Baby with hydrocephalus at risk of dying - here’s how you can help

*Update: Thanks to all your help and well wishes after we shared this story a few months ago, Baby Long was well on his way to recovery after having returned to Vietnam from Singapore. 

His mother was happy that he was recovering well - it had not been easy for her looking after a sick child alone. But around 5 days ago, the little baby's grandmother noticed a stark change in his skin colour indicating a health issue. The doctors were alerted and they intervened in time. But baby Long's health has since deteriorated once more. 

He has now had a huge 16 operations in his short life of just 18 months. 

We share his story again with the hope that you too will share it with your friends and family to help raise awareness about this little one's plight.

At just 15 months old, Quach Ngoc Long has already undergone ten operations in a desperate bid to save his life.

Born with hydrocephalus, a condition in which cerebrospinal fluid builds up to fatal levels in the brain, the tot has struggled to beat the odds and survive. But his harrowing fight still isn't over. 

Baby Long's plight

Baby Long was born in poverty to a couple from Tra Vinh City, Vietnam. Shortly after birth, the newborn persisted in crying for days on end. His worried family took him to the hospital, where doctors informed them that the newborn suffered from congenital hydrocephalus and that treatment would be expensive.

His father left the family upon hearing this diagnosis. Baby Long's mum, 24-year-old Quach Thi Truc Ha, has thus far brought him up single-handedly, borrowing money and raising donations to save her son.

Hydrocephalus requires surgical treatment to shunt built-up fluid from the brain. Left untreated, the fluid creates harmful and eventually fatal pressure on the brain.

After undergoing his tenth operation in Vietnam, neuro-specialists informed baby Long's mum that he had complications from an infection. Though they could treat him with antibiotics to prolong his life, his chances of recovery were very slim — unless she sought treatment for him in more medically-advanced regions like Singapore. 

The Vietnam team then contacted Dr Rajendra Tiruchelvarayan, a renowned neurosurgeon at Singapore's Gleneagles Hospital. Having received assurance that a full recovery was possible with surgery, the mum and bub flew here hoping that little Long's life can get a second chance at life. 

Baby Long needs your help

Little Long currently awaits life-saving surgery in Gleneagles Hospital. To prevent further complications, doctors have advised that his operation needs to happen as soon as possible. 

To raise money for his surgery, good Samaritans in Singapore have set up a Give Asia crowdfunding campaign. 

All our thoughts and best wishes go out to this mum and her little angel.  

ALSO READ: Singaporeans show love to orphaned Vietnamese baby with brain condition