Just about a month ago, he barely looked like a ‘normal baby’. His eyes were swollen and his stomach bulging, making life unbearable for him and his mother.
A frustrated and helpless mother, Martha Addae only wanted her baby boy; Michael, to get medical aid but didn’t have the means to realise that.
For over 12 months, little Michael, whose infected kidney made it necessary that he visits the hospital virtually every month, had been home, unattended to and was increasingly swelling.
A Physician specialist at the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Dr. Mensah Amoah had explained that if his condition; Nephrotic Syndrome remained unattended to, it could have dire consequences on his health.
“When you have these swellings, you are predisposed to infections, you are at risk of developing blood clots within the veins, which if care is not taken, can go into your lungs and cause breathing difficulty and the child can lose his life. Apart from that, because you are losing proteins through the kidney, those proteins can cause damage to the kidney itself and can result in kidney failure,” He said in an interview with GhanaWeb's Wonder Ami Hagan.
He also mentioned that though correctable, treatment had to be consistent for not less than a year and that would sum up to a total of about GHc10 to GHc12,000.
Shortly after the story was aired, many, through various support means, donated monies to help this course. Michael was sent back to the Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital (KATH) where he was initially transferred for treatment, and with the first phase of treatment, his health has significantly improved.
The swellings are absent, and the bulge in the stomach has significantly reduced.
“He is better, we sent him to the doctor and they have started the treatment process so the swelling is gone for now,” an elated mother of Michael explained to GhanaWeb.
“They administered medicines, took blood samples for lab tests and did scans. We were admitted for about a week and two days. But the healing is not complete, Michael needs to keep going to the hospital every month for the entire issue to be resolved,” she added.
Michael’s mother explained how benevolent persons exceeded her expectations with immense support for her son’s treatment.
“I so far have 15,000 cedis. I have so far used about 800 cedis from that money to rent a small place in Kumasi so we don’t have to be going up and down for his reviews for the period because it is very costly and I am not very strong. In total, I've used about 3 to 4,000 so far for his medication and treatment,” she noted.
Expressing gratitude, Madam Martha said,
“I am barely literate, so with the monies I’ve been receiving, if the people call me, I’m able to thank them there and then, but with those who sent without calling, I didn’t know how to thank them. I want to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to anyone who took the pains to extend a helping hand towards my son’s recovery. I pray that God will continuously bless them and replenish their stock,” Martha Addae added.
Meanwhile, Michael is on medication and still under observation.
