Stabiso

Stabiso is a young man aged 20 who lives in a very rural area; at least 10km from the nearest main road. He was recently involved in accident when he was hit by a bike whilst walking home.

 

When we visited him in the hospital we were shocked to find that this strapping young man who loved football was unable to feed himself or even communicate and didn’t seem to recognize us. The hospital staff weren’t able to tell us what the problem was and seemed generally unconcerned.

 

After some gentle persuasion from Isibani he was eventually taken to a larger city hospital for tests where CT scans were done; it was several more weeks before we discovered that the results had been sent back to our local hospital and filed because no-one understood them.

 

 

After many phone calls to the city hospital we established that he had suffered damage to his brain caused by a parasite; it is impossible to know whether his current condition is now worse because of the delay in identifying his condition.

 

When first discharged from hospital Stabiso and his mum were living in a small one room mud hut. Stabiso was effectively bed bound as his mum couldn’t lift him.

 

 

Since that we are pleased to say that his mum (with lots of help from extended family) has extended their mud hut and thanks to the generosity of a local hotel in the Berg we were able to supply them with not only a door and windows for their new room but also a bed for Stabiso (they were previously using an old mattress on the floor).

 

We also received a generous donation from an overseas donor to buy Stabiso a wheelchair, this together with the bed have changed his life. The bed has been set up at wheelchair height so he can manovere himself from one to the other and back again. Although the terrain near his home doesn’t allow for long trips he is at least able to sit outside and enjoy the sunshine and to watch the community go about their daily business.