A Little Bit Goes a Long Way

On Sunday, March 2nd, 2014, a baby girl was born in the clinic with both legs deformed. None of us had ever seen this condition, so we took photos and emailed a doctor who loves AMS and is always willing to answer our questions, or find us answers if he doesn’t know the answer. Within the day we had his reply. Baby Florence was born with Congenital Dislocation of the Knee (CDK). CDK is a relatively rare condition and most often can be treated by serial castings on babies up to one month of age.

In mid-2012, we were told about ‘Cure International’ a pediatric orthopedic hospital in Kenya, and in fact had taken a young child there to have a leg amputated and a prosthetic fitted so she could learn to walk, play, and most importantly have the opportunity to attend school. We immediately remembered Cure International and made arrangements to drive baby Florence and her Mommy to the town of Kijabe, outside of Nairobi, where ‘Cure’ is located.

Plans in Africa don’t always go smoothly….on Monday, March 3rd we headed out to ‘Cure,’ and on the drive out of the Mara the vehicle broke down. Fortunately a matatu (taxi) was passing so we jumped on board with the locals and arrived the town of Narok late afternoon. In Narok we transferred to another vehicle and arrived the hospital by late evening. Baby Florence and Mommy were admitted so a proper diagnosis could be determined and a plan of action agreed upon.

On Tuesday, March 4th, we met with the doctor who agreed that serial casting was the right plan for baby Florence. She was casted that afternoon and told to return the following Monday, and every Monday thereafter for 5 weeks. Since baby Florence and her Mommy live 6 hours away in the Masai Mara, we realized we needed to keep them close to the hospital to ensure the weekly cast changes would occur. We needed to find temporary housing for 5 weeks that was walking distance from the hospital. Frankly it was much easier than we thought, so quickly we were off to purchase ugali, fruits, vegetables, diapers, toothbrush and toothpaste so Mommy and baby Florence would be comfortable in their new temporary housing.

In Kenya things don’t always go as planned, but if you have money things can happen quickly. Thankfully there was a guest at Mara West Camp who heard about baby Florence and donated $500.00 towards her care. Believe it or not, the $500.00 covered all of expenses…..making this possible. A little bit of money goes a very long ways in Kenya.