Alice, a 45-year-old woman from Kenya, is a hard-working single mother of two children. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), explains that Alice has been “working as a security guard” to support and educate both of her children. Recently, however, Alice was involved in a pedestrian accident—leaving her with serious injuries.
According to AMHF, “in May 2015, when Alice was going to work, she was hit by a vehicle.” The impact of the crash left her with “multiple fractures on the left leg.”
After being rushed to the hospital, the doctors applied a bandage to Alice’s leg and recommended a more complex operation—an open reduction and internal fixation (ORIF) surgery. However, this advanced procedure was too expensive for Alice to afford, causing her to delay treatment.
As AMHF explains, Alice’s symptoms continue to persist several months after the accident. “Alice is experiencing pain and is unable to use her left leg,” AMHF states. “If not operated on, the bones may fail to unite and Alice may become disabled.”
Her broken leg limits her ability to work and Alice is unable to earn a regular income—straining the family financially. In trying to balance her reduced income and determination to support her children’s needs, “Alice has been postponing the treatment.”
With $1,125 of Watsi funding, Alice will receive the ORIF operation that she urgently needs. In this two-part procedure, the bones in her left leg will be returned to their correct position. Afterwards, internal fixation devices (metal rods and plates) will be inserted. The metal devices will provide support and structure to the bones as they grow—allowing Alice’s leg to heal correctly.
In addition to her surgery, Alice will receive two weeks of hospital care and ten days of physiotherapy. AMHF says, “We expect that after her ORIF, the bones will unite. Alice’s leg will be well again and she will be able to work and support her family.”
Alice shares, “it has been three months now and I have not been able to get the correct treatment. I am worried my bones may refuse to unite and the pain is very distressing. I hope that Watsi can offer me support and that my surgery will be successful, so that I can go back to work and take care of my children.”