Hellen is a farmer from Kenya. Hellen, accompanied by her youngest daughter, looks uneasy but confident as she met with our local Watsi rep. She shared a smile as we approached her but occasionally frowns and gets lost in thoughts. She has symptomatic fibroids which have been causing her excessive bleeding since 2015. Doctors recommended a Total Abdominal Hysterectomy-TAH to help stop the prolonged bleeding and relieve her of stomach aches and discomfort.
Hellen’s problem started in early February 2015 when she began experiencing stomach aches and bleeding. She visited a nearby health centre and was treated for suspected ulcers and stomach pains. Although her pains and the discharges kept recurring, she never visited the hospital but was managing the condition with medication from a nearby pharmacy. However, in November 2016 her condition worsened and she was forced to visit a bigger hospital. After a series of tests and visits to the facility, doctors recommended myomectomy. At the time Hellen was taking care of two of her family members, her husband who succumbed to prostate cancer, and a son who has epilepsy. Due to financial constraints, she was unable to get the surgery done and opted not to seek medical attention.
After a while, her daughter mobilized resources from friends and relatives and opted to bring her to Watsi’s Medical Partner Care Center Kijabe Hospital for medical attention. The OBS/GYN team recommended a TAH, of which she is unable to fully cover the cost. She was recently widowed after her husband and the father to her 4 children passed on as a result of his cancer. Her second-born child is suffering from epilepsy and has been in and out of the hospital depleting their family’s already limited resources.
She shared that her kids have been supportive but bills for her husband and his subsequent burial have forced them to seek help from well-wishers and relatives. Her National Health Insurance has not been approved for the procedure.
Hellen lives in a one-acre piece of land in Embu where they practice small scale farming for home use. She was a housewife who relies on her children since her husband who was the breadwinner passed on. She is unable to pay for the cost of the surgery and treatment and hereby requests for help.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $794 to fund Hellen’s surgery. On September 24th, she will undergo gynecological surgery at our medical partner’s care center. Once recovered, Hellen will be able to resume her daily activities free of pain.
Hellen says, “I have lived with pain and bleeding for a long time. I sacrificed the family resources to treat my husband and child. I need help to at least put this pain to a stop.”