helen weld public health

Money well spent. . .

Jan. 28, 2009

Last week, Abigail our skills training teacher, normally fairly reserved and shy, came rushing into the office carrying her limp 2-year old daughter Mariama. Abigail was frantic and borderline hysterical knowing that her daughter was very ill and that she had no means to pay for any medical care. It was a very heart wrenching moment to put myself in her situation, imagining the terror and helplessness to see your beloved baby slipping away. Of course, I reassured her that I would help her out with the finances and anything else.

Mariama was hard to rouse, her belly round and her conjunctivae were white….most probably a combination of anemia, worms, malnutrition, generally weakened by a recent case of malaria and an overdose of over-the-counter remedies at home.

Luckily we managed to track down one of the community health officers at Bo Government Hospital and he tended to her rapidly. Realistically, this was mainly because she was accompanied by a “pumoi” (white person). Blood tests were done and luckily it was determined that Edmund, another teacher, was a proper match for a blood transfusion. Finding a donor for blood is the family’s responsibility. There is no blood bank system here to due poor refrigeration because of the inconsistent supply of power.

In Sierra Leone, families of patients admitted to hospital have to go and purchase all medicines and supplies for the hospital stay; including gloves, syringes and in this case, the bags and tubing required for the blood transfusion prior to treatment. These are often not available and results in a stressful wild goose chase around town resulting in the loss of precious time. Families also have to bring in food and bed linen. The nursing care is a pretty bare bones operation too. One gets a pretty good idea why the infant mortality rate in this country is 16% for children up to one year of age. Thank goodness for programs like MSF (Doctors without Borders) which provides free and professional care.

Mariama and Abigail were in the pediatric ward for 4 days. I would check on them several times a day and with each visit I saw a progressive improvement in Mariama. Upon discharge she was looking like another child. Such a relief. I was glad I was able to help them…I have never spent a more worthwhile $12.

Zhao, Helen and Selena with

Abigail and baby Mariama being discharged

Check out this link to http://thacher.org the website of Julia’s former high school, where they have posted a bit of a story. Click on the right side where it reads, ‘(Long Distance) Calls to Service’.