Lydia is a small-scale farmer from Uganda who attended school up to primary school class seven. She is a mother of six, and she and her husband both practice farming to support their family. They live together in a three-room mud house that they own. Their firstborn is 27 years old and recently completed a certificate in nursing, and their lastborn is 11 years old and currently in primary school class four.
One year ago, Lydia began to experience troubling symptoms, including a severe cough, anterior neck swelling, excessive sweating, and mild dizziness. She also gets tired when walking even short distances. As a result, she has had to completely stop farming. She was eventually diagnosed with a toxic nodular goiter, which is an abnormal enlargement of the thyroid gland. To prevent her symptoms from persisting and worsening, Lydia must undergo surgery.
Fortunately, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is helping Lydia receive treatment. She is scheduled to undergo a thyroidectomy on August 13th at our medical partner’s care center. During this procedure, surgeons will remove all or part of her thyroid gland. This procedure will cost $333, and she and her family need help raising money.
Lydia says, “I pray that I may get well and normal again through surgery so that I may resume farming and be able to further develop my family.”