Naomi is a farmer and mom of five. She shared that she is shy and often quiet, but works hard as a maize farmer. She also helps on other people’s farms to supplement their family’s needs since she is a widow. She lost her dear husband while she was three months expectant in 2020 due to a short illness. She had to take up the responsibility of taking care of her family by herself, which hasn’t been easy for her since her husband was the family breadwinner. She lives in a two-roomed house with her mother-in-law with her five children aged between 14 and 1 year.
Around 16 years ago, Naomi began to experience troubling symptoms, including a neck mass that started to grow while she was still in primary school. Before coming to our partner’s hospital, Naomi had tried other means of treatment like herbal medicine, which did not improve her condition. She was then advised by a neighbor who had been treated in our partner’s hospital to come to seek medication.
Naomi has been diagnosed with a multinodular goiter. A goiter is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. She was deemed fit for surgery earlier but she was expectant so her surgery was postponed until after delivery. One year later, she was ready for surgery but had no funds. Naomi has high blood pressure-like symptoms, gets tired easily especially while she is working, coughs frequently with persistent headaches and this has affected her general well-being. She needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare, is helping Naomi receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on November 11th at our medical partner’s care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $936, and she and her family need help raising money.
Naomi says, “My children look up to me, I want to be a strong mother for them. Please help me.”
