Up To Date,  Old News

 

It was a routine inspection of Keyo Health Centre ...

 

 

Mercifully quiet so there was time to check the books and chat to staff.

 

Then came a very distressed child about nine years old. She was in extreme pain and it was soon apparent that she had a grossly infected knee joint. See the very blurred picture. This shows the poor child screaming.

 

The boring work of saving lives

 

It happened sometime ago when Peter was in Uganda but the story is an every day one. The child was an orphan who had AIDS. The lady looking after her was pressured with the care of her own children - she had a young baby -  and, like everybody in that area, very short of money. Our team Referred her to the local hospital.

 

The Step mother went back to the village to gather her things and this poor child who obviously felt very ill just lay down on the floor.

 

 

 

 A boda was summonsed and all 4 went to Lacor hospital.

 

 

 

The knee was  drained,  antibiotics given and the child was soon home. Without the Health Centre there could  well have been no care whatsoever. The child would have been in terrible pain and with AIDS, could well have died of septicaemia as her immunity was so compromised by AIDS.

 

These are desperate and tragic situations that our health centres deal with every day.