By KT Reporter
For the last five years, Lillian Tali, a resident of Barr Sub-County in Lira District, has been in and out of hospitals with her son, Atim, who developed a hernia at just one year old.
Hernias occur when a weak spot in the abdominal muscles allows internal tissue to bulge out. They commonly appear either as umbilical hernias around the belly button or inguinal hernias in the groin.
Atim has been surviving on medication and missing school frequently, especially when the hernia gets incarcerated and causes him severe pain. Doctors at Bar Health Centre III advised that he could only undergo surgery after turning five.
Now aged six, Atim is among 96 children scheduled for surgery during an ongoing children’s surgical camp organised in partnership with an international charity organisation, Love Without Boundaries (LWB) Uganda, at Lira Regional Referral Hospital (LRRH). Tali is hopeful that the procedure will finally restore her son’s health and allow him to live a normal childhood.
So far, 414 children have undergone operations, while over 2,000 children have been screened since the camp began last week. The two-week initiative will close this Friday. According to Dr Andrew Odur, the Acting Hospital Director, the camp is a lifeline for many children born with birth defects who suffer silently with a poor quality of life.
“Most of these birth defects come in severity or intensity. If a child has a huge hernia in the groin or extending to the scrotum, they’re going to be in pain most of the time,” he explained.
Dr Odur revealed that the hospital’s pediatric surgical team has documented all patients and will continue scheduling routine surgeries even after the camp ends. He is confident that the team will surpass their initial target of 600 children.
However, he noted that the overwhelming turnout has caused overcrowding at the hospital.
For many families, the camp is nothing short of a miracle. Lydia Alwedo, whose younger brother received a successful hernia operation, expressed her joy at accessing quality care quickly at no cost.
Dr Charles Newton Odongo, a pediatric surgeon at Lira Hospital, said the camp, though primarily targeting hernias, has also handled other conditions like undescended testis and imperforate anus.
While more than 90% of operated children have already been discharged, Dr Odongo stressed that follow-up care will continue at the hospital’s pediatric clinic.
Ronald Ssejjuuko, the Country Director of Love without Boundaries, Uganda, explained that Lango was chosen because of the high unmet medical need.
He urged more well-wishers and organisations to support such initiatives, noting that organising a surgical camp of this magnitude is resource-intensive but critical for giving children a chance at life.
Despite the success, authorities warn that many children may miss out on the camp ends this week, leaving a backlog of cases still in need of surgical intervention.
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