Parents seek aid for toddler's treatment

Dubai : The parents of a Filipino boy, who will turn two on January 15, have appealed to the community for help in giving him the gift of hearing.

Rowena and Wayne Puras, a Dubai-based couple, told XPRESS that their son, Braeden Enzo Manuel, does not respond to sound at all and lacks speech and language development.

"Doctors at the American Hospital have diagnosed him with a condition called profound sensorineural hearing loss (bilaterally), with the left ear being poorer than the right," said Rowena.

While the solution lies in getting Manuel a cochlear implant - a device that is implanted into a person's inner ear - its costs are proving to be prohibitive for his parents. Wayne is a salesman at a retail store while his wife is an office secretary. "We tried to get a bank loan, but were not successful," said Wayne, adding that their combined monthly income is around Dh11,000.

They had been given a total estimate of Dh216,275 for the cochlear implant device, surgery and rehabilitation by the American Hospital, Wayne said, adding that the cost is around the same in the Philippines as well. "This is a massive amount to raise, but our aim is to reach 200,000 people who would be willing to spare a dirham each for Manuel," he said.

"We don't know so many people and are banking on collective effort of individuals to raise the amount," he said, adding that friends had put up a website for Manuel: www.wix.com/hear4enzo/fund.

If you want to help, please write to us at editor@alnisrmedia.com