This translation is not completely accurate as it was automatically generated by a computer.
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By Kay Panovec*
6:00 P.M. EST December 6, 2010 | BO, Sierra Leone (UMNS)
Martha Mbriwa, 25, lies ill with cerebral malaria at The United
Methodist Church's Mercy Hospital in Bo, Sierra Leone. Just outside the
hospital room, the Imagine No Malaria campaign was distributing free
mosquito nets. UMNS photos by Mike DuBose.
View in Photo Gallery
Your joints ache. You have a fever, yet your body feels cold. You
are sick to your stomach, and experience vomiting and diarrhea. You are
so weak you cannot stand, let alone walk. The room spins, making you
more nauseous. As lethargic as you may be, you know you are one of the
lucky ones.
No one knows this better than Martha Mbriwa, 25, of Bo.
The day started like any other, except she awoke with a terrible
headache. The family needed food, however, so she went to the market,
where she became disoriented and collapsed. When she awoke, her speech
was unintelligible; shoppers in the crowded marketplace thought Mbriwa
was insane, so they carried her to a community-based health center.
Because of the severity of her illness, known as cerebral malaria,
Mbriwa was transferred to Mercy Hospital in Bo.
Cerebral malaria is the most life-threatening form of the disease.
Parasite-filled blood blocks small blood vessels that supply the brain
with oxygen and other nutrients. This blockage results in swelling of
the brain or permanent damage. If left untreated, death will occur in
one to three days.
While Mbriwa was in the hospital, her family received a bed net as
part of a major health care campaign and net distribution sponsored by
The United Methodist Church’s Imagine No Malaria campaign , The United Nations Foundation, the Ministry of Health in Sierra Leone and other international agencies.
John Amara tries to cool his son’s fever with a makeshift fan at The United Methodist Church's Kissy Hospital outside Freetown.
View in Photo Gallery
The United Methodist Church has joined with the government of this
West African country and other international organizations to provide
more than 3 million insecticide-treated bed nets to the people of Sierra Leone, where malaria is a leading cause of death.
Treated with life-saving medication and intravenous fluids, Mbriwa is expected to make a full recovery.
Children are most vulnerable
On a humid day in Sierra Leone, it is easily 100 degrees in the
shade. The air is stifling hot. People are covered in sweat.
Air-conditioning is not available, and clean drinking water is scarce.
Inside a dimly lit room at The United Methodist Church’s Kissy
Hospital, John Arara desperately waves a piece of paper in front of his
16-month-old son, Henry Peter. As is the case with many children in
sub-Saharan Africa, the baby is malnourished and anemic, which makes
treatment even more difficult.
Just a few days earlier, Henry was a typically curious baby. When he
became listless, fevered and unable to eat or drink, his parents knew
the baby was in trouble. His father carried him through the city, in
the heat of the day, to receive treatment. The baby was quickly
admitted.
Dr. Merilyn Palmer is in charge of his care. “His condition is not
good,” she said. “We are hoping that medication will be enough and a
blood transfusion will not be necessary. Now, we watch and we wait.”
Palmer said a number of contributing factors make malaria difficult
to treat. Since mild malaria symptoms are common, many parents try to
treat the children at home. When the child’s symptoms become more
pronounced, it may be too late to benefit from medical intervention.
Africa loses a child under age 5 every 45 seconds to malaria.
Most Sierra Leoneans cannot afford transportation so they must walk to a community-based health clinic or hospital.
In the bed across from Henry is a 5-year-old boy who was treated for
malaria just three weeks earlier. His mother sits in a chair beside his
bed, watching and waiting.
“He is a complicated case,” Palmer said. “He recovered the first
time, but (the disease) has returned. But his immune system is
compromised. He just isn’t responding as we had hoped.”
Entire family suffers
Musukula Lukulay, 30, has never experienced malaria first hand, but
she is familiar with watching and waiting. Her husband and children
have had been stricken several times.
Musukula Lukulay is worried about her son Tommy Lukulay, 3, who has
malaria. They are at the Koribondo Village Health Center near Bo.
View in Photo Gallery
In Sierra Leone, everyone has responsibilities just to maintain daily
living. Lukulay’s husband is a motorbike driver. Although not a
high-paying job, the family is grateful for the income he provides. But
when Lukulay’s husband recently developed malaria, he was unable to
work, which meant no money. No money, no food.
When Lukulay’s 3-year-old-son Tommy also contracted malaria, she
needed to care for him, so was she unable to tend to the family’s farm
or take vegetables to the market to sell. No sales. No income. No food.
Caring for her family is a daily challenge, since clean water and
modern conveniences do not exist. She washes their clothes and sheets
by hand. When the family is ill, so ill that members cannot care for
their own bodily functions, the challenges are even greater and more
time-consuming.
The whole household stops.
“I tend to the family, but I am unable to do my other work. It
makes me sad,” Lukulay said. “I feel helpless when my husband or
children are ill. It’s as if I have malaria, too.”
The Imagine No Malaria campaign aims to eliminate malaria deaths in Africa by 2015. Donations to the campaign can be made here.
* Panovec is the executive director of new media at United Methodist Communications.
News media contact: Heather Hahn, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470, or newsdesk@umcom.org.
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