Little cousin

I received the saddest news from Brazil already some time ago. My husband's cousin's little son was diagnosed with Werdning-Hoffman desease, one type of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). It's genetic and incurable and the life expectancy for children his age (now 7 months) is usually less than two years. He was diagnosed with the type I SMA and this means he will probably never even sit by himself. There is more information on the condition here.

A local newspaper published an article with the cutest picture of the little one. You can see that here. My husband told me the whole town is contributing in one way or another. Currently family and friends are building a new room for the family's very simple and small wooden house. This is to be the little boy's room whenever he gets home from the hospital. He will need an intensive care unit at home complete with breathing aid and everything.

The parents are both teachers and have a regular middle-class income. Needless to say their income doesn't get even close to covering the cost of the baby's treatment in a São Paulo hospital let alone the ambulance flight that will be needed in order to get him home whenever he's released from the hospital. I don't even imagine how his care will be arranged once they're back at home in our small and fairly remote little town.

Yesterday I shared the story at church and said I wasn't asking for money but for prayers. I said, however, that if someone felt in his heart to give something I'd send it over to them. After the service a man came up to me and simply handed be some money. I thanked him and just put the money in my purse. Only later I counted it and saw that he had given € 65 to a baby boy he had only just heard about for the first time.

If anyone reading this wants to pray for the family please do - they're born-again Christians and will surely appreciate your prayers!