I helped nurse my dad when he had an unusual strain over
malaria and was so incredibly ill we wondered whether he’d make it through it
at times.
It’s a horrible disease and makes you so sick
And I knew in my head it was deadly especially to children –
rob would tell me countless times of the children who would die from malaria
that he was treating at hospital.
But I think somewhere in the back of my mind I wondered how
so many children could die from it when treatment was available.
Well now I know.
Hezekiah went from appearing to have a little bit of a cold
– to an extremely high fever, extremely dehydrated – constantly vomiting and
having extreme diarrhea all in a matter of hours.
To say it was scary how quickly he went down is an
understatement.
When Hezekiah started to show signs of a cold, I already had
a flu, so suspected he had the same….. I said to Rob lets go back home ( we were in city to meet with the lawyers
etc)….. when your unwell you just want to be in your own environment.
The main reason we were going home was cause I wasn’t
feeling great – but by the time we got home and had only been there an hour or
so it was very clear Hezekiah was not well at all.
Being that the town we live in is limited in resources and
the hospital very old, we either could take him to that or Rob could treat him
at home where we at least could be sure it was clean, and where we could stay
together the three of us (hospitals are crowded here so no room for mum and dad
to really sleep by a child’s bed)
It was clear he was too sick to travel back to the city.
So thankfully Rob was able to run around and pool the
resources needed to set up Hezekiah on iv line and treatment, needles, feeding
tube and everything he may need.
We had our own little hospital in our little house.
We didn’t leave his side for those first few days – he’s
fever was terrible and we were scared for him.
He had all the symptoms of a child who would not make it
through.
Rob said he lost many children just like Hezekiah
I started to understand how so many children die from
malaria.
Children take a long time usually to show they are unwell –
and by the time they do with malaria it is urgent.
If you live in a village – or have limited money – these
challenges are going to greatly increase the risk that your child would not
make it.
By the time you realize your child is sick, you are on
borrowed time to get them treatment, some if caught really early will respond
well to oral medications, but if you have a child who seems themselves and may
just appear to have a cold for the first part of the disease ( like
Hezekiah)….. by the time they show they are sick they need iv treatment.
People in villages or not near the resources, would then
have to find money for transport, money for accommodation…. Money for
medicines…. This all takes time and would often include the time it takes to
sell a goat, or cow or something….. and the time ticks away….. meanwhile the
malaria is progressing and your child is going downhill quickly…. By the time
you do get to the hospital, you may have to wait…. Wait for a doctor in a
hospital where they are limited…. Wait for the medications….. wait for a nurse…
wait for them to find the resources needed for an iv line.
All the while the clock ticks and your child is now
critical.
To think that if we had waited even a few more hours… or a
day….. or if we hadn’t been able to get the resources needed to stabilize
him…….. scary….. and that’s the case for millions of families..
Not only in Uganda but all over the world where malaria
still kills .
About 3.2 billion people – nearly half of the world's
population – are at risk of malaria.
In 2015, there were
roughly 214 million malaria cases and an estimated 438 000 malaria deaths.
Increased prevention and control measures have led to a 60% reduction in
malaria mortality rates globally since 2000.
Sub-Saharan Africa (this includes UGANDA) continues to carry
a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden. In 2015, the
region was home to 89% of malaria cases and 91% of malaria deaths.
In Uganda malaria is the leading cause of illness and is
responsible for up to 40% of all outpatient visits, 25% of all hospital
admissions, and 14% of all hospital deaths.
Currently, 95% of our
population is at risk,1 and malaria kills between 70,000 and 100,000 children
every year.2 Uganda's high rates of malaria disproportionately affect young
children and pregnant women in rural areas who experience extreme poverty,
limited access to healthcare services, and lack of education.
Malaria has negative
health and economic effects, and restricts the productivity of our population…..
I have had so many people say they didn’t realize how deadly
malaria was – and just what it can do.
We sleep under nets and try and use as much protection on Hezekiah
and myself as possible.
People that have lived here a long time or who are older
eventually develop an immunity towards it, and if get it get a milder case.
But children and pregnant women don’t have that immunity. (
pregnancy lowers immunity)
I pray that Hezekiah and I develop a strong immune sytem and
immunity towards it quickly.
Sadly Mozzies seem to like me…. And Hezekiah seems to have
taken after mummy and not daddy in that regard.
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I AM SO INCREDIBLY GRATEFUL THAT ROB IS SUCH AN AMAZING DR…..
and for God’s healinG power.
Hezekiah spent almost 1 week critical…. 2 weeks extremely
unwell and was back in hospital the second week when they discovered he had a
bacterial infection and multiple virus’s as well.
And he was still vomiting and had diarhea at almost 3 weeks.
Thankfully he now has stopped both of these in the last few days and is
starting to gain his appetite back.
He has lost over 3 kgs and is weak but he will regain his
strength as he improves.
It was an incredibly scary ordeal – but has opened my eyes
to understanding more of the health challenges here and just
what malaria can do to children and how quickly.
We are so thankful to all those who prayed - especially in the middle of the night when we had to rush him to hospital in city after second ordeal.
We thank you for the messages of support and a very special thank you to the person who sent us some extra money after God lead them to - this allowed us to cover all the extra expenses of medications and treatment AND TO BUY DISPOSABLE NAPPIES AND WIPES IN THE CITY - this was much easier and safer than having to hand wash over 10 dirty diarhea nappies everyday - in fact without them I'm not sure what we would have done as it was raining so cloth nappies would not have dried anyways!
Thank you so much to everyone for their love and support!
