Anesie (Mama's) story

THIS BLOG CONTAINS PHOTOS OF A GRAPHIC NATURE! 

(Anesie has given permission for the photos to be taken and shared, in order to help fundraise for her). We fully appreciate that this may offend some of you, but we need to depict just how desperately in need of treatment this wonderful woman is).

Hello Everyone who is praying and supporting us and to any new followers of our blog.....

This is the first time I have been able to sit down and take the time to blog, partly because of my working hours and partly because of lack of internet/electricity here in Burundi. We are in Bujumbura, the Capital of a Burundi this weekend for some downtime, so here is my opportunity to tell you about the most amazing woman I have ever met! 
Her full name is Anesie Bamporeye but in this blog I will refer to her as Mama, as this is what we call her (in Burundi this is a respectful term for a woman older than yourself, who has children).

Mama walked into Shammah Health Center on Tuesday 8th April 2014, early afternoon. Andy was the first to greet her to the clinic and seeing that she had her face covered and was unsteady on her feet ran to meet her with a wheelchair. He lifted the scarf covering Mama's face to see a lady with 3rd/4th degree burns to her face and head, but in addition to this she had a paste of what appeared to be manure plastered over her wounds. Pus was oozing through the paste and dripping down her face into her eyes. Andy called to me and as I lifted the scarf my instant thought was that Mama must be septic. We brought her into the clinic and welcomed her and then got Josh and Nadine to come and view Mama's wounds, to assess what treatment could be administered. None of us despite working in healthcare/the police had ever seen such harrowing injuries on a living person. Even more amazing Mama did not have a temperature and seemed to be in good spirits despite her pain. I wish I could convey how humbling Anesie's character is and how her laughter is pure joy to your ears.

Before I tell you what we have done for Mama at Shammah Health Center, I want to tell you her story leading up to when she arrived at the clinic. Mama born in 1958, is 56 years old. She has given birth to 7 children in total, however her youngest child, a 4 year old girl died three years ago of suspected malaria. She has four boys and two girls ranging in age from 10 years to 33 years (Jean-Baptist (10), Chanel (14), Aline (30), Eric (22), Claude (27), Esperance (33)). Mama is originally from a village called Jimbi which is not in the province of Gitega where we live and work. She is married to a man called Frederic. Mama had a history of unexplained blackouts, which in the year 2000 was diagnosed as epilepsy. She says she has been given a medication to prophylactically treat seizures that makes her sleepy before bedtime, but when she showed me the medication, it was just tablets in an unlabelled bag.

In October last year (2013) Mama was at home preparing dinner for her husband and two youngest children. The children were playing nearby with neighbours and Frederic had gone to visit a friend. The children saw smoke coming from their home and could smell 'meat', so they ran home to see what their mum was cooking. When they arrived they saw their mother face down and unconscious in the fire where she was cooking after having had a seizure. They screamed to their neighbours for help, who came to Mama's aid. They rushed her to a small clinic/dispensary in Mungwa. When she arrived all they did was call for an ambulance to take her to Kimbimba Hospital in yet another village. They had not even bathed her burns with water. At Kimbimba Hospital they cared for Mama until the end of March 2014. Bathing her wounds daily and treating her with antibiotics and pain relief. Just before coming to Shammah Health Center, she was discharged from their care (we assume this is because they were unable to treat her wounds any further and provide the appropriate surgery/after care). Mama went to live with her daughter Aline in Kalera which is within Gitega. Esperance her eldest daughter lives near to Aline, so between them they have cared for their mother, whilst Frederic remains in Jimbi with the other children.

Mama and Esperance had heard of a 'Christian Priest' in Shatanya, another village in Gitega who healed people, so they decided to pay him a visit. The shocking part of this story is that the 'Priest' is a Muzungu - which means 'white person', so one can only assume he is a white missionary practicing outside his capabilities! Anyway, when Mama visited this Priest, he is the man who made the paste from what we believe to be honey, honeycomb and dirt/manure, blessing it and praying for her before applying it to the wounds on her head. He gave her some medication, which he said was amoxicillin and ibuprofen and told her to return for a review. Upon her return, when he saw pus coming through the paste, he clearly realised he was out of his depth, so put her in his car and gave her money, before driving straight to Shammah Health Center. He then dropped her off and drove away before he could be identified......and that is how God brought Mama into the safety of people who love Jesus Christ!

