To most people, the worst thing that a pimple can turn into is an unsightly scar. But for Abdi Bari Sheikh, the tiny bump grew into a source of unbearable pain and suffering, not just for the 10-year-old but his family.
When the pimple appeared on Sheikh’s neck nine months ago, he thought it would go away in a matter of days. Instead, it grew not just in size but in the intensity of the pain it caused him.
What followed was one misdiagnosis after another which only served to delay proper treatment, thus worsening the problem.
For six months, the Standard Four pupil at Al-Rowdha Primary School Mandera county, was treated at a Mandera hospital for what doctors believed to be tuberculosis. But this did little to assuage his pain.
According to his family, he went for a long stretch of time without being able to eat any solid food and could barely swallow liquids, leading to massive weight loss.
“He had gone for more than 40 days unable to eat or drink anything and we could do nothing but sit and watch as he lost a lot of weight,” says a family member.
Specialised treatment was not an option because the family could not afford fare, let alone cost of treatment, after he was referred to the Kenyatta National Hospital.
“We did not have the money for a bus ticket for the person to accompany him,” says a family member. The situation was made worse by the fact that Sheikh’s father is ailing, leaving most of the burden of managing the day-to-day affairs of the home to his mother.
Sigh of relief
But his family can now heave a sigh of relief after Amref and the National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) agreed to airlift Sheikh and help in meeting the cost of treatment.
“We were contacted about this case by NHIF and we were touched by it so we came in to airlift the boy for free,” says Amref.
KNH says Sheikh requires an operation to remove the tumor and is currently undergoing tests to find out its cause.
Although he looked tired, malnourished and with pain written all over his face as he was being airlifted to Nairobi for surgery, there is hope that an end to the pain that began as a seemingly harmless pimple may finally be in sight.
The post Simple pimple grew into great suffering for boy appeared first on Mediamax Network Limited.