Hospital offers hope to babies born with defects

Esther Akol, a Senior Three student of Overcomers Secondary School in Budaka District, wouldn’t be alive today if she hadn’t undergone surgery after being born with spina bifida in 2005.  

Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly.

Her mother, Ms Agnes Akol, attempted to strangle her to death three days after she was born when community members told her that such a condition was a sign of a curse.

However, a member of the village health team urged Akol’s mother to take the baby to Cure Children’s Hospital in Mbale.

Upon reaching the facility, the management asked her to pay Shs750,000 for surgery, a fee she and her family couldn’t raise.

Having run out of options, Akol’s mother attempted to throw the baby in a pit-latrine at the hospital but a staff member stopped her. 

“My mum told me one of the hospital staff found her when she was pushing me in the pit-latrine to die. She thought that it was cheaper to kill me than seek treatment,” the 19-year-old student says.

The hospital management offered to operate Akol for free after learning that her mother had attempted to kill her.

“It’s the reason I’m alive today and my mother regrets attempting to take my life,” Akol says.

Ms Agnes Nambozo, a mother from Sironko District with a child born with hydrocephalus, faults the community for being too harsh towards children born with neurological disorders.

Hydrocephalus is the buildup of fluid in cavities called ventricles deep within the brain. The excess fluid increases the size of the ventricles and puts pressure on the brain.

“The community is too judgmental yet the children born with such defects can perform better in academics than the normal ones if they receive the required medical attention,” Ms Nambozo says.

According to Dr Emmanuel Wegoye, the medical director of Cure Children’s Hospital, they have performed more than 1,900 brain surgeries on babies this year, with the majority of the parents being too poor to afford the treatment. 

“We need more than Shs6.5m per surgery and yet more than 90 percent of the parents are too poor to afford this money. If their babies are not operated, they either die or develop severe disabilities,” he says.

The hospital now organises brain surgery runs to raise funds for neurosurgeries.

The most recent one occurred last week, which raised more than Shs300m, half of the expected funds to be able to perform more than 2,000 brain surgeries next year.

“The annual marathons serve as a rallying point to raise funds to save the lives of children battling conditions like spina bifida and brain disorders,” Dr  Wegoya says.

Mr Tim Erickson, the hospital’s chief executive officer, says the hospital is committed to saving vulnerable children.

Ms Angelina Wapakhabulo, a hospital board member, called for sensitisation to fight stigmatisation, especially in rural communities.

“We, however, commend the hospital’s dedicated staff for their life-saving work and the mothers who have entrusted their children’s care to the hospital,” she says.

Ms Connie Galiwango, the Mbale City Woman MP, appealed to the community to support families with children born with such complications.