Hawa Kafi
Mother Finds Critical Help at Only Hospital Able to Treat Her
Even today, tuberculosis remains the deadliest infectious disease killer in the world. It can attack various parts of the body, sometimes without symptoms, where it lurks silently as it multiplies. It may attack different organs, even the spine and brain. It’s also highly contagious.
Thankfully, victims can be cured of TB with appropriate treatment if received in time. Hawa Kafi, a mother living in Kacha – a village in the western Nuba Mountains – knows just how lucky she is to be one of them.
Like many victims, Hawa didn’t know she contracted tuberculosis. Her ailment began with back pain – something easily mistaken for other causes. After dealing with the constant pain in her back for a month, she began to notice pain in her legs also. Then her legs began to swell. Frighteningly, they swelled so much that Hawa couldn’t walk or even get out of bed. Her body also burned with a high fever.
When this happened, relatives took Hawa to the nearest hospital in Lwere. She stayed there for twelve days, but only grew worse. Fortunately, Hawa was referred by the hospital to Mother of Mercy in Gidel – a Sudan Relief Fund sponsored facility directed by missionary doctor Tom Catena, who serves as the only residing surgeon.
Although she didn’t yet know it, that referral was critical to saving her life. Mother of Mercy is the only hospital in the region capable of treating tuberculosis and equipped with the necessary medicine to fight it. This is possible because generous donors provide funding for TB and other vital medicines to the hospital that enable Mother of Mercy to save lives like Hawa’s.
Hawa endured a six hour drive by truck to make it to the facility which is the only one of its kind for hundreds of miles. When she arrived, she was immediately diagnosed and put on a protocol of powerful antimicrobial TB medicines.
It was a tough road for Hawa. The disease had taken a powerful toll on her body before she found help. But the relentless regimen of treatment eventually turned the tables on her illness. Five months after being admitted, Hawa at last turned a corner and started to improve. She was moved with incredible joy when she could begin to use her legs again and move around with support.
By now Hawa reports she is doing much better, with only a little pain remaining in her back and right knee. She continues to recover steadily. She knows this is only because of a hospital that was there to offer the help she needed, when her life was on the line.
Dr. Tom and his team work every day to save victims like Hawa from deadly diseases. Your support makes it possible for Mother of Mercy Hospital to maintain vital medicines that are making the difference. Thank you for helping to save lives.
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