Premature baby needs million-dollar surgery

Three-month-old D'Shawn Fulconer has never felt sunlight on his skin.

Since arriving 12 weeks early, the Santoy, Hanover, infant has known only the steady hum of machines inside the neonatal unit at Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay. Now, his parents are scrambling to raise nearly $1 million before next Wednesday, when doctors have scheduled a critical surgery to relieve dangerous pressure building inside his brain.

D'Shawn was born prematurely at 28 weeks on November 30, 2025. He has been diagnosed with hydrocephalus and an intraventricular haemorrhage, bleeding inside the brain that has caused excess fluid to accumulate. Hydrocephalus occurs when cerebrospinal fluid builds up in the brain's cavities, creating pressure that can damage brain tissue. In premature babies, bleeding in the brain can disrupt the normal circulation of that fluid, leading to swelling.

"The surgery cost is $991,000 and some cents," his mother, T'Keyah Spence, said. "The doctors said I need $1 million by next week Wednesday for him to do the surgery."

According to Spence, surgeons plan to insert a shunt that will drain the excess fluid from D'Shawn's head to his abdomen, where his body can absorb it naturally.

"Because the fluid should actually be circulating around the body," she explained.

Spence's pregnancy took a frightening turn last November. After feeling unwell, she visited a clinic and was referred to the Noel Holmes Hospital in Lucea.

"When I went to the hospital, they examined me. That's when they sent me to do an ultrasound just to make sure," she said.

Days later, her condition worsened. "In the night I started passing blood and also got blood clots. They rushed me to Cornwall. They tried to stop the contraction, but it only made it worse, so I had baby the Sunday on November 30."

Initially, she was told her son was stable.

"When he came down to the nursery, the report I got was that he was okay and was on oxygen, but after that everything went downhill," she said.

D'Shawn has not left the hospital since birth, but his mother says he has been growing stronger.

"I help to feed him through the tube. I change him if he needs changing. I get to hold him," she said. "I breastfed him once, and he's almost having a full bottle of feeds. The bottle is 60 millilitres and he's now at 55 millilitres. So whenever he puts on more weight, he gets feeds increased every week."

She added, "Other than the hydrocephalus, he's okay."

The emotional strain has been heavy on the mother of four.

"I cried day and night and I was hardly eating. I have four kids and I had to try and be strong for the others. It is so hard," she said.

Before D'Shawn's birth, Spence worked as a cashier but has not returned to her job because the baby is still in hospital.

"And even after he gets discharged, I would like to take care of him, so I'm jobless for now," she said.

Each day, she travels from Hanover to Montego Bay to visit her son. Visiting hours run from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., but she balances hospital trips with caring for her other children.

"I reach up after 12 and leave 4:30 or five. If he's awake, I put him to bed first and then I leave," she said.

On weekends, she arrives earlier but must leave before nightfall because buses stop operating after certain hours to Lucea.

"It is a lot, but I love my children and do what I must for them," she said.

With the surgery set for next Wednesday, the family is urgently appealing for public assistance to help cover the cost and give D'Shawn a fighting chance.

"He's almost three months old," Spence said softly. "All I want is to take him home."

Persons wishing to assist baby D'Shawn Fulconer may contact his mother T'Keyah Spence at 876-491-2381 or donate to NCB Lucea Branch, savings account #754356561.