Pediatric ward at Kigoma Baptist Hospital in far western Tanzania.

Tedi’s young father was considered to be a pest by some of the ward staff but those of us aware to the details of his daughter’s case knew better. No matter how early we arrived to round, he was always at the entrance of the ward awaiting any update and to make sure that we saw his daughter. Tedi is a 6 year old girl who fell out of a tree 3 months ago while playing and broke her left upper arm in two places.

Coming from a poor rural Tanzanian farming family earning $2 per day, they bound the arm hoping for the best

. 6 weeks ago two sites on the arm opened up draining pus. Since then, the family has traveled to a number of rural hospitals, using every shilling they had to find a cure for their daughter who now had a shortened left arm from the non-reduced fracture and is chronically ill from her osteomyelitis (infection of the bone—see X-ray). All of the treatments were poorly chosen and inadequate without surgical management. Her parent’s persistence brought her to this mission hospital but we have no orthopedic surgeons in this part of Tanzania. On the coast of Tanzania, 3 days travel by bus, there is a US trained pediatric infectious disease specialist and a Tanzanian orthopedic surgeon at the Arusha Lutheran Medical Center who would work together to try to save the arm of this intelligent little girl. The surgeries and very prolonged stay (estimated at 30 days) for antibiotics and rehab will be very expensive and not a possibility for this family. Tedi’s complex treatment and long hospitalization will cost $1500. If you would like to contribute toward this girl’s medical care please let us know. We will keep you updated.