•REBECCA

By CHRSITINE MWAABA –

SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD Rebecca Nyirenda of Kanyama has appealed to President Edgar Lungu to help her access treatment for a mysterious condition of a bloated stomach that has left her looking like somebody with a pregnancy.
Rebecca’s story which touched readers of the Times of Zambia is very sad because until now the young girl has failed to access specialist treatment to end her worries.
Rebecca’s story was published in the Times of Zambia in June last year.
The teenager has a disorder that has left her with a severely distended  stomach like that of a pregnant woman since 2013.
She has lived with the condition from the time she was thirteen.
Rebecca’s problem started in 2013.
Her condition required her to undergo a CT-scan at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka.
Benefactors helped the family to raise the money required for scan.
They also contributed money to meet other costs that related to the medical procedure that Rebecca was in need of.
The author of this story followed up the issue to ensure the family was helped financially and at the time, Rebecca was given an appointment to do her scan.
However from June to date, Rebecca is still struggling with this health issue.
In an interview, Rebecca narrated that stress and anxiety had become the order of her daily life because of the unknown condition that seems to be getting worse.
And for now, it seems her last hope of getting treatment has vanished after the highest referral hospital in the country, the UTH, failed to establish what is wrong with her.
The family is disappointed that upto now doctors are yet to establish what Rabecca’s problem is.
“We went to the UTH with my parents on June 23 last year thinking everything will be fine but this was fruitless.
“As a result, I forced myself to sit for my Grade Seven examinations and up to now I do not know how I managed to pass my exams,” Rebecca said.
It is because of her strong will that she has even managed to even make progress in her academic life.
In spite of her condition, the teenager has qualified to Grade eight.
She says when she completes school, she wants to be a nurse to help people faced with situations like hers.
Asked what the latest news from the UTH was concerning an appointment or anything to do with her situation, Rebecca said she had no one to give her answers to her problem and that was restraining her from leading a normal life like any other child.
She said the lack of response from medical specialists at UTH had created fear in her because she does not know what will happen next.
She said her condition had become a serious limitation in most of the things she wants to do.
“It seems the hospital is not preparing the medical treatment and now I do not know what to do,” she said.
Rebecca said sometimes, she felt like something was moving from one position to another in her stomach.
Rebecca said she feels scared every time she feels like something is moving in the stomach.
She also said she feels ashamed and humiliated because most people, who think she is pregnant, call her all sorts of names and ask questions like, “why don’t you get married to the man who impregnated you?”
“I need help; I can no longer contain this condition. I want to have a future because right now I do not know what will happen to me,” she said.
Rebecca’s father, Innocent Nyirenda said his daughter still experiences pain and her condition is getting worse.
He said inspite of making every effort to seek specialist treatment for his traumatised daughter, the family was unsuccessful.
He said following the last scan Rebecca did at UTH, the family was not told whether Rebecca will have another medical examination or not.
Mr Nyirenda said personnel at UTH told him that there was nothing in his daughter’s stomach. He said the medical personnel advised him to wait as they tried to figure out what to do next.
A document given to the family did not indicate a date for the teenager’s next medical examination.
At the moment Mr Nyirenda has opted to take Rebecca to a local pastor to pray for her.
When contacted for comment, UTH public relations officer Mulenga Mwenya said if the family is not content with the answer they were given, they could still go back and continue with medical examinations at UTH.
“Let the family come back to UTH with the same documents and medical file and we will check the last appointment,” he said.
Rebecca’s condition is serious and requires to be brought to the attention of people that have the authority to at least ensure the teenager gets conclusive medical tests to establish the cause of her bulging stomach.
Means of helping Rebecca should definitely because even with her debilitating and humiliating condition, the young woman has demonstrated her determination to achieve her dreams through her excellent performance at school.
This is in spite of the threat posed by her predicament that needs urgent attention.