| October 2024 report: The value of wheelchairs for our patients |
| Acheru deals with a lot of Cerebral Palsy patients; their experience and expertise can do a lot for many of these children, though while for some there is dramatic improvement others will continue to have serious problems. We need to think about the significant differences in dealing with very young CP children and the needs they may have as they grow older. Thankfully, the work of Acheru can convince parents to accept a child and realise that they have potential, but even the most caring of parents will struggle as a child with serious mobility problems grows older and heavier. The children in the following report are some of those Acheru has been able to assist with wheelchairs, but a wheelchair is only part of the solution. Acheru work not just with the child but with the family and it's clear that a caring family is the most significant influence, making the work of Acheru so much easier. With too many children it's a major effort to convince families that something can be done to help and that the child is worth helping. Even with the best efforts of the community team a CP child faces a bleak future unless the parents are accepting of the child's condition and convinced of their potential; they can then be shown how they can help. |
| COMMUNITY REPORT by Rose Nakabugo: |
| The following Cerebral palsy children are some of those who benefited from the CBR program providing wheelchairs. They are now old older with physical problems and are still receiving some support in dealing with the challenges of their lives. |
| KIBIRIGE JACKSON, 21 years old, is one of ACHERU's older patients with Cerebral palsy. He has been in the program for years. The team has been following him up for emotional support to the single father and help with some of his needs. He is among the beneficiaries who received a wheelchair. He has been so heavy that the father and siblings couldn't lift him anywhere. |
| Father says "I have aged and the boy is about my height and weight, taking him anywhere hasn't been an easy task for me with out a wheelchair. Thank you so much". |
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| He has been spending most of his time laying down on ground because he cannot sit on his own. He understands everything although he doesn't talk. We hope that the wheelchair will ease his life with sitting for some hours in a day and he can also now be taken to attend church. |
| NAKINTU HOPE, 20, is another old client of Acheru and Cherub, staying with her single mother. Hope is a very happy girl who can also understand everything. She is able to sit but cannot walk. Her mother has been finding challenges carrying her because she is heavy. |
| Mother says "I developed many complications ever since I gave birth to my child. Being a single mother is not easy and now that my girl is a grown up she is so heavy. My chest and back hurts so much and I developed headaches. Thank you for the help always. |
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| "She loves being around people but the challenge was moving from one place to another, going to church every Sunday and visiting her nearby grandmother are the favourites things for her. We hope that the wheelchair will make best days lovely when she reaches places she loves". |
| NAMATIWA FRANK is a 10 year old boy staying with his aunt after being abandoned by the parents. Frank is a happy boy who loves Jesus so much. He doesn't say out many words but ever since he was taken to church he learnt a word 'Hallelujah' and this the word he uses while greeting everyone who visits their home. The aunt said: "It has not been easy for me to lift him up and going anywhere. I developed a severe chest and back pain and I didn't know what to do about it." |
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| This was limiting her from taking him to different places such as the church which he loves most. Getting him a wheelchair was a dream come true for the boy because he knew he was going to church on Sunday. |
| KIGOZI SAUL, 22 years old with Cerebral palsy is another old client who benefited from a wheelchair. He is a happy boy who understands everything but cannot walk or talk. He crawls using his knees and hands. Because he has grown so heavy the mother couldn't carry him anywhere without a wheelchair. His transportation to the hospital was hard whenever he fell sick. Church is very near but he couldn't go. He was always getting dirty and was worse whenever it rained. They are so thankful for the wheelchair because life is going to be easier now. |
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| Rose Nakabugo writes: |
| This is KAWUYA SHAKIRA, a 6 year girl born with multiple disabilities on both legs and hands. She was found by CBR Team during one of the community visits. She stays with her widowed grandmother who also takes care of other little grandchildren. She says: |
| "It was so shocking when my daughter gave birth to my granddaughter in this kind of condition. It was so hard for my daughter to accept her daughter at first but eventually she did. It took her time to move her out of the house for the neighbors to look at her as she was scared that people around her will laugh at her and start saying hurting words to her baby. When she stopped breastfeeding her, I decided to take her under my care. |
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| She is a very bright happy girl whom you don't want to leave your side any second. She is so active with everything as she engages herself in most of the house work at home. With her one finger on each hand she can try to write even though she has never attended school. The young nephews and nieces teach her what they have learnt from schools. With her short hands and legs she can run around, she can feed herself. |
| "She always asks when she can join school like other children at home. But I really don't know how, most of the schools I tried to take her to said they can't handle her with her disability. She doesn't have a wheelchair and the way of going to a busy toilet at school made her be denied a placement. Despite all that she can do most of the things on her own. She understands and talks very well. My biggest prayer is to see her going to school and having a safe way of moving from one place to another without getting dirty. Thank you for visiting us. GOD BLESS YOU" |
| Shakira suffers from Phocomelia syndrome, usually associated with thalidomide but it can occur spontaneously. It is defined by the absence of intermediate segments of a limb, with hands or feet directly attached to the trunk. She is due to attend Acheru to see if we can provide a wheelchair, but if we haven't anything suitable she will be taken for measurements and we'll have one specially made. |
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