Ok, that was a little bit of a dramatic title, I suppose. Astridah did not get a new ear, but she did get the surgery on her ear drum that she has so desperately needed!!
It all started with a sponsorship. John started sponsoring Astridah back in May 2010, which was when the sponsorship program began. Astridah and her grandmother (shown here in the photos above) appeared in a video that was posted to this blog. The grandmother explained that Astridah had a difficult time hearing because her ear drum was broken. Astridah is a complete orphan, and there is no way that her grandparents could afford to fix her ear. The grandmother was especially upset at not being able to help her grand-daughter.
John, having heard the problem of Astridah's ear drum, immediately stepped in to help. He has been paying for Astridah to get regular bi-monthly doctor's visits with the Beit Cure Hospital in Lusaka. This requires not only payment to the hospital, but, also, transportation costs back and forth!! When the doctors were finally able to completely treat the infection and other problems, they sent notice to Chim of a recommended surgery that could restore Astridah's hearing.
The surgery would take a few hours, but Astridah would have to stay 3 to 5 days at the hospital. Also, Astridah's grandparents would have to be there in Lusaka, but they would not be able to stay in the hospital over-night. It was determined that in order to make this surgery possible, we would need payment for the hospital, transportation costs, and hotel costs and meals for the grandparents while in Lusaka. This is something the grandparents would never, in their lifetime, be able to provide for Astridah.
John was contacted and given the details from the hospital. He immediately jumped in and said that he would help her get the surgery she needs. When word got back to Astridah's grandmother, she was over-joyed! It was a life-long dream come true!
Earlier this week, Astridah went in for the surgery. The top picture shows the ear that was operated on. The picture at the bottom is Astridah and her grandmother right after the surgery. The operation was a success! The doctor was able to repair the ear drum that had been damaged from so many untreated ear infections. The doctors are not confident that this surgery alone will restore her hearing 100%, but they have helped her get one step closer to it. Later Astridah will get her stitches removed, and then, she will return to Beit Cure a few weeks later for a hearing test to see if her hearing has improved. If her hearing is not much better, they will recommend a hearing aide. However, the operation will still be considered a success because the surgery will stop the ongoing ear infections.
Thank you, John, for helping Astridah- This will no doubt help her in her studies as I can not imagine how she keeps up with the class when she can only hear so little!! You will see the videos next. John, you are considered part of Astridah's family. You have taken the place of her parents. The grandmother is so grateful for this and everything else you do! Astridah is grateful too, but her hearing loss has caused her to be extremely timid in speaking. Maybe she will come out of her shell as she gets used to her new ear drum!
No comments:
Post a Comment