MANAK COMMUNITY HEALTH ORGANIZATION (MaCHO)
Stories of hope: september 2022 mission
Alimamy's Story of Hope
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Abubakar's Story of Hope
Meet 8-year-old Alimamy who presented with chronic abscesses. According to his mother, he had been sick for over two years with no improvement, despite a number of hospital visits and treatment using traditional medicine. When he first came to our clinic, we noticed he was unwilling to remove his hands from the top of his head and lower his arms below his shoulders. Because of the abscesses pictured here, doing so caused Alimamy extreme pain.
We immediately began treatment and provided him with the proper medications to relieve his suffering. Shortly after receiving medical care and treatment at our clinic, we were delighted to see such a marked and almost immediate improvement in his condition. We are glad to report that, for the first time in two years, little Alimamy is now able to lower his arms and play without pain or discomfort.
Thanks to donated pain medications, antibiotics, and other medical supplies, we were able to treat Alimamy appropriately and with our ongoing planned case maintenance and management, he continues to improve. Not only has his health improved, but Alimamy’s demeanor has as well. It is amazing how freedom from pain has changed him almost overnight from a sad little boy to the much happier child he has been since he received this free care at our clinic. This would have been impossible without donated medications and supplies, and the support of donors like you!
Abubakar's Story of Hope
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Abubakar's Story of Hope
Meet 45-year old AbuBakar who traveled over 100 miles to receive care at our Yurika clinic. He, like so many of the people we saw, had been unwell for years. After careful evaluation, we determined AbuBakar was suffering from hyperglycemia. His fasting blood sugar was 632 and his A1C was over 13%, at the time we saw him.
AbuBakar was starting to suffer from diabetic complications like acanthosis nigricans and visual disturbances, both of which have improved with treatment. His blood sugar was successfully managed in the clinic with donated diabetic medications and topical steroids were used to treat his rash. He is staying in Yurika village where we continue to monitor him and provide him with appropriate care, thanks to the availability of donated medications and supplies.
“I have suffered with this illness for two years. I heard about this woman in Yurika, so I traveled here to see her. I couldn’t talk or walk when I first came here. What they have done for me . . . I can only thank God, because now I can walk and talk again,” said AbuBakar.
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Meet 63-year old Pa-Kamara, who suffers from diabetic ulcers and poor wound healing. Since coming to our clinic, he has been receiving consistent wound care, antibiotic therapy, and diabetic care. Due primarily to the availability of donated medications and supplies, we have been able to provide the appropriate level of care and medical attention Pa-Kamara needed and we are happy to report that he continues to improve steadily.
Ramata's Story of Hope
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Pa-Kamara's Story of Hope
Meet 14-year-old Ramata, who had to be taken out of school in the third grade due to uncontrolled seizures. Her mother reported she has traveled many places looking for help, but with no consistent results. When they came to our clinic, she told us that Ramata suffered two to three seizures each and every day.
We determined a proper course of treatment and began the administration of anti-seizure and related medications. Thanks to the availability of these donated medications and our ability to provide cost-free medical care, Ramata has been responding to treatment at the clinic and reports only one to two seizures a week. She continues to receive seizure management at the clinic and our ultimate goal is to stabilize Ramatu enough so she can return to the classroom where she belongs.
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Meet 55-year-old Pa-Sillah, who moved from his village and now resides in Yurika, while he receives critical medical attention due to his untreated and uncontrolled Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). He was so ill he could not walk, unaided. Indeed, he had to be carried into the clinic on his first visit because he could not tolerate any form of activity without going into respiratory distress.
The sense of relief Pa-Sillah felt after receiving a nebulizer breathing treatment and the administration of antibiotics and prednisone was palpable. His treatment was, literally, a breath of fresh air to him! It is thanks to the generous donations of medical equipment, including respiratory products, antibiotics, and prednisone we received that he is now stable enough to walk from his adopted home in Yurika to the clinic to receive respiratory treatments, whenever they are needed.
What a life-changing impact the clinic, its dedicated staff, and the treatments we have been able to administer have had on Pa-Sillah health and quality of life!
Mafereh's Story of Hope
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Pa-Sillah's Story of Hope
Meet 22-year-old Mafereh, who is 20 weeks pregnant. She presented with a chronic, reoccurring earlobe keloid infection. Earlobe keloids, especially the ones Mafareh has, are challenging to manage. These benign, fibrous proliferations develop in predisposed individuals at sites of cutaneous injury or as the result of ear piercing, burns or surgical procedures. They usually appear as shiny, smooth, globular growths on one or both sides of the earlobe and patients frequently complain of cosmetic embarrassment, but may also report pruritus, pain, or paresthesia.
Fortunately, we were able to provide the appropriate medical care and attention Maferah needed, and she was successfully treated with antibiotics for the keloid infection. At the same time, we established a plan for her prenatal care, which we consider a crucial step given the disproportionately high mortality rates for pregnant women in this part of Sierra Leone. Maferah currently awaits surgical removal of her earlobe keloids and looks forward to the birth of a healthy child.
