FREE VENTRICULO-PERTIONEAL (VP) SHUNTING OPERATION FOR HYDROCEPHALUS

In July 2000, a young mother visited the Tzu Chi office in Zamboanga and begged tearfully for the foundation to help her save her child with hydrocephalus. Although just two years of age, her head was almost the size of a steel rim of a typicable Japanese car. When the parents brought her to the Tzu Chi office, the baby lovingly nicknamed “TWEETY BIRD” was placed in a hammock-like blanket as one person cannot carry her alone. Having been formed a few months earlier, Tzu Chi did not have the resources nor the doctors to help her. Tzu Chi Zamboanga volunteers on seeing her sad condition immediately tried raising funds to cover for the surgery. With just twelve original members, the baby died even before enough money was raised. No foundation in the city or in the whole Mindanao helps children needing VP Shunting. A VP Shunting procedure easily cost around Philippine Peso P50, 000.00 for a simple case. A complicated case can cost anywhere from P100-150, 000.00 because of the expensive antibiotics and other medications needed. The VP Shunt alone cost more than P15, 000.00. Because of the prohibitive cost, the indigent parents can only watch helplessly as the head or forehead of their child grows in size and crippling them permanently or dies because of complication. Because of the failure of fluids in the brain to drain properly, it causes a build up of pressure that causes intermittent headaches. They are in great pain constantly. But if the condition is remedied early in life (before six months), VP Shunting can prevent further damage and the baby can lead a "normal" life. Armed with this rainbow of hope, Tzu Chi Zamboanga volunteers made a vow to help any indigent child needing this expensive operation with or without ready funds. To date, all backlog cases at ZCMC have been helped and the program have been expanded to cover the whole Mindanao.