Medical conditions

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Today the situation in the country is calmer, but there remain great difficulties in access to healthcare, mainly for populations living in isolated regions. This is the case of Kaï Bonga, a boy of twelve from Sierra Leone, who we met in 2005. At that time he was being helped by a dispensary in Koidu. Following a “simple” fracture of the tibia, Kaï was suffering from an osseous infection that was eating away his leg. The diagnosis was that he was suffering from a bone infection known as osteomyelitis.

Unfortunately the necessary means for treating the problem was not available to doctors at the district hospital and it was impossible for his family to go to Freetown. He risked having his leg amputated. Given the emergency nature of the situation our occupational therapist organised his transfer to the capital where we had been working for two years with a hospital run by the Italian NGO, Emergency. Thankfully, Kaï’s leg was put in plaster and an amputation avoided.

Next step: back to school
Three weeks later Kaï was on his feet and as no longer in pain. We even saw him smile for the first time! That was the first reward. He was then ready to begin the rehabilitation phase with a professional trained by Handicap International in association with the College of Medicine and Allied Health 2.Our orthopaedic technicians made him a walking aid and Kaï returned to Koidu.

Ludovic Brouxel, physiotherapist