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Story of Felista
Posted on 4 December 2007 by
Felista Laurent is a twenty-year old young woman. I saw her for the first time on 15th August 2004 at the Biharamulo Hospital, while I was visiting the leprosy clinic there. I found her with left foot drop and lagophthalmos of the right eye - all complications of leprosy. At the time of our first meeting she had already taken a one-year course of multi-drug therapy, MDT. So she was referred to the Kolandoto Hospital for proper management.
This report comes from Dr Mwandu, the famous leprosy surgeon who is in charge of the Kolandoto Hospital in the United Republic of Tanzania.
While at Kolandoto, doctors discovered that in addition to drop foot on her left side, this foot was also affected by tarsal disintegration. As it was not possible to carry out a reconstructive operation, she was put into plaster of paris for two months.
Before she contracted leprosy, Felista had been selected for the first form at the Biharamulo Secondary School, which she joined although later on she had been transferred to the Zakia Meghji Secondary School. However, her prolonged illness meant she had not been able to continue with her studies.
In November 2004, as the time of her admission to the Kolandoto Hospital, Felista was seen by a panel during a leprosy surgical workshop. This panel of leprosy surgeons from Sweden, Nairobi and from the Ministry of Health of Tanzania advised Felista should continue with her secondary school education at a boarding school near to Kolandoto Hospital as walking could cause further damage to her foot and result in a need to amputate her leg. They sent a letter to the Ministry of Education and Culture asking for the permission for Felista to be transferred to the Maswa Girls' Secondary School. The Ministry agreed, but the Headmaster of the Maswa Girls' Secondary School refused to accommodate Felista, simply because she was a leprosy patient! However, after long discussions with the Regional Education Officer, Regional Medical Officer and The RTLC, the Headmaster finally agreed and Felista was transferred to the Maswa Girls' Secondary school, where she is still a pupil.
GLRA is supporting the school education of Felista. When we visited the Hospital this July 2007 we discovered that Felista is the best pupil in her class!
Contact: Roland Mueller, DAHW/GLRA Tanzania Representative and ILEP National Co-ordinator for: TANZANIA, E-mail: glratznrep@bol.co.tz
Categories: News and Notes, United Republic of Tanzania