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William is a 55-year-old potato farmer and father of twelve from Kenya who needs $679 to fund a surgery to heal his fractured leg.

William
94%
  • $642 raised, $37 to go
$642
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$37
to go
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December 6, 2022

William is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. He is a married man with twelve children. Some of his oldest children are married while others are still in school. William and his family live in a semi-permanent house. He has been a long-term potato farmer who has been growing them mainly for sale. His family has worked on their farm and it has contributed a lot to their income.

Through the limited income William makes, he has been able to provide for his children’s basic needs. William has medical insurance that he has been using throughout all his visits for inpatient and outpatient services for his medical procedures.

In May 2019, when William was walking along the road, he was hit by a motorbike and he fell down, thus injuring his lower limb. Immediately, he was taken to a facility where he was admitted and surgery was done.  All was well up to last year when he started feeling unwell and decided to visit our partner’s hospital. He presented with a lot of pain, he had a wound that was discharging pus, and his affected limb was swollen. An x-ray was recommended and it found that he had a non-union on his fractured bone and he had to be admitted for hardware removal, as it was already infected. He went to the operating theater for infected hardware removal and antibiotic nailing was done in order to treat his infection. 

Since the nail was not stable, a patella tendon-bearing cast was applied in order to immobilize his non-united fracture. He has been in and out of the hospital for frequent check-ups, change of dressing, and casts.

The wound has not improved and at some time after the antibiotic nailing, he went to the operating room for debridement and vacuum-assisted closure of the wound to help in healing and daily dressing change has been done in a health facility near his home. He also suffered eye problems in between and can barely see at the moment.

On Monday when he came for review, his wound was not well and had a foul smell. His hardware needs to be removed, the non-union has to be taken down and a procedure will be done for stability.

He was prepared for admission, but then it was realized that he had exhausted his inpatient insurance limit. In order to save his leg, it is vital to perform the surgery immediately. William has no alternative way of paying for his procedure, which is very complex.

Fortunately, surgeons at our medical partner can help. On December 7th, William will undergo a fracture repair procedure that will help William to be able to walk normally and continue with farming to provide for his family. Now, our medical partner, African Mission Healthcare Foundation, is requesting $679 to fund this medical care.

William says, “Spending most of the time in the hospital has been quite challenging. I cannot work or supervise my work as I did before because of my fractured limb. I am really looking forward to getting better in order to stabilize my family again. Please help me.”

William is a small-scale farmer from Kenya. He is a married man with twelve children. Some of his oldest children are married while others a...

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William's Timeline

  • December 6, 2022
    PROFILE SUBMITTED

    William was submitted by SAFE Program Admin, SAFE Program Admin at African Mission Healthcare.

  • December 7, 2022
    TREATMENT SCHEDULED

    William was scheduled to receive treatment at AIC Kapsowar Hospital in Kenya. Medical partners often provide care to patients accepted by Watsi before those patients are fully funded, operating under the guarantee that the cost of care will be paid for by donors.

  • December 9, 2022
    PROFILE PUBLISHED

    William's profile was published to start raising funds.

  • TODAY
    AWAITING FUNDING

    William is currently raising funds for his treatment.

  • TBD
    AWAITING UPDATE

    Awaiting William's treatment update from African Mission Healthcare.

Funded by 30 donors

Treatment
Closed reduction percutaneous pinning (CRPP)
  • Cost Breakdown
  • Diagnosis
  • Procedure
On average, it costs $679 for William's treatment
Hospital Fees
$328
Medical Staff
$3
Medication
$29
Supplies
$236
Labs
$12
Radiology
$7
Other
$64
  • Symptoms
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Cultural or regional significance

​What kinds of symptoms do patients experience before receiving treatment?

The common symptoms include extreme pain; inability/difficulty in using limbs; deformed limbs. This procedure corrects a severe, poorly aligned fracture where the ends of affected bones are far apart. Such a fracture that requires CRPP occurs mainly on the upper limbs in children usually as a result of trauma.

​What is the impact on patients’ lives of living with these conditions?

Untreated fracture leads to chronic disability, pain, and inability to work or move the limbs.

What cultural or regional factors affect the treatment of these conditions?

These fractures require specialised surgery which is not very common in the Kapsowar region in Kenya. Kapsowar Hospital serves a remote population where some people do not have money to pay for surgery. For this reason, the hospital has been incurring these costs without compensation.

  • Process
  • Impact on patient's life
  • Risks and side-effects
  • Accessibility
  • Alternatives

What does the treatment process look like?

Before determining what treatment is best for the type of fracture, the doctor will order various diagnostic tests, such as an X-ray to assess surrounding ligaments. The patient is then booked for surgery and will be in the hospital for about 2 days.

What is the impact of this treatment on the patient’s life?

This care is curative. A CRPP fixes the broken bone restoring it to complete function and thus, enabling the patient to be able to utilize the limbs.

What potential side effects or risks come with this treatment?

A medium surgical risk but most trauma patients are young and tolerate the procedure well. Overall, the risk of surgery is less than the risks of the alternative (traction) or doing nothing. The pins can be removed later on the outpatient visits when the fracture heals.

How accessible is treatment in the area? What is the typical journey like for a patient to receive care?

There are few quality orthopaedic centres in developing countries. In the developed world, a person would go to their local hospital and get this procedure relatively simply. Often patients have received initial care for a fracture at another hospital and may have been placed in “traction.” “Traction” involves placing the affected limb in a cast under tension for prolonged periods to try to re-align the bones. Those who have funds try to make their way to a place like Kapsowar Hospital. Most patients seen in Kapsowar who are in need of a CRPP are mainly patients who have been mismanaged in other hospitals. Usually, those hospitals lack adequate resources and expertise to treat them

What are the alternatives to this treatment?

As mentioned, traction is an alternative for some—but not all—cases. And traction requires a patient to be in the hospital, immobile, for months—leading not only to lost wages/time in school but the risk of bedsores, blood clots, and hospital-acquired infections.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.

Meet another patient you can support

100% of your donation funds life-changing surgery.