If only my daughter was operated on earlier . . .

It was a jovial mood as we left Mulago Hospital (Mwanamugimu department) with little Khudura Nankambwe, aged four, and her 24-year-old mother Monica Kiiza.

Obadiah Kalibbala, a good Samaritan from Entebbe, had offered to drive mother and her sick daughter to Nile International Hospital in Jinja after two other Samaritans had contributed for fuel.

They are Lawrence Lugwana and Godfrey Kamya of Nkumba village.

Kudhura, who had been admitted at Mulago for about five months for nutritional management, had become so popular with almost all the staff and mothers at the ward. Her mother was grateful to the staff of Mwanamugimu who made it possible for her child to gain weight from 10kg to 15.5kg by the time she was discharged.

Mulago interns share a light exciting moment with Kiiza and her daughter Kudhura

At first the happiness . . .

Kiiza, a resident of Rukagate village in Kyegegwa district, had for long suffered with her daughter for after the child was born with her intestines sticking out at Mubende Hospital.

They were referred to Mulago hospital for further treatment but could not make it immediately due to lack of funds. Kiiza finally reported to Mulago when the baby was three months old.

As Kudhura turned one-year-old, her father Hussein Ssenkambwe abandoned them in Kampala as they came out of Mulago Hospital where they had been admitted for three days.

From then on, life turned into a nightmare as the desperate mother continued taking her sick child to Mulago for review while she also struggled with another young one. Unfortunately, the month her husband abandoned them is when she discovered that she was one month pregnant.

A Sister at Mwanamugimu ward Mulago checking on the little girl

By the time New Vision came across her in September 2015, Kiiza was struggling as she had no money to continue with visits at Mulago for review and Kudhura was sickly.

But joy finally came in April this year when Nile International Hospital-Jinja responded to a story published on the New Vision website appealing for help for the desperate family.

The little girl was admitted for one month at their hospital as the doctors monitored her health to see whether she could be operated. It was found that except for the lungs which had not grown fully, all the other organs which grew outside were normal.

The doctors were however concerned about her state of malnutrition, hence the intervention by Mwanamugimu department which did a tremendous job on helping her gain weight.

From left, Beatrice Mugide, a counsellor at Mwanamugimu department , Sabahatin Yuldiz from Nile International Hospital Jinja and Kiiza with her daughter Kudhura Nankambwe during the time she was at Mulago hospital

Kiiza is grateful to good Samaritans like Allan Musinguzi and a few others who assisted her during this period.

Kudhura's coming out of Mulago looking healthier was what excited everyone and the second step now was to wait for the day of the proposed operation. The hospital in Jinja had already invited a specialist who was to handle her case and many friends in Mulago wished Kudhura a successful operation, also promising to check on her in Jinja.

Then things fall apart . . .

But all the anticipation and excitement vanished a few minutes upon arrival at Jinja where we (I travelled along with the family) were welcomed by Dr. Ahmed Karama, the assistant general surgeon at the health facility.

As he contacted the ward for them to prepare a room for Kudhura, Dr. Karama suggested we move the girl to the examination room for the experts from Turkey to check her. The three doctors discussed her condition in Turkish, and we eagerly waited for Dr. Karama (he studied in Turkey) to translate to us the progress.

The look on his face told it all. And the way the other doctors kept on shaking their heads was enough to deflate our optimism and mood.

A doctor checks the exposed intestines of the little girl the hospital in Jinja Hospital

Finally, Dr. Karama broke it to Kiiza how the team had decided that chances of the girl's survival through the operation were very limited and so no operation would take place.

The silence that followed as Kiiza held her daughter tightly told the pain she was going through as the last hope came tumbling down. Her staying in Jinja was no longer necessary. By the time we managed to put her on a bus destined for Fort Portal in Kampala bus park at around 9.30pm in the night, we were all devastated.

According to the doctors who were to carry out the operation, it was too late. They explained that the surgery should have been done before the girl had turned one year old. They further explained how the organs were all accommodated in a sac-like place circled by dead skin which cannot be operated on.

"If my daughter had been operated in time I wouldn't be facing this pain," Kiiza kept on saying on the way back from Jinja.

 A nurse at Mwanamugimu Mulago sensitises mothers about proper feeding of their children

 From left, good samaritan Obadiah Kalibbala, Monica Kiiza carrying her sick daughter Kudhura Nankambwe and a nutritionist at Mwanamugimu Mulago hospital, Joseph Mbabazi at Mulago hospital

Despite the let down, Kiiza still holds out hope

Waiting for a miraculous cure

But the young mother has not given up hope totally. She is still hanging onto a straw of faith, believing that God can still work wonders on her daughter's health.

Nonetheless, day-to-day life remains a challenge for her. And there was no other ruder awakening than her arrival back home. A few days after returning, the landlord was on her door asking for rent for the five months she had been away.

"I plan to go into some business (selling second-hand clothes) to enable me care for my children," she says.

In the meantime she also wants her two children to join school early next year. She thanks Vision Group for publishing her story and all good Samaritans who have given her assistance.

Would you like to support this desperate family in any way? To give her support, contact 0782811445 or gkalibbala2@gmail.com