Little Angel, Big inspiration!!

The people who touch your life in a huge way are the ones you least expect. This being my first blog, I dedicate it to the people who remind me of the real reason I love my profession so much.

In Dec 2009, a beautiful three year old walked into my consulting room. I looked into her eyes and I fell in love. Her name is Magda Holana Iteka. She gave me a big hug and proceeded to fire a ton of questions at me in Kirundi. I was lost! She was escorted by her daddy, who was frightfully depressed, having spent two weeks in hospital with his daughter. His life had just fallen apart and it was heartbreaking to hear what he had been through in the previous month.

In September 2009, Mr. Iteka and his wife, a lovely Burundian couple, were blessed with a bouncing baby girl, their third child. The couple's joy was short-lived as they soon noted that their first daughter was getting sickly. She was treated severally without improvement until she was finally seen by a pediatrician who sent her for some tests and confirmed that their daughter was suffering from acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

I know we can't even begin to comprehend what kind of devastation that must have brought to the young family. Long story short, the only place she could get any kind of reasonable treatment was in Kenya. With family support and prayers, father and daughter boarded a flight to Nairobi and were immediately admitted to Nairobi hospital. The poor child was sick, fighting infection, severe anemia with dangerously low platelets. By the time she was stable enough to tolerate the first round of chemotherapy, it was two weeks down the road. This would end up being the story of her life, in and out of hospital, same grueling cycle and then some.

All this cost a shocking amount of money. The family had to make crazy adjustments to meet this costs. Magda's dad had to leave his baby in a strange country to go back home and work round the clock to make money to meet the cost of treatment. They had an infant daughter who needed  her mother, so mom coming to Nairobi was out of the question. What to do now?

In comes Carrine!! Angel from above. Carrine is cousins with Magda's dad. This girl suspended her university studies to come and take care of Magda indefinitely. This soon to be lawyer, packed up, left all her family and friends and moved to a strange country without any qualms. This is despite the fact that she would spend this time housed by a well wisher she barely knew and she spoke only limited English.

Carrine went beyond her call of duty. She nursed Magda through the harrowing post-chemo days when she would get mucositis and would only swallow water. She patiently fed her for hours just to get her to swallow half a cup of milk. She sang to her for hours as she waited for the endless hours of chemo infusions to end, she dressed her in stylish girlie clothes and got her fancy boots and handbags and she called me religiously whatever time of day or night she got a sixth sense that something wasn't quite right with Magda.

Through this, Magda held on tight even when things appeared really grim. She would be in hospital with raging fevers and obnoxiously strong antibiotics for two whole weeks and she would still bounce back and give me that angelic smile when she came for her clinic follow-up checks.

It has been more than two years now, Magda is now five. For the last two years, she has never been to her home country, she does not know her baby sisters, she calls me and her oncologist mama despite the fact that she knows her mom and she has never ever complained about being constantly sick. She has a big heart and confidence to march, she speaks fluent Swahili and is fairly proficient in English. She has bravely borne her illness. She has touched so many hearts, its beyond words. She knows all the staff members of Gertrudes Gardens Children's Hospital Muthaiga and they all adore her.

From the bottom of my heart, I thank all Kenyans who have responded whenever we have asked for blood group O-negative donors to donate so she could get platelets whenever she's in need. I particularly thank a police officer all the way from Mwingi (my apologies I forget your name) who travelled at his own expense so as to donate for this precious child. I am forever indebted to Miss Esther Onyango, who organized for the media to put out word for the blood donations.

As for my little angel Magda, you are the brightest star I know. I pray you never lose your resilience. You are destined for big things. And in my heart, you will forever remain a huge part of my life. You have taught me more than words can express. I say a prayer for you every day. You will beat this monster!!!