Saturday, April 9, 2011

alberta.


Today I spent the afternoon in Harbel, where I met five year old Alberta.


Alberta and her older sister live with their grandmother, who is also a LACES coach in Harbel, a city where one of our leagues is. I noticed the scars on Alberta's forehead and asked her grandma what happened.


Two years ago Alberta accidentally fell into hot frying oil,


and her left arm, back, chest, and part of her scalp were badly burned.


Miraculously, she survived. But when her arm healed, it became attached to her side and is now severely deformed.


In addition to the disfigurement, Alberta also suffers from reoccurring blisters/cuts under and around her arm.


I just emailed Keith, the dentist I live with, to ask him his opinion. He has lived and worked in Liberia for a few years now, and is pretty knowledgeable about the country's health care. Him and his family are currently out of town in Sierra Leone on a Mercy Ship, which is essentially a floating hospital that travels to third world countries. The Sierra Leone border is about a five hour drive, and then another two hours to the ship- and I'm wondering if there is any possibility Alberta can have surgery there.

Alberta is only five years old, and shouldn't have to live a life of disfigurement and pain. I am praying that I will be able to figure out how to help her get the medical care she needs.

1 comment:

  1. This is heartbreaking, not only because of what has happened to little Alberta, but because we also know that there are most likely similar stories of hurt children all over Africa that cannot get the help they need. Keep us posted. I hope something can be done to help her.

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