Arthritis patient needs money for hip surgery
It started as good news for 36-year-old Sarah Naggayi, when she discovered that she was pregnant. That was three years ago. She was excited on the prospect of being a mother. But that happiness was going to be short-lived, after she was diagnosed with arthritis.
As her pregnancy progressed, Naggayi started developing pain in her left leg, around the hip area.
Then she had a miscarriage. This marked the start of her troubles. The pain in her hip progressed each passing day. She went to different clinics for treatment, but the problem persisted.
Naggayi’s mother, Ekiliya Lutwaama, says she took her daughter to Children’s Orthopaedic Rehabilitation Unit (CORSU), in Kisubi, where she was referred to Mulago National Referral Hospital. “When we went to Mulago orthopaedic department, the doctors diagnosed her with arthritis,” says Lutwaama.
Naggayi was put on treatment and the doctor recommended that she undergoes hip replacement. After getting the diagnosis, she was referred to a pharmacy to buy machines that would be used to carry out the hip replacement surgery. However, they could not afford the machine which costs $3,200 (about Shs8m).
For the last three years now, Naggayi walks with the support of a stick because the pain cannot allow her to walk normally.
To keep the pain at bay, she spends most of her time lying in bed. Her X-ray results show the ball joint has been worn out in both the hip joints, and as such require immediate replacement.
She is unable to raise the money required for her surgery, and also to purchase the machines required for her hip replacements. Naggayi is therefore appealing to well-wishers and Good Samaritans to help raise the money.