Racheal is a student from Uganda. She is pursuing a diploma in public administration at Kampala International University in her final year. Her parents are involved in business, with her father selling onions and her mother being a small-scale farmer. She is the second born in a family of seven children attending primary and secondary school. She appeals for your support for her surgery to maintain good health.
She had gone to Nsambya Hospital in Kampala, where she was given drugs to relieve her from complications and high blood pressure. She was also counselled about surgery, but due to her parents’ financial constraints, she left and resumed school. However, her condition continued to worsen until she heard about the potential to have her surgery support by donors at Nyakibale hospital, so she sought help.
Six months ago, Racheal began to experience troubling symptoms, including difficulty breathing, and her speech has changed as she no longer speaks in a high tone. She reports easy fatiguability even with small activities. There is disfigurement over her neck, causing discomfort and making her worry about her progress. She also reports a high appetite and a high metabolic rate with decreased weight.
As a student, concentrating is difficult for her, as her peers laugh at her. She was diagnosed with Thyroid goiter. The thyroid is the gland located in front of your neck and produces thyroid hormones. These hormones are responsible for functions such as metabolism, growth and other bodily functions. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Racheal receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on January 23rd at Karoli Lwanga Hospital. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help raising money.
Rachael says, “I am unable to raise money for the surgery since my parents too are financially unstable, and I kindly appeal for your support to restore my health for a better life as I complete my course.”