Besigye is a 51-year-old farmer and a married mother of three children. She and her husband are small scale farmers. Their oldest child is 30 years old and married, while their youngest is 18 years old and in secondary school class six. They work hard to have paid for school fees for their children through their farming, and they own a three-room semi-permanent house.
Nearly 20 years ago, Besigye began experiencing troubling symptoms, including neck swelling, airway obstruction and mild headaches. She was diagnosed with an enlarged goiter, or enlarged thyroid. She visited our medical partner’s care center where surgery was recommended to treat her condition and to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare (AMH), is helping Besigye receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on July 6 at AMH’s care center where surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. The procedure will cost $293, and she and her family need help raising money.
Besigye shared, “I pray that I may be considered for treatment. I am not able to carry luggage with ease and am having airway obstruction. I hope to resume farming as soon as possible.”