When patients are simply referred to local hospitals for treatments many times they still fail to receive the actual treatment they need due to lack of resources, lack of confidence, or lack of a true understanding of their medical problems. For all of these reasons, MEDLIFE has developed a year-round patient follow-up process. We support our patients in many ways. We provide financial resources for treatments, emotional support, nutritional assistance for malnourished families, and educational resources to help individuals better understand their conditions.
Meet some of our follow-up patients in Tanzania!
CAROLINE MOSHA
Let me introduce you to Caroline Mosha! Caroline is a six year-old girl, living in the community of Kilema-Moshi. She became a MEDLIFE follow-up patient in May of 2017.
Caroline is a charming young girl who was diagnosed with chronic tonsillitis at a mobile clinic and subsequently enrolled into our patient follow-up program.
We made our first visit to Caroline’s home on August 11th, 2017 with Dr. Geofrey, a mobile clinic physician. This was the first time we were able to discuss Caroline’s treatment plan with her and her siblings.
During the visit, Dr. Geofrey recommended that Caroline undergo a tonsillectomy to cure her tonsillitis. After everyone agreed to her treatment plan, we then made an appointment at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre’s ENT Department. Caroline went in for a medical consultation on August 18th, 2017 and the doctor recommended the surgery be performed as quickly as possible, as Caroline’s tonsils were quite enlarged and caused her discomfort, especially at night.
The doctor scheduled Caroline to be admitted into the hospital on August 21st, 2017. However, when we arrived to the hospital we were told that there were no available beds because the hospital’s capacity had been reached. The hospital staff could only recommend that we return the following day and try again. On August 22nd, 2017 a bed finally became available and Caroline was admitted to KCMC. Caroline was operated on a day later and had a successful surgery with no complications. Her surgery went so well that the doctors discharged her the following day! We are very thankful that Caroline had a successful surgery and no longer suffers from tonsillitis.
THERESA MZAVA
This young girl is named Theresa Mzava. She is eleven years old and lives with her parents and four siblings. One day, she was helping her parents prepare food for the family when a part of her headscarf caught fire. She tried to remove the cloth herself but was unable to.
Fortunately, her father heard her screams and came running to help her. Theresa’s father removed the burning piece of cloth but she had already been burned on her head, back, and buttocks.
Theresa’s family took her to the hospital where she was given medication and treated for her injuries. However, as the days went on, Theresa’s family could not afford to pay the medical bills associated with her treatment, and she was discharged from the hospital.
Shortly after being discharged, we met Theresa at a 2016 mobile clinic in her community, Kilima mswaki. After we spoke to Theresa’s mother, we agreed to assist her with the cost of Theresa’s medications until she made a full recovery.
However, shortly after Theresa became a MEDLIFE follow-up patient her family experienced another tragedy: her family’s house collapsed due to heavy winds and rains. While this could have put Theresa at a higher risk of infection while she recuperated, a neighbor kindly offered to take Theresa in while her family rebuilt their house. In the summer of 2017, Theresa made a full recovery.
WILSTANELY MAKERE
Meet Wilstanely Makere! He is 53 years old, and lives with his wife in the village of Kitifu. He is also the father of two children. Wilstanely suffered from a hernia for over three years, but was unable to go to the hospital for medical treatment.
In January of 2016, MEDLIFE conducted a mobile medical clinic in his community, where he was immediately enrolled in our patient follow-up program.
We worked with him to help him get the hernia operation he needed and now he has fully recovered!