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Family struggles to raise money for daughter’s surgery
Mercy Akite. PHOTO/HANDOUT
What you need to know:
- The surgery costs more than Shs50m for both hips.
A family at Amido Village, Alidi Parish, Loro Sub-county in Oyam District has failed to raise the additional Shs25 million needed for their daughter’s hip replacement surgery.
Mercy Hope Akite, a sickle cell patient, needs the money for the second hip replacement surgery if she is ever to walk again.
The 19-year-old developed femoral head avascular necrosis – a condition that occurs when there is no blood supply to the hip joint – leading to the dysfuntionality of the bone. It mostly affects sufferers of sickle cell anemia.
Her mother, Ms Bentorina Akello, 73, took Akite to Lira Regional Referral Hospital from where she was referred to Pope John XXIII Hospital Aber for a CT scan. At Aber, Akite was then referred to Kumi Orthopedic Hospital where experts recommended a total hip replacement if she is to ever walk again.
The surgery costs more than Shs50m for both hips.
The pupil says her condition worsened during the first Covid-19 lockdown, leaving her shrunken and helpless. She says she even missed her Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE), which her classmates sat in 2021. She is, however, willing to continue with her studies in order to become a doctor but this dream can only be achieved if she is healthy.
Ms Akello says she has sold almost all the household possessions but still can not raise enough money for her daughter’s operation. It took the intervention of well-wishers led by Ms Irene Akech, a student of Lira University, to collect Shs30 million, enough for a single surgery. This particular operation was conducted in September.
Ms Akech says after the first surgery, Akite was able to stand and drag her legs with the help of crutches. The doctors say the second operation has to be done within six months for effective results.
Accordingly, Ms Akech and a group of well-wishers have begun another fundraising drive to meet the hospital bill.