On this day we cared for Mama, giving her all the care we were able to as well as praying with her. We then took her to Gitega Hospital (Government Funded), because Shammah is not open at night at present (due to staffing), so that Mama could get more extensive care. However, having been there earlier in the week with a woman who was miscarrying her child due to an underlying infection, we all felt uneasy. This is because we had heard through a colleague that she had died and although we knew the outcome may not have been different we could have given her a more dignified death at Shammah Health Center. When we took Mama we were able to use the clinic truck with its newly fitted lights and siren (thanks to Andy). The roads here are so bumpy that the ride was like being on a rollercoaster and Mama found it hilarious - this is a memory that is etched into my mind. Upon arriving the Gitega Hospital Staff stared at Mama and laughed. They asked for a large sum of money and  because this could not be afforded they were going to reject her. I hope it was righteous anger, but I turned and asked a colleague to translate. I explained we had given her the care she needed for that day for much less and just wanted her admitted overnight so that a plan of care could be made in the morning. When they refused, Nadine said we are not leaving her here. The hospital is disgusting - dark, dirty, with beds that are not cleaned inbetween patients lined up next to each other without bed sheets. We all agreed that Mama would die here, as she would only pick up more infections. Nadine said we would take her home and care for her daily at Shammah. I cried with pure relief and when we told Mama, she joyfully shouted 'EGO, EGO, EGO!', (which means 'yes, yes, yes' ) almost jumping of the hospital bed.

The care we have been able to give at Shammah Health Center under Josh and Nadine's guidance is:

- Nadine and I debriding the wound of the paste and then bathing the burns to her head and face daily - dressing them, using antibiotic cream and burns cream, adaptive (jelonet) and gauze with bandaging.
- Giving her adequate pain relief prior to the first five dressing changes (ie: paracetamol, ibuprofen and tramadol)
- Giving her high dose broad spectrum antibiotics to treat any underlying infection (through IV infusion and IM injections) and then prophylactic oral antibiotics after a week of this treatment.
- We have prayed with Mama daily, often lead by Everest the new Burundian nurse at the clinic who is also a pastor. Mama only speaks Kirundi, but when she hears us say Jesus she shouts 'Hallelujah' and always says 'Amen' with conviction.
- We have treated her as a part of the Shammah family, by showing her love, respect and dignity. Josh told Mama that we will fundraise to get her surgery that will save her life and that until this happens she will be welcome at the clinic every day for care. She was so happy and grateful. We made her laugh, because Andy has a real soft spot for Mama, so we told her that he loves her and that I am concerned I may loose my husband to her. She burst into giggles - what a precious woman, that despite all her pain she can muster the strength to laugh.

We’ve seen her infection resolve, her tissues come back to life, and sight beginning to return in her right eye. After careful thought and prayer, Josh and Nadine have decided Mama will be the first patient they ever work to fundraise for here at Shammah.

Working with a group of American Doctors who’ve moved to Burundi permanently, Josh and and Nadine have been able to formulate a care plan for Mama, so we can help her to return to being a loving mother and wife. She and her family have been diligent and faithful in helping to cover her costs as we’ve treated her, but now we need your help to continue this amazing work.

Incredibly, Mama's care can continue right here in Burundi, at Kibuye Hospital, where the American doctors work. John, an Ophthalmologist, and Jason an experienced surgeon, will be handling her operations. This coming Tuesday 22nd April, Mama will have a series of operations designed to save her right eye and potentially restore some of her sight, prevent further damage to her left eye (the cornea is gone, no hope of restoring sight in it), and perform a procedure on her exposed skull to encourage tissue granulation (growth), so that the site will be able to accept a skin graft. It is our hope and all of our prayers that these procedures will allow Mama's return to a life where the constant fear of infection and sickness is a thing of the past.

We have partnered with these incredible people to save Mama. To do this, we are estimating a cost of $2000 USD. This includes the cost of her procedures, what will most likely be more than two months of hospitalization at Kibuye, as well as a budget for a high-protein diet for her, to promote health and recovery. In an effort to save her sight, Kibuye hospital has opted to have her undergo the procedure as soon as possible, in the hopes that we can make restitution as time goes on.

Many of you have asked how you can help in the past, how you can make a difference. Here’s your opportunity. We are going to continue to update you with photos and the progress we make with Mama. Please pray for this special woman. We’ve gotten used to having her around here the past two weeks, and we’ll miss the sound of her laughter once we transfer her to Kibuye.

Please contact us at andy_faulkner@hotmail.com in order to let us know if you want to make a contribution to her care, then we can send you the relevant account details and we can then submit the money via Great Lakes Outreach, so that GiftAid can be added. We’ll also let you know when we’ve reached our goal. If we exceed it, money that you’ve donated will be kept as part of Shammah Health Center's benevolent fund, so that in the future, when we meet the next 'Anesie', we’ll be able to do what we can, with what we have.

Thank you for taking the time to read Mama's story and considering how you may be able to help change her life. It truly is a miracle that Anesie is still alive, Andy and I believe God has saved her because he has an awesome destiny planned for her that will glorify his name. We are so aware of all the prayers you are sending our way and apologise if we have not thanked some of you personally, but please know none of what is happening here with us in Burundi would be happening without the love, prayers, encouragement and financial support you have given to us. May your week be blessed.

Much love in Jesus,

Hannah (& Andy) xxx

P.s: In a few days time, Hannah will give an overall medical update on some other amazing stories and miracles happening at the clinic. We wanted to wait, because Anesie's story is a lot to take in, so did not want to detract from the help she needs or give you information overload.

Anesie after her first dressing

Anesie when she first attended the clinic

Anesie's wounds exposed, and cleaned