Nineteen-year-old Donnel from Cape Town, who has lived with hydrocephalus since birth, is nearing his crowdfunding target as his family seeks essential support to help him live with dignity and ease the physical strain on his mother. At 19, most young adults are stepping into independence. For Donnel, adulthood has arrived with heavier physical demands and care needs his family can no longer manage alone.
Born with hydrocephalus, Donnel has lived his entire life with a neurological condition that prevents him from walking and leaves him fully dependent on care. He has undergone six major surgeries, survived a stroke and continues to face daily risks linked to seizures and severe skin allergies. As his body has grown, so too has the strain on the only person who has ever cared for him — his mother.
She has been Donnel’s sole caregiver since he was four years old, after his father died of cancer. For the past 15 years, she has managed every aspect of his life: medical routines, hygiene, feeding, lifting and transport to clinics and hospitals. Now, as Donnel enters adulthood, the physical toll has become overwhelming.
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“He can’t be lifted the way he could as a child,” the family explains. “Every transfer from bed to chair, every hospital visit, carries the risk of injury — for him and for his mother.”
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