Matteo LombardiUNIVERSAL FUND MEMBER
Matteo's Story

Matteo joined Watsi on July 11th, 2016. Three years ago, Matteo joined our Universal Fund, supporting life-changing treatments for a new Watsi patient every month. Matteo's most recent donation traveled 4,000 miles to support Mervi, a two-year-old boy from Venezuela, to heal his clubfoot.

Impact

Matteo has funded healthcare for 62 patients in 14 countries.

patients you have funded

William is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. He is a married man with twelve children. Some of his oldest children are married while others are still in school. William and his family live in a semi-permanent house. He has been a long-term potato farmer who has been growing them mainly for sale. His family has worked on their farm and it has contributed a lot to their income. Through the limited income William makes, he has been able to provide for his children's basic needs. William has medical insurance that he has been using throughout all his visits for inpatient and outpatient services for his medical procedures. In May 2019, when William was walking along the road, he was hit by a motorbike and he fell down, thus injuring his lower limb. Immediately, he was taken to a facility where he was admitted and surgery was done.  All was well up to last year when he started feeling unwell and decided to visit our partner's hospital. He presented with a lot of pain, he had a wound that was discharging pus, and his affected limb was swollen. An x-ray was recommended and it found that he had a non-union on his fractured bone and he had to be admitted for hardware removal, as it was already infected. He went to the operating theater for infected hardware removal and antibiotic nailing was done in order to treat his infection.  Since the nail was not stable, a patella tendon-bearing cast was applied in order to immobilize his non-united fracture. He has been in and out of the hospital for frequent check-ups, change of dressing, and casts. The wound has not improved and at some time after the antibiotic nailing, he went to the operating room for debridement and vacuum-assisted closure of the wound to help in healing and daily dressing change has been done in a health facility near his home. He also suffered eye problems in between and can barely see at the moment. On Monday when he came for review, his wound was not well and had a foul smell. His hardware needs to be removed, the non-union has to be taken down and a procedure will be done for stability. He was prepared for admission, but then it was realized that he had exhausted his inpatient insurance limit. In order to save his leg, it is vital to perform the surgery immediately. William has no alternative way of paying for his procedure, which is very complex. Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On December 7th, William will undergo a fracture repair procedure that will help William to be able to walk normally and continue with farming to provide for his family. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $679 to fund this medical care. William says, "Spending most of the time in the hospital has been quite challenging. I cannot work or supervise my work as I did before because of my fractured limb. I am really looking forward to getting better in order to stabilize my family again. Please help me."

94%funded
$642raised
$37to go

Beatrice is a student in the fourth grade but has been unable to continue with her studies since she her injury on her right hand. She lives with her parents and four siblings in a one room rental house. Her parents are part-time workers with an inconsistent income and cannot afford her surgery. They are relying on well-wishers to pay her medical bills. Beatrice sustained a burn on her right hand in early June. She accidentally slipped on boiling water as she was getting out of the bed and sustained serious burns on her right arm. She was admitted to Kiambu Level Five Hospital and stayed there for almost three months where a debridement and a skin graft was done but failed. Her mother shares that the wound has been discharging pus. She was reviewed at our medical partner Kijabe Hospital and doctors agreed that she needs several debridement and skin grafting sessions to save the hand from amputation. She is in pain and unable to use her hand and has not been going to school since she had the accident. Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Beatrice receive treatment. On October 11th, surgeons will perform a debridement and skin graft procedure to aid in the healing of the wound and help her use the hand again. Now, Beatrice needs help to fund this $1,185 procedure. Beatrice's mother says, “My baby has not been attending school since the accident. Her hand has a foul smell, and it might be cut if not treated.”

$1,185raised
Fully funded