Main fundraiser photo

Sida's Travel to USA for Medical Tx

Donation protected
Iris Ministries Uganda started as Iris Ministries South Sudan.  We have a children's home and have existed since 2006.  We moved to Uganda in 2016 due to insecurities in our area.  We wanted our children safe and able to continue school and pray for peace and reconciliation for South Sudan.   One of our children is Sida.  Her mother died when she was 3 of an unknown illness and her father did not want to or could not care for her.  She is currently 19.

Growing up she had stunted growth in her right arm but she always had great range of movement and strength and did write right handed.  In late 2017 she began to complain of pain in her right shoulder.  In August of 2017 It was found that the humeral head of her upper arm was deformed.  A surgery was done to take a biopsy and to de-bride the area of dead bone.  Though it was deformed she was told she could still use the arm and live with the pain.   The biopsy showed no cancer and no infection and we were not really given a reason for the situation.  We did PT with her but the pain continued and became unbearable and another x-ray in June of 2018 showed the arm had actually fallen out of joint.  This of course caused daily pain. 
We found no doctor in eastern Africa who felt they could help or who did shoulder replacement.   In our search we did happen across a doctor coming from India to do some teaching in Nairobi who did that surgery.  So in August of 2018 we took Sida to Nairobi for a hemi-arthroplasty of her right shoulder, meaning they put an implant at the top of her humorous but not one in the shoulder socket.

We were thrilled looking forward to return of normal use and more importantly no more pain.  We were told post surgery she was to have extremely limited motion for 6 weeks and then PT could begin.  On starting PT she did not seem to be progressing because of pain.  We took another x-ray in November of 2018 and found the arm is again out of joint and here we are.  And again no one will touch her arm, either to try to put it in joint or any other thing. 

Sida has been resilient....she has learned to live with the use of one arm and has taught herself to  write and paint with her left hand.  However as you can imagine she is in daily pain with her arm out of joint.  She is taking pain medication daily which at her age is not healthy......and she is asking us, "Is there any help?".  And she has been praying for the provision to be able to go somewhere to get the proper help.  Even riding down the frequent dirt roads here in Uganda, such as going to school or to town, is a painful exercise. 
Our desire at this time is to get her to  America for assessment and leave her there through rehab until she has totally recovered.  I believe we can likely get someone who will host her and find a school she could attend while going through rehab. 

We care for 135 children at our home and function month to month through our supporters.  We spent about 7000 dollars for the Nairobi surgery because it was a teaching situation and were blessed with a 1000 dollar donation toward that expense.

We do not currently have those kinds of funds to even get this started.  I am asked how much will this cost?.....I have no idea until we get her assessed and find out the recommendation and costs in the USA.  So this fundraising is for her one way ticket travel expense from Uganda to the USA (as we are hoping she will find treatment and be able to stay until her arm is stable), hotel and misc expenses for initial days and maybe her initial assessment (consult fees, x-ray, MRI).   We are simply not sure of the actual medical costs initially, given no insurance is involved.  Any balance would be applied to future treatment costs or her return home.  We are happy to provide financial accountability to anyone who donates and gives us contact info.
Once we have more information on plan of treatment and what it would cost we would move forward from there with raising of funds.  Sida is an amazing, kind-hearted and resilient young lady and she loves God with a true heart. 

The x-rays below are pictures from my phone of the x-ray so that is why the arms might seem flipped one way or the other.

I also want to update everyone to let you know that the donations you made will be transferred to my personal bank account and then at that time it will be withdrawn and given to Iris Ministries Uganda specifically for Sidas expenses.  Please feel free to confirm with Carolyn Figlioli the Director if you have any questions. 
Thank you so much for being an amazing support team for Sida, not just financially but through your prayers too.

May God fill you with His joy and hope through Holy Spirit in whatever situation you are facing in your own life. You are an overcomer in Him! 

Organizer

Mallorie Smith
Organizer
Hastings, MN

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily.

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about.

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the  GoFundMe Giving Guarantee.