Prime
Mother seeks help for sick daughter
Ms Milika Anguko carries her daughter, Blessing Osutaru, at home in Arua on Wednesday. PHOTO | CLEMENT ALUMA
What you need to know:
- The girl, Blessing Osutaru, is also suffering from a condition where the femur bone is not connected to the socket joint, which has made her mobility a challenge.
A mother of an 8-year-old girl suffering with Down Syndrome in Arua City has appealed for help for her infant saying she is unable to meet all her needs.
The girl, Blessing Osutaru, is also suffering from a condition where the femur bone is not connected to the socket joint, which has made her mobility a challenge.
Ms Milika Anguko, 33, a single mother and a security guard at Arua Main Market, said she needs financial assistance in securing a wheelchair for her daughter.
“She needs a wheelchair so that she can start going to school and begin developing competencies. I also need money so that she can be operated at Mulago hospital,” Ms Anguko told this publication on Wednesday.
She said one of the signs of her daughter’s medical condition was her failure to sit when she was more than three months old.
“At birth she was fine, But after some months, I started realising something abnormal. When I took her to a paediatrician at Arua Regional Referral Hospital, the doctor said she has Down Syndrome,” she said.
Dr William Ociti, a medical doctor at Arua Reg hospital, said: “The child has already been enrolled on physiotherapy so that she will be able to sit or stand. It is important for parents to keep returning for reviews.”
Ms Jean Longo Ayikoru, the Arua city community development officer in charge of special needs, has advised Ms Anguko to first get an assessment of how much money will be needed for such services. She also advised Ms Anguko to travel to Bidibidi in Yumbe District to get assistive devices.
The World Health Organisation SAYS Down Syndrome occurs when an individual has an extra partial (or whole) copy of chromosome 21. It is not yet know why this syndrome occurs. It can affect the development of an individual’s brain and body.
