Young Aleeza recovers after her operation – some images in article were lost during transfer of website.
A child of only 1.5 years who lost her left leg and received severe wounds to her abdomen has the colostomy apparatus removed from her stomach helping her recover basic life functions that had been taken from her, by the cruel suicide-terrorists who had targeted Methodist Memorial church, Quetta on 17th December 2017. Read more about the attack ( click here)
9 Christians died during the attack and BPCA continues to support victims with medical fees and substitute wages for those who have lost a main bread-winner. (click here).
Aleeza the youngest victim who is still to reach her 2nd birthday, received emergency treatment from Quetta General Hospital, however due to medical neglect and the exorbitant cost of healthcare post-emergency, bandages on her injured leg were not changed regularly. A gangrene infection set in an doctors at the hospital had no option but to amputate her leg to her knee, a operation no child at such a tender age should have to face, especially when the operation could have been avoided with better medical attention.
After the operation doctors fell back into their usual negligence and many days after the amputation realised that the infection had not been removed and that emergency treatment was needed to save Aleeza’s life. Instead of offering to cover the operation they told the poor Christian parents of Aleeza that they should take their child to Aga Khan Hospital, a specialist private care hospital. Tragically Aga Khan is one of Pakistan’s most expensive hospitals and it was well beyond the parents to afford such care. At first the parents of Aleeza crumbled when they were told that the only way to save their child was to sell themselves into slavery.
Though they initially contemplated relinquishing their freedom to save their daughter, God had a plan. News of her plight reached the BPCA and we raised the funds to pay for the operation and sent a sister with Aleeza to make sure the essential care was provided. (click here)
The operation was a success and Aleeza’s health reached a position of stability (click here), moreover
the doctor at Aga Khan hospital described a hydraulic prosthetic limb that could be attached to Aleeza to enable her to gain much of the mobility that her injury had removed. Aleeza still had to use a Colostomy as her abdomen had been subjected to severe trauma, and her intestines had been separated from her bowel. BPCA were informed that a further operation would be required and were told we would be given at least a weeks notice so that we could raise the necessary funds. When we were advised only days before the operation we knew it would be impossible to raise the funds necessary for the operation. However, with the help of our donors we raised the funds and were able to reschedule the operation which took place on 26th February 2018. Aleeza’s ileostomy reversal was only possible thanks to the generosity of BPCA donors.
Aleeza and her sister Eisha
Dr Ronny explained what treatment has been given to Aleeza, he wrote:
“Aleeza was put under anaesthesia then given a mid-line incision in her abdomen and the intestines which were on the outside of her abdomen and where stool was passing was attached to the intestine which had been temporarily sealed.
Then 3 shunts were placed inside her abdomen to detect and drain any blood leakage in the abdomen. A naso-gastric tube was passed via which any secretion inside her abdomen could come out to give her intestines a chance to heal. She is kept off food or liquids until she passes gas. As soon as she passes gas drains will be removed from her abdomen and the naso-gastric tube will be taken out. Since she cannot yet take any food or fluids orally, she is fed intravenously with fluids’
“Aleeza now has 6-8 sutures on her abdomen which are due to reversal of stoma and laparotomy. Her follow up appointment is on 9th March when Dr Saqib Qazi will decide whether to remove the sutures. After that her amputated leg will be sized for a hydraulic leg that is child-sized. This first leg will cost approximately 4 lacs plus. (£2666).
BPCA paid for the entirety of the operation, which cost less then the original quotation meaning we have a positive balance of around £349 that will be used for check-ups and other minor treatment. We do however aim to raise money to provide the hydraulic prosthetic leg for Aleeza and doctors have assured us that they will allocate this remainder to the cost of the prosthetic enhancement.
More than likely this sizing for a prosthetic leg will need to happen several times as Aleeza grows and develops. As you can imagine with how quickly children grow and we want to help every step of the way. If you would like to contribute to help with Aleeza’s follow up and ongoing medical care please donate by clicking (here)
