With the weather threatening our third and final day of free medical care high in the mountains of Western Uganda, the team dispensed compassionate and competent medical care to hundreds of villagers who would have otherwise never received it if Rebecca didn’t have dreams.
Typically, many of the patients were elderly as they were suffering not only the typical health challenges that come with old age but the consequences of a village lifestyle that compounded those challenges. Things like years of cooking over open fires, fetching water, finding firewood, digging in their gardens, diets largely deficient of protein, sleeping on the ground, drinking contaminated water, exposure to extreme climate changes, etc.
But within that context, there are plenty of wounds that need care, malaria that needs to be diagnosed and treated, as well as other health abnormalities that need attention. We have found that inserted among all those legitimate needs will be one or two patients who need immediate and even life-saving measures. Team members are trained to look carefully for those individuals.
On this particular day, in August 2022, it didn’t take a medical professional to identify the individual who desperately needed special medical intervention. Catherine is a 13-year-old girl whose left leg had increased in abnormal size in a single month. Dr. Dan made a phone call to a colleague who works at the Mbarara Cancer Center over an hour away and arranged for Catherine to be examined for the possibility of bone cancer. Transportation was immediately arranged and Catherine’s medical journey began in earnest.
Medical Team Leader and Director of SOZO Dream Foundation, Rebecca, huddled with one of the team’s young doctors. Dr. Hope agreed to supervise medical care of Catherine since Rebecca had been assigned as a fourth-year medical student to Northern Uganda and would not be able to do it herself. SOZO made a commitment to finding the financial resources to do whatever it took to see Catherine’s life saved at the bare minimum and her leg if possible.
The examination of Catherine’s leg confirmed the suspicion of bone cancer. She was admitted to the hospital in order to be monitored and treated to see if the leg could be saved or would need to be amputated. Catherine had no idea where this journey would lead her, but she was full of gratitude and hope. Sometimes it’s better to know even if the consequences are less than desirable. Had Catherine been left in the village she was certain to die at a very young age.
The following week we received the expected determination that Catherine’s leg would need to be amputated in order to save her life. We prayed for God’s grace to rest upon this young teenager as well as her extended family who never imagined such a traumatic event interrupting their lives. Dr. Hope was a continual source of encouragement as she took needed food and provisions to the hospital for Catherine in addition to her words of hope from the Word of God. Prayer brought supernatural strength to Catherine and she journeyed through her amputation and into a season of chemotherapy.
You can only imagine the adjustments Catherine was facing now that she only had one leg. There were, of course, physical challenges that required getting used to walking with crutches … handmade crutches out of wood that was/are large and heavy … and how to manage the normal activities of life while standing on one leg.
Catherine’s attitude and hope in Jesus have served her adjustments well. Which is a good thing, because the journey was only in its initial stages. There would be various kinds of therapy to adjust to as well as acclimation to village life. Since Catherine lived deep in the village there would be multiple times to travel hours to the Cancer Center and back. Sometimes the trip would be disappointing because circumstances prevented even having a consultation with the doctor. There would be unexpended expenses. Transportation costs would be high as most people in Uganda have to pay for private transportation since a small percentage of the population owns vehicles.
The journey has been hard. It remains a challenge every day for Catherine. She is not a fully grown adult which increases the challenges. The future is unknown but still advances every day. The consequences of attempting to walk on her bulky crutches as a developing teenager are unhealthy. Catherine really needs a prosthetic for this stage of development as well as a new one as she continues to grow. It’s the best option for her. Some would advise letting her become full-grown before she gets an artificial leg. The only reason would be to cut costs.
It’s a tough journey for every cancer patient. But, to be a teenager, from a third-world nation, living deep in the village, with no financial resources … the journey is beyond tough!
There are some generous donors of SOZO who are committed to helping with Catherine’s expenses. We believe there are others who are willing and able to make this journey with her as well. Please communicate with us if you would like to be a part of Team Catherine. If you would like to make a donor-designated donation for Catherine’s care you can click on the very top of this page, make a tax-deductible contribution, and experience the joy of helping Catherine’s dream of walking on two legs come true.