Rebecca is a very talkative and friendly woman. In September 2020, she noticed that her belly had started to increase in size and she thought she was pregnant. During one of the clinic visits, the doctor wanted to listen to the baby’s heartbeat but found there was nothing to listen to so they sent her for an ultrasound. The results revealed an ovarian cyst and her doctor advised her to seek for urgent review in a different facility. At the time, Rebecca did not have money to go for checkup. Her belly grew bigger as time went by and in August, her brother offered her help to support some of her hospital visits. She started visiting different hospitals but could afford them. Her brother recommended she try visiting Kijabe Hospital and upon arrival, she was examined and later was scheduled for surgery.
Rebecca was employed as a tailor, but lost her job due to her health last April. Since loosing her job, she works doing casual jobs, like laundry work and cleaning houses and shops for people. In her new line of work, it is still hard to make ends meet and she shared that she now relies on her friends for connections to put food on the table.
Learning that she might be able to have financial support for her surgery, Rebecca has new hope for the future. She said, “I’m very happy that at least there is some hope that I can get treated.”