24-Yr-Old Man With Rare Health Condition

24-year-old Robiana Muteka of Livingstone has never known life without pain.

Muteka of house No. DB 166 Dambwa Central, is tormented by a rare condition, the solution to which medical practitioners are yet to find.

“I don’t sleep due to excruciating pain. I fight to find the little sleep that I can get. I can’t walk for a long time, I can’t sit in one position for a long time. When I lie down, I can’t easily turn around. I easily get tired during the day and I have stopped thinking of what to do with my future because every time I get to have ideas, I think of my problem and I get depressed,” he says while fighting back tears.

Muteka, who completed Grade 12 at David Livingstone High School in 2008, says he is so depressed that he has even given up on his dream of becoming a scientist.

His mother Joyce Mukena Muteka says she never imagined that what looked like a mere “birthmark” on her son’s leg would turn out to be the nightmare that it is today.

“My son was born in 1987, he is a twin. I have two sets of twins. In all I have six children after I lost the seventh in 2004. When he Robiana was born, he had a birthmark on his right side down to the right knee. I did not realise that this was ever going to be a major medical problem later in his life. However, at the age of five, every time I bathed him, I noticed that he was in pain and a year later at age six, I decided to seek medical attention here at Dambwa Clinic and was referred to Livingstone General Hospital,” she says.

Joyce says at Livingstone General Hospital Dr Shafick, who has since gone into private practice, referred her to the University Teaching Hospital as her son had a medical condition known as spina bifida.

Joyce, who lost her husband when her last set of twins Robiana and Salvador were two years old, says the UTH refuted the spina bifida theory.

“The discharge slip from UTH stated that there was no need for surgical procedures due to non-presence of an open wound, and no medication was administered to my son upon discharge and as he grew, the problem also grew,” Joyce recalls.

She says when Robiana turned 15, she decided to take him to Zimbabwe for specialist treatment as well as education and while in Grade 9, he underwent a scan in that country.

“The doctors said there was nothing that could be done as it was too late. I have seen my son suffer from a small boy and I struggled to make sure that he at least gets his education and only God knows what He has kept for him and from his Grade 12 results he managed to get a full certificate despite getting his education under pain,” Joyce says.

She says last December while the world celebrated Christmas, her son’s problem worsened and he was in pain.

“You can’t see his hip, he can’t put on trousers or certain shirts, he can’t sleep and he is in pain when he stands. I have given up on the hospital issues as we are constantly being told that there is nothing that can be done and that we should seek prayer and hope for a miracle,” she said.

Joyce says that after Zimbabwe, she still tried to take her son back to
Livingstone General Hospital with the assistance of Sister Shearer of the Catholic Home Based Care but still she was told that nothing could be done.
She says the last time she took her son to hospital was in 2006, and medical personnel advised her to seek prayer.

“I retired in 2009 and I think due to noticing my predicament, the Ministry of Education merely did me a favour as I still had some few months before actual retirement.”

Joyce says her son’s condition is causing her constant high blood pressure which has left her almost deaf.

“My BP blood pressure is always high. It is a sad situation to see my son in this situation and I have hearing problems, so people and my own children have to shout for me to hear what they are saying,” Joyce says.

Dr Mzaza Nthele, who is Livingstone General Hospital head of clinical care and acting medical superintendent, says he would have wanted to see the boy but was out to Itezhi-Tezhi on duty.

“We have a Zambian-trained surgeon Dr Mathani. I would love him to see the boy so I will give him your number so that he can see him,” Dr Nthele said.

Meanwhile, Muteka’s appeal is for spiritual intervention and assistance to access specialist treatment abroad. He says his condition got worse last October when the pain and swelling started to grow and headed towards his thigh.

“Since I know that the first lady, Dr Christine Kaseba is a medical doctor, she must know specialist hospitals where I can be treated. Even people who pray should put me in their prayers as I know that it is not just money that is needed for my condition.”

The Post

Posted by Admin on March 11, 2012. Filed under HEALTH. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry