Helpless

Last week we saw a little boy about 6 years old, who walks like a little old man. He has severe pain with every step that he takes. His little joints are extremely swollen and painful. When obtaining a history from the teacher at the Lagoba CarePoint, she told us that he had previously been on treatment for TB. The teacher asked if this could be the TB attacking his bones. The doctor (Rajni) that is with me from the States said that it could be, especially if he did not complete the treatment, which it seems, he did not. This little one hurts everywhere that you touch him; his back, legs, feet, hands, and every joint. The suspicion when a child has TB is that there is a great possibility that he is HIV positive as well. He had also been attacked by a pack of dogs. He had a huge gash on the top of his head, and a bite on his thigh that had a bandage on it. We asked the teacher if she would talk to his mother or care giver about going with him for HIV testing this next week before everything closes for the holidays. The teacher did talk to her and she is willing to go if she can get off from work.

As the boy walked out of the room, Rajni said that she felt so helpless! I know that feeling well! If he were in the States, he would be in the hospital having tests run to see what is wrong, and he would have good pain control. Here, all we could do for him is place him on an antibiotic and some Ibuprofen for pain. Please pray for this little one, that we may be able to get him the help that he so desperately needs!