Saturday, 19 July 2014

Kiyingi cheats death with son’s liver

Staying active and engaging in sports has been Fredrick Kiyingi’s lifestyle since childhood.
However, as he grew older, his daily life was affected so much that by 30, he could not partake in any physical activity.
He was 37 years old when a medical examination by Prof Michael Kawooya, a senior radiologist at Mengo hospital revealed that his gall bladder was releasing toxins into the liver. It was also on the verge of rupturing. 
Kiyingi, now 47, was born with a liver problem medically termed as choledochal cyst.
Dr David Ndawula, the medical director of Kampala Family Clinic says a choledochal cyst occurs when the bile duct, a vessel that leads bile to the intestines from the liver, is structured abnormally.
“This causes bile to accumulate in the duct resulting in duct damage and formation of a cyst (fluid-filled sac),” Dr Ndawula explains.  
He says that a liver transplant becomes necessary when the liver has been damaged to the extent that it cannot perform its normal functions. This is known as liver failure.
The liver is one of the largest organs in the body. It produces bile necessary in digestion of fats, makes agents needed for blood clotting, removes toxins from the blood stream and controls blood sugars, among other functions. 
“Although liver failure can be managed by medication, this can sustain one in good health for a short while. A liver transplant is the only cure for liver failure,” he says.

RUNNING OUT OF STEAM
In 2001, an acute pain on the right side of his abdomen became a bedfellow. It caused him severe loss of appetite and nausea.
“To keep the pain at bay, I devotedly relied on drugs meant to cure peptic ulcers because doctors suspected I was suffering from these,” said Kiyingi, the safety and security coordinator of US Peace Corps - Uganda.
He used the drugs between 2002 and 2005.
But by May 2005, Kiyingi was starting to feel much more tired. His body darkened and thinned so much that he suspected HIV.
“Once, I went to Kampala family clinic in Nsambya to buy pain killers and told Dr Ndawula that I had HIV. He told me to open my mouth and stick my tongue out and hinted on the possibility of a gall bladder and liver complication,” the soft spoken father of two said.
He was referred to Prof Kawooya who treated him immediately, noticing that the gall bladder was about to rupture.
Ruptures are most commonly caused by an inflammation of the gallbladder. The most common causes are gall stones. The initial symptom of a gallbladder rupture is a sudden onset of sharp or severe pain.
Kiyingi was later admitted at Case Clinic.
“I stayed at Case for three months and while here, I had jaundice, fever, more pain and my skin got darker,” he recalls.
Ndawula says jaundice is caused by the liver’s failure to remove bilirubin, a brownish yellow substance found in bile.
Kiyingi was operated upon and his gall bladder, plagued with gall stones was removed together with a fraction of the affected liver.
Dr Ndawula says a portion of a liver can be removed because of the liver’s unique ability to regenerate. It is the only organ in the body with this capability.

WORSE BECOMES WORST
Just two weeks after the first operation, his stomach started swelling tremendously because the improvised plastic bile duct was misdirected.
“Immediately, I was rushed to Mengo hospital in an ambulance and about three litres of dark green bile were drained from my body,” he reminisces.
A metallic tube was inserted into his body to drain the excess bile and liver function tests showed that his liver had completely deteriorated. He was thus linked to Prof Godfrey Lule, a consultant physician and gastroenterologist at Nairobi hospital.
To raise money needed for treatment in Nairobi, Kiyingi sold all his six cars and ended a transaction meant to purchase a house.
At Nairobi hospital, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed that Kiyingi’s liver was completely rotten. He was now referred to Apollo hospital in India for further treatment.
He arrived at the hospital on December 24, 2013 and examinations revealed that he had liver cirrhosis –an abnormal liver condition in which there is irreversible scarring of the liver.
 “The doctors here told me that I had only six months to live unless I underwent a transplant for which I needed $60,000 and a donor,” he says.
Fortunately his son, Laurin Baalu, 18, was willing to part with a portion of his liver.


THE FINAL STRAW
He was operated upon on March 12 at the Health Care Global Enterprises in Bangalore-India. He remained in the intensive care unit for two weeks and was discharged on April 17.
Although Kiyingi has been down the hatches, he is one of the few lucky ones; he is on the road to recovery. His chocolate skin complexion is back and he has resumed work.

However, he is now on life medication and needs $ 16,385 (about Shs 42m) to clear HCG’s hospital bill

For contribution, Kiyingi can be reached on 0776578667 or direct account deposits may be made to A/C no. 1100035091-Housing Finance Bank or 6004149376-Barclays Bank.

Monday, 14 July 2014

Parents launch appeal to save 7-year-old Maria

Unlike many children her age, Maria Achola is not having a joyful, playful life.
Seven-year-old Achola is confined to a hospital bed, tubes and wires running across her weak, painful body.
For more than two months, Achola, a pupil of St Ponsiano Ngondwe primary school in Bweyogerere, has been battling acute hepatic encephalopathy. It is a debilitating condition in which the liver cannot remove toxic substances from the blood. This results in a buildup of toxins in the blood stream, which may cause brain damage.
According to medical records from International Hospital Kampala (IHK), where was admitted by the weekend, Achola first presented at the hospital on May 2, with two-week abdominal pain, yellow eyes for one day and a high-grade fever.
Achola at IHK 

In hospital, Achola, the last born of six, continued to have high-grade fevers and profuse vomiting, all supported with intravenous maintenance fluids and antiemetics-drugs effective against nausea and vomiting. She was later discharged and followed up as an outpatient. But her condition worsened, and she was readmitted after three weeks.
A gastroenterologist, consulted from Nairobi, guided her care and provided contacts for a liver centre in India.
According to Dr Sarah Bonita Musoke, a pediatrician at IHK, in children such as Maria, the Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is associated with hepatic failure and may result in death if left untreated.
“Achola was not immunized against Hepatitis A. Her liver is inflamed and she is experiencing brain impairment,” says Dr Musoke, adding that Achola needs urgent treatment.
HAV is transmitted mainly through eating contaminated food or through blood transfusion.
Dr Musoke adds that in Achola’s case, the onset of encephalopathy requires that she gets a liver transplant.
Achola is currently at stage two of the disease, characterized by drowsiness, gross mental impaireness, slowed response, sullenness and disorientation from time to time. HE has four stages and at stage four, a person goes into coma.  
“We have consulted Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Dehli, India who have recommended that she be transferred to their centre for a transplant,” Dr Musoke says.
Achola is now in IHK’s high dependency unit (HDU), with persistent coagulopathy (clotting and bleeding disorder) and a deteriorating sensorium complicated with bacterial sepsis.
The transplant package, which includes surgeries of both the donor and recipient (including 21-day stay of the recipient and 10-day stay for the donor), consumables and bed cost, is valued at $35,000 (about Shs 90m). A pre-transplant evaluation is estimated at $3000 (about Shs 7.6m), while travel and meals are estimated at $12,000 (about Shs 30m).

Achola’s parents are appealing to the public for donations to help save her life. Her father, Vincent Adoko, may be reached on 0772516035 and A/C no: 2520512181-Centenary Bank, Namirembe Road branch.