Magidu

We do in different poor and disadvantaged villages where the health services are still very scarce. Yesterday, March 16, 2013, we held a medical mission in ANOTHER remote village in Uganda in the district of BUGIRI.

Our God was faithful, as we were able to treat more than 305 patients with both dental and medical treatment and of those, 27 people gave their lives to Christ. AS we were assessing the patients and giving treatment, a young 10 year old boy by the name of MAGIDU NSEKO was brought to me by his poverty stricken mother and I was so touched by his condition.

This boy came in great pain, was complaining of pain in the pelvic region and in the lower back, and had difficulty in movement (posterior hip dislocation). The mother gave us a history of the boy falling down into a pit about 4 ½ months ago, during a time of playing with other kids. Due to lack of money to take the young boy to the hospital, the boy was just taken home.

Posterior hip dislocation occurs when the head of the thighbone (femur) slips out of its socket in the hip bone (pelvis). In approximately 90% of patients, the thighbone is pushed out of its socket in a backwards direction (posterior dislocation). Being a 10 year old patient with the old hip dislocation, we suspect some more fractures at the head of femur that may be mal-united, so the urgent need is for the boy to taken to the hospital for surgical intervention and treatment.

This kind of condition usually takes 2 to 3 months in children for healing after surgery. Magidu will need to have a 3rd surgery when his bones have fully matured, probably around the age of 18.

By: Dr. Gilbert Birungi, Africa team

"Robert's Cry to Live"

I had heard about little 5 year old Robert for some time before actually getting time to go see him. I was getting updates on him that he had a reputable organization which was interested in taking care of him, so my conscience was comfortable. I was also sending some charitable materials to him and his mother.

When I finally went to see him after the operation I realized that the Doctors had removed his right leg up to the hip. What I saw was a horrid picture of a tiny very malnourished little boy, with a foul smell around his bed. I had gone to the hospital to take some pictures and bring them back to Momma Mary and the FOLA African team, but for any reasonable intervention to be done, I decided that some pictures are best taken by the human eye and stored in the photo gallery of the human brain. So I arranged a day and took Momma Mary and Dr. Gilbert there to see him. They were also shocked and deeply touched by the boy’s situation. It was at this time that FOLA became involved and started the process of saving this boy’s life.

On December 23, 2015, the boy was discharged from the main hospital and we took him to another hospital, where better but more expensive medical care could be offered to him. In a span of a week, his condition greatly improved and he was even able to smile. We knew it was the best Christmas gift anyone could give him! He had to go through theatre (surgery) procedures a few times under anesthesia to explore the whole system, remove puss pockets, and rule out infection in his abdomen. He had terrible constipation, with a shiny bloated abdomen filled with excreta.

In the first week of January 2016, he was transferred to a rehabilitation centre in Entebbe, Uganda where he continued to be managed by a multi-disciplinary team of medical doctors, nurses, nutritionists, physiotherapists, and plastic surgeons, etc. Momma Mary, Dr. Gilbert and I went to see him several times while he was there. During one of our trips there, little Robert was struggling with learning to stand on his one good leg, because he had not stood on it for over 6 months. Momma Mary got down by him and kept telling him over and over again that he could make it…that he could get better and stronger and do it for “Momma Mary and Jesus.” By the time she was done encouraging him, he was saying over and over, “Get better for Momma Mary and Jesus. Get muscles for Momma Mary and Jesus.” Now every time Momma Mary sees him, he says, “Get better for Momma Mary and Jesus.” He is very happy and able to move on crutches. The future plan is for him to be given an artificial leg, but that cannot be for a good while, because his body will need to continue to grow first. Meanwhile, he is a very bright boy interested in his studies and going to school.

Robert’s mother is so very grateful to FOLA for helping restore her son to life.

The father has been put in jail for his part in injecting adult strength medicine in Robert’s legs, which is what has caused him to lose his one leg. Through this 8 month ordeal the mother has lost everything she had. The only belongings they have fit into about a 50 lb feed sack. FOLA is working to try to help get them standing on their feet by helping to pay their house rent for the first few months, help them buy a few belongings, and help establish a small business for them, so they have income.

By: Dr. Cissy Birungi, Africa team

Denavensi

My name is Denavensi. I'm 17 years-old. I have 2 siblings and 3 step-siblings. My mother died when I was 6 years old and I started staying with my stepmother, who mistreated me.

I became sick with typhoid fever when I was 8 years old and my stepmother never minded to take me to the hospital, but when my father saw me, he did take me. My father died when I was still sick. My stepmother never minded to take me to the hospital, so I spent 2 more years sick. Later I was taken to my grandmother's house where I stayed 1 year. All this time I had developed holes on my intestines and feces could just come out. I had to tie a polyurethane bag around my waist (See picture below) to hold them and when it was full, it would be thrown in a pit latrine.

There was a woman named Pastor Rose, who was the pastor in a nearby Christian church. My family never wanted Christianity, as they belonged to a cult church where people were deceived and manipulated in the whole region. One day Pastor Rose announced there would be a free medical mission at her church and they took me there. When they took me to the doctor’s room, I met Dr. Gilbert Birungi, who was moved with compassion.

He saw me and immediately took my photos, talked to Pastor Rose and my grandmother, and said that he was going to do his best to look for help to me get operated on to save my life and save me from the pain I was in. Later he connected me to their friend who was a doctor in the Hoima district, which is near our home district. I was operated on and became very well. When my family saw this, they gave their lives to Christ and became born again.

My stepmother was not happy and began doing witchcraft on me to make me sick again. All she wanted was to see me and my mother's children suffer. So Dr. Gilbert requested my grandmother and Pastor Rose to allow me come to Kampala, so as to study and have a bright future. They accepted and that is how I came to Kampala.

In Kampala I started staying with Dr. Gilbert, who took good care of me and got for me sponsors for my education and teachers to give me coaching. I couldn't even write my own name. I had stopped studying in the village and also the standard there was very low. I kept on improving. I thank Dr. Gilbert, Momma Mary, and my sponsors so much for all they have done for me. Now I can achieve my dream of becoming a doctor, so that I can help those in need, just like I was helped. I thank Momma Mary and the FOLA team for their support to us. I love it when Momma Mary comes on her trips to Africa.

By: Denavenci Nahurira

Testimony of Abigail

Abigail is two years old and has quite a testimony! She was born without an anal opening. She was brought to the Kampala Mercy Health Services Clinic in 2019 by her grandmother, who cares for her. She does not have a father to care for her and her mother just left Abigail, because of all her health issues. 

I contacted FOLA to see if they could help. We came to realize later on that God had started us on a very long journey to help Abigail! Abigail has had numerous surgeries, including removing part of her intestines. She had a temporary colostomy, developed a number of complications, and later developed pneumonia that lasted for months. All of these issues caused her to become underweight. Because of the many issues, we could not complete the surgery to reconstruct the anal opening for a very long time. 

We are very thankful for the FOLA couple who agreed to help meet her nutritional and medical needs, so that she could gain enough weight for the surgery to be performed. We thank God that on September 30th surgery was done to reconstruct the anal opening. She is currently still in recovery in the hospital, but is making progress. We thank everyone who financially supports the medical care services we provide for the people in our community.

By: Dr. Birungi Gilbert