Fitsum is a ten-year-old boy from Ethiopia who is currently in the third grade. Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation (AMHF), shares, “Fitsum was viciously kicked by a neighborhood child about one year ago. Though he suffered pain he continued to go to school until about two months ago when he was unable to continue to walk to school and participate in school activities.”
Fitsum’s injury caused him to develop osteomyelitis, an infection of the bone, in his left femur. Some of the bone has died due to lack of blood flow to the area, forming a sequestrum, or a piece of dead bone that has separated from the rest. Fitsum requires surgery to remove the dead bone tissue so the remainder can heal. “If not treated, Fitsum’s leg could become deformed or develop severe infection that would result in amputation,” says AMHF.
In order to provide for him and his 14-year-old sister, Fitsum’s mother cleans and washes clothes for neighbors. She is a single parent, divorced from her husband. “The family lives in a rented house, and has no relatives in that area to offer support,” AMHF tells us. Fitsum’s mother needs assistance to cover the $535 surgical procedure to heal Fitsum’s femur.
“When the bone heals, Fitsum should be able to walk well again and live a normal life,” says AMHF. “When asked about his hope for his future, Fitsum hid his head in his mother’s shoulder. He later whispered to his mother that he wanted to be a preacher someday.”
