BABY Brody Dean van der Schyff, born on March 15, 2021, was admitted to Kingsway hospital with neonatal sepsis and jaundice, four days after being born.
After three unsuccessful lumbar punctures, doctors managed to test the spinal canal fluid and the result came back positive for meningitis.
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After spending most of his life in hospital with continuous tests, scans, treatments and bacteria infections, baby Brody was diagnosed coloboma, heart defects, atresia choanae, growth retardation, genital abnormalities, and ear abnormalities (CHARGE) syndrome, thereafter a CT scan revealed he had Horseshoe kidneys amongst his other pre-existing medical conditions.
Horseshoe kidney occurs in about one in 500 children. It occurs during fetal development as the kidneys move into their normal position (near the middle of the back, just below the ribs, on each side of the spine).
With horseshoe kidney, as the kidneys of the fetus rise from the pelvic area, they become attached (‘fuse’) together at the lower end or base, much closer to the front of the body than normal.
“The #brodychallenge is a BackaBuddy campaign to raise funds for his specialist visits for his kidneys as our medical aid does not cover it.
We need R2 000 for March 9, in order to attend the consultations at the two different hospitals in Durban to see the Nephrologists and the Pediatric specialist surgeon to try find him a way forward as we can no longer carry on like this, we have spent every second week in hospital the last two months again and it’s mentally physically and financially draining.
We just want Brody to be pain free and to start achieving his milestones at home,” said his mother, Samantha van der Schyff.
The campaign urges people to donate R50 towards baby Brody’s upcoming specialist visits, and challenge five other friends to do the same.
“Brody’s future treatment plans for his kidneys are yet to be discussed at the appointments. Once we know the cost of the scans and medications we will the start raising funds for that,” said Samantha.
She also said she was grateful for all the support from the community and the contributions to the fundraising efforts.
For more information, visit their Facebook page (Brody in Charge) or banking details: S.Venter, Capitec Bank, account number: 1637374427, branch code: 470010, reference: BBkidney
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