Florence is a small scale farmer from Uganda. She travelled across eight districts to reach Nyakibale Hospital, seeking treatment. She was directed to the hospital by a program beneficiary, a bodaboda taxi driver who had faced a similar condition. She works as a farmer, cultivating food crops such as beans, maize, and potatoes primarily for home consumption. Any surplus from her harvest is sold to generate income for her family. Unfortunately, she never had the opportunity to receive an education due to a lack of school fees, which limits her employment options. Her husband is also a farmer, and they have six children, all currently pursuing their education.
24 years ago, Florence began to experience troubling symptoms, including a large anterior neck swelling. Initially, it was not painful, but over the last six years, she has been experiencing persistent headaches, heart palpitations, shoulder heaviness, and respiratory symptoms such as shortness of breath and difficulty breathing. Upon consultation with a doctor at Nyakibale Hospital, she underwent an examination and was subsequently advised to undergo a special scan. She was diagnosed with giant goiter and needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Florence receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on October 24 at our medical partner’s care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $252, and she and her family need help raising money.
Florence says, “I hope to be relieved from the pain I have been having for 24 years and to gain a complete recovery.”