Twikirize is a hardworking 54-year-old farmer from Uganda. She and her husband both practice farming. She is a mother of nine, most of whom are grown up and no longer live with her. However, her youngest child is fourteen years old and currently attends primary school.
Twenty-five years ago, Twikirize began to experience troubling symptoms, including a small neck growth, which has since progressively increased in size. Although she initially thought she could live with the swelling due to it being painless, she recently began to experience pain and discomfort, especially while eating. Twikirize has also began to experience difficulty speaking, and she can no longer turn her neck easily, which greatly affects her farming. She was diagnosed with non-toxic nodular goiter, meaning she has enlarged thyroid glands. She now needs surgery to prevent her symptoms from getting worse.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Twikirize receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on July 16th at our medical partner’s care center. Surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $333, and she and her family need help raising money.
Twikirize says, “…I want to live a normal and free life again and be able to continue with farming to provide for my family.”