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Meet 11-year-old Neneh Hawa who we saw at Gbonkobana Village. Her father reported she had been ill for a month with symptoms consistent with a malarial infection. When we saw her, she appeared pale, fatigued, and was running a fever. We determined the best course to take and began treating her with antimalarial, deworming medications, iron supplements, and oral rehydration salt solution.
The improvement in her Neneh Hawa's health is evident in this picture, which shows her a week later at her home in Gbonkobana, looking beautiful and vibrant again. We are thankful that the donated medications and supplies we received gave us the opportunity and resources needed to treat Neneh Hawa and helped to put a smile back on her face!
Pa-Kolia's Story of Hope
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Meet 53 year-old Pa-Kolia, who presented with painful facial abscesses. He received antibiotic therapy and interdisciplinary care at the clinic and is now stable and doing well. Pa-Kolia will continue to visit the clinic to receive free medical care, as long as he needs it and we are able to provide it. It is because of the donated medications and medical supplies we receive that we are able to treat Pa-Kolia and so many others like him.
Baby Hawa's Story of Hope
Neneh Hawa's Story of Hope
Baby Hawa's Story of Hope
Meet 12-month-old baby Hawa. She was brought into the clinic with convulsions due to a high fever. Aside from concerns about dehydration, Hawa was in danger because high fevers can cause seizures and can be life-threatening.
Remarkably, within hours of arriving and being treated at the clinic, she was stabilized. Hawa was certainly a much happier, healthier little girl when she left that day and she continues to improve, thanks to the availability of donated medications and our ability to provide free medical care due to your generous donations!
Here Hawa is getting weighed on our baby scale, one of the new pieces of medical equipment we were fortunate to have donated to the clinic. Without your support, we would not have been able to provide the treatment that Hawa so desperately needed.
Jariatu's Story of Hope
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Baby Hawa's Story of Hope
Meet 56-year-old Mama Jariatu, who came to the clinic in hypertensive crisis. She had recently lost both her husband and son; she was grief-stricken and her blood pressure was dangerously high. A hypertensive crisis is a medical emergency that can lead to a heart attack, stroke or other life-threatening health problems so we needed to act quickly.
We were very fortunate to have had the medicines we needed when she came to us. We were able to stabilize her because of donated medicines and supplies and she now follows up with the clinic for routine chronic care.
Yillah's Story of Hope
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Meet 24-year-old Yillah, who delivered premature twins and lost one of them a month ago. She arrived at our clinic in status asthmaticus. Typically “severe asthma attacks” like what Yillah was experiencing don't improve with traditional treatments, such as inhaled bronchodilators and they can last for several minutes or even hours.
Determining and administering a viable course of treatment was extremely critical to Yillah's health. Fortunately, thanks to generous donations of medications and medical supplies we were able to stabilize her enough to continue maintenance care through the clinic on an outpatient basis. Yillah is overjoyed to be well enough to care for her new baby!
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Pa-Abdulai's Story of Hope
Meet 74 year-old Pa-Abdulia. He suffered a fall three months ago, fractured his femur, and has been bed-bound ever since. He could not seek care due to lack of access and affordability. Upon hearing of his suffering, we visited his home and created a treatment plan that included antibiotic therapy and pain management.
We are happy to report that Pa-Abdulia is doing much better after three weeks of treatment, case management and follow-up. The swelling to his left foot and his leg has resolved and he can now move around using crutches, with minimal pain. Thanks to your support, we are able to continue monitoring his bone health and assist in rehabilitative support to ensure complete recovery from his accident.
STORIES OF HOPE from march 2022
OUR MISSION @ HOME PATIENT IMPACT STORIES
Abdulrahman's Impact Story
Meet 5-year-old Abdulrahman, my bravest patient. He suffered with severe swelling in his face and upper and lower extremities for over two years, prior to coming to our clinic for help. He likely was very frightened when he came to us; his face was horribly swollen with angioedema. His parents admitted they had traveled to numerous places to be seen by traditional doctors to seek treatment for his condition. Two years he suffered, with no relief!
The day we saw him, Abdulrahman had been treated by a traditional healer at his home. I refer to him as my bravest patient not only because of the years he endured his condition but also because of what he endured from the treatments he had been receiving from these “traditional healers.” His parents were told that by burning his face with hot irons, the swelling would go down and his condition would improve. As a result, Abdulrahman has numerous scars covering his face.
While under our care, we determined that he suffered from Nephrotic Syndrome. After stabilizing him at the clinic, we determined he would benefit from further tests and an examination to ensure our diagnosis was correct and we had not overlooked anything. So we transported him to a local hospital for additional care. While there, they ran blood tests, took x-rays and additional testing confirmed our initial diagnosis. Accordingly, we continued our original treatment plan and he improved drastically over the course of the next few days.
When he initially came to our clinic, he was very wary and would not speak a word to our medical team. Days after we treated him and he had recovered substantially, Abdulrahman not only spoke, but he finally found a reason to laugh. It was so very rewarding to see him smile and reinforced our dream of providing health care to the people of Yurika. Abdulrahman is stable with resolved edema. He continues to need and will receive chronic care management through the clinic, thanks to the availability of donated medications and supplies and our ability to provide free medical care.
Your Support is helping us drive change thank you for the gift of life