Elija S., 12

Twelve-year-old Elijah lives in Kaduna with his mother and siblings after his father passed away two years ago. Because he has a medical condition and an enlarged head, schools rejected him for years and other children were afraid to play with him. Family income is 15000 only hence the struggle. Elijah was born a healthy child, but at three months old, his mother noticed an abnormal enlargement of his head. Tests confirmed he has sickle cell disease. Twelve years ago, following this discovery, the family took him to the Teaching Hospital in Ibadan. The illness has affected his growth and wellbeing. A few days ago, he began complaining of headaches, mother hoped it will pass but it only got worse and she looed for help and was referred to Helpster Charity by a community nurse. Desperate for relief, she brought Elijah to the hospital. At our facility, he was evaluated and diagnosed with Congenital Hydrocephalus.

Elijah Sheriff, a 12-year-old with sickle cell disease and congenital hydrocephalus, was first admitted in April 2026 with headache and convulsions, and then readmitted on June 11th for definitive treatment. On June 13th he had a ventriculoperitoneal shunt removed and reinserted, and the surgery went smoothly with no complications. During his 6-day stay, the neurosurgical team closely monitored him for infection, CSF leakage, and shunt malfunction while providing wound care and regular neurological checks, and he made steady progress. He was discharged on June 17th in stable condition with healing surgical sites, normal vital signs, and satisfactory feeding. Elijah is now on follow-up at the Neurosurgical Outpatient Clinic, where his caregivers are keeping the site clean and dry, giving medications as prescribed, watching for signs like fever, vomiting, irritability, or changes in consciousness, and attending all scheduled visits to support his ongoing recovery.

Elija was diagnosed with congenital hydrocephalus at infancy. There is gait abnormalities and increased reflexes and tone due to the raised intracranial pressure. His brain CT Scan showed markedly dilated lateral and third ventricles with CSF leak. He needs urgent reduction of the raised intracranial pressure, and VP Shunt insertion. If left untreated, congenital hydrocephalus can cause severe neurological complications like permanent intellectual disability, developmental delays, and progressive vision loss, seizures, brain herniation, or coma. Prognosis for congenital hydrocephalus is highly variable but significantly improves with early surgical intervention.