Joseph Brown has been in the world for only five months, yet he is already facing a large obstacle to his development. That is if his mother does not find the money to do a test so he can receive urgent surgery.

Brown has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus, sometimes called water on the brain. The condition, according to United State's-based National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, "is excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain."

Kerine Sewell, Joseph's mother, said he has also been diagnosed with meningitis and has developed an infection in one of his kidneys. He also has trouble seeing and hearing. "It's painful, he cries a lot and without the scan, he can't do the surgery and him head keep growing. It is now 49 cm, which is above normal. The doctor says that is the size of a two-year-old's head, " Sewell said.

She added that her son needed to have a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination done so doctors could see exactly how much of the brain had been affected and exactly how to operate.

That will cost her $45,000. However, with the free health care, she will not have to pay for the surgery. He also needs to have ear and eye assessment tests done and that costs $4,000 each.

She is pleading for help to have her son do the MRI soon so he can get the surgery as quickly as possible. "The doctor says if he gets the surgery, the water that surrounds the brain would flow into his body and pass out and his head would stop grow," she said.

A single, divorced mother, she said the responsibility of caring for her sick son has been left to her. "I am a single parent. I was trying to get help from my church, but they cannot come up with it (the money)," she said.

Anyone wishing to assist Sewell and her son are asked to contact them at 567-7372 or 438-1391.