Mutabaazi is a 17-month-old boy from Uganda whose family describes him as a very jolly kid. He has one sibling– a three-year-old sister. Mutabaazi’s mother is a housewife and his father is a cattle keeper who works for someone else. Both are migrants originally from Rwanda, and they have no piece of land or house of their own.
When Mutabaazi was six months old, his mother noticed a swelling on his right scrotum. She took him to a health center where he was given injections and told that the swelling would go away, but nothing happened.
Mutabaazi has since been diagnosed with a right inguinal scrotal hernia, a condition in which part of the intestine protrudes through the lower abdominal wall and into the scrotum. The swelling increases in size when Mutabaazi laughs or cries.
Mutabaazi’s mother is worried about her son’s condition. When he is in pain he cries a lot and sometimes he stops playing and appears sickly. At these times, Mutabaazi’s mother cannot get her work done as she has to pay him full attention. However, she was not able to bring her son to the hospital because she knew she wouldn’t be able to afford the bills. If not treated, Mutabaazi may suffer intestinal incarceration, obstruction, or strangulation.
The salary Mutabaazi’s father earns is not even enough to sustain the family, and they therefore seek assistance to cover the cost of hernia repair surgery for their son. During the surgery, which costs $220, doctors will return Mutabaazi’s herniated tissue to his abdominal cavity and repair the weakness in his abdominal wall. This procedure will eliminate the aforementioned risks and put an end to Mutabaazi’s pain.
After surgery, Mutabaazi’s mother hopes to have peace of mind, do her house work without interruption, and to know that her son is in good health.
