Lucy is a middle-aged woman who lives in her ancestral home in Embu, Kenya. She does small scale farming to support herself and keep herself busy. Lucy has three children but mostly relies on her firstborn son who is a teacher, for support. When she was admitted to the hospital for close to two months, she accumulated a very huge bill and the national health insurance program catered for a third of the bill. Her children had to take out quick loans and do fundraising to help raise the balance to get their mother out of hospital. Now for the final surgery she needs, she has depleted all sources of support and her family is not in a position to raise the required amount of money to cater for their mother’s last surgery for her condition.
Early this year, Lucy was diagnosed with cervical cancer stage 1. She underwent surgery and was discharged home in good health. A day later, she was rushed back to the hospital with a swollen abdomen. She was admitted as an emergency, scans were done and it was found that her intestines were injured during the operation. She was rushed to operating theatre and a surgery was done. While in the hospital, the incision wound was infected and her abdomen would swell again. She had two more surgeries trying to correct her condition but it was not helping. The doctors then decided to place a colostomy to help her heal. Her abdomen stopped swelling and the incision wound started healing. At this time, she had stayed in the hospital for more than six weeks and her bill was overwhelming. She recovered well, however, and was relieved to be discharged home. Now she is scheduled to undergo a colostomy closure surgery as the final step in her treatment.
Our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $1,084 to cover the cost of a colostomy closure for Lucy. The surgery is scheduled to take place on September 7th and, once completed, will hopefully allow her to live more comfortably and confidently.
Lucy says, “I have never been in this situation before. I want to get well and resume my daily duties in the farm.”