If only she could smile
I’d like you to meet my little friend Rhoda. She is 10 years of age, has a calm, assured, friendly, strong character. She is a beautiful young girl who has suffered a great deal in her short little life.
Professionally I have struggled with her situation, functionally her disabilities limit her speech significantly, she is barely able to move her jaw to chew or open her mouth. It is affecting her swallowing, her nutrition, her oral hygiene, and is a constant cause of infection.
Personally I can see a ten year old girl with a terribly disfigured face. She cannot smile. and she looks remarkably different than her peers. She currently lives in a supported and loving environment, but it only makes me sad to think of her future as a young teenage girl.
Rhoda was orphaned as a baby and developed cancrum oris (wasting of skin and tissue) around her mouth from chronic malnutrition. After being admitted into the SOS village she underwent some surgeries that were less than ideal in correcting her troubles. I have decided to share her story with you as we progress through the journey of trying to help this young girl.
Over the next month or so I hope to share with you some results of data I have been collecting on trends in disabilities and the medical centre, and rather than boring you with statistics I wanted to share a story as well. Although only one story, Rhoda’s is sadly like many others. Firstly in a developed country she would have had access to professionals who could help her… but even more devastating.. in most countries around the world, she would never have suffered this disfigured condition in the first place.
Stay tuned…
posted by tj-in-malawi @ 11:19 PM
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5 Comments:
How much medical intervention does Rhoda require? Is it a fairly simple procedure and what sort of costs would it take to either get the operation done in Malawi or to bring her to Australia/UK etc?
I wonder if a service organisation such as Rotary or Apex could be involved?
Hi, I found your blog via Digger Randle's list. I worked on Mercy Ships (a Hospital on water) in 2002. We did a lot of surgeries for people with much the same problems as Rhoda. We were in Gambia at the time but had people meet the ship from as far away as Ethiopia. The current Ship 'The Africa Mercy' works all over the horn of Africa. I'd really encourage you to contact them, they are an incredible organisation filled with caring and loving people. They may be able to offer sponsorship or a way to access funds for the journey. The address is http://www.mercyships.org.au/what_e.php
God bless, keep us posted on your needs and progress
Hi TJ, I've recieved a reply from the letter I sent to Mercy Ships, It's a bit long for a blog post, do you have an email address I can forward it to? You can contact me at williams.no2@gmail.com
I look forward to hearing from you. God bless
Hi TJ, I've had another email from Mercy Ships and hope to hear more soon. They may be able to offer alot of information on how to help Rhoda and others with similar conditions. I'd love to hear from you so I can share what I've learned. God bless, karyn
Hi Karyn, thanks so very much for your comments and making contact with mercy ships!! i sent you an email at the address you posted, but not sure if it got through! i would love to hear more!!! I can be contacted at tamara@africa-online.net look forward to hearing from you! thanks again, you are a blessing!!!!!
Hey David, thanks also for your questions!! i always love reading your comments, sorry its been so long since i have read any! i will post another big update on rhoda soon. But we are hoping to get her to Aus for the first surgery, which will be the biggest i would imagine...but she will need ongoing surgeries in the future!!! I have approached rotary here...but not really something they can do! to many similar cases over here!
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