Cerebral malaria is the most dangerous form of malaria, and may cause delirium, seizures, coma, and brain injury. Without treatment, it is invariably fatal (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3056312/).
Dodo’s
two-year-old daughter, Happiness, was sick with malaria, so Dodo did the only
thing she could think of: she walked to the nearby village of Hucu, where the
helicopter would bring a team of nurses the next day. She would bring malaria
medicine home to her daughter, and Happiness would get well. What Dodo did not
realize was that she also had malaria, but hers was cerebral and her situation
was life-threatening.
When the helicopter landed on
Tuesday morning, the villagers immediately brought one of the nurses, Julia, to
the dimly-lit room where her clinic sometimes took place. Upon entering,
instead of an empty room, Julia found a young woman lying on the floor,
shivering and unconscious. Suddenly, the woman’s eyes flew open and she looked
around the room, but she did not seem to comprehend where she was. Julia spoke
to her, but she did not respond. After several unsuccessful attempts, Julia
left the room to speak with the villagers.
The
villagers explained Dodo’s strange behavior and unexpected arrival the day
before. Dodo had come for medicine for her daughter, but it would not be
possible for her to make it home without help.
Mercy
Air pilot, Joel, immediately agreed to bring Dodo and the nurses back to her
village of Xihadlo to treat her daughter. Upon arrival, they found several more
individuals with malaria and treated all of them. After ensuring Dodo’s
daughter, was treated and well cared for, Dodo was flown to the nearest
hospital where she also received the treatment she needed to survive.
Thank you.
Joel.
For the Mercy Air team.
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