months ago and vowed to give her all the comforts as long as she is alive,” he said.
Thankfully, many generous donors have flooded to the GoFundMe site to get help for the toddler’s swollen head. Dhabuhi will be treated by some of the top medical specialists in New Delhi.
[Image credit: Caters News]
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