Another Tanzanian child was fortunate to have Dr. Casey here with our SOAP team! Clemensiana is a 10 year old little girl with cerebral palsy (CP). Her mother is very attentive to her care, and she could tell that Clemensiana developed pain in her right thigh, which then began to swell. X-rays showed a break of her upper thigh bone (femur). In order to get Clemensiana back to being able to sit, she needed surgery to fix her break. Her family was able to pay for her surgery, but could not buy the implants needed for the repair. Luckily, SOAP had received donations of the hardware that Clemensiana needed, so we were able to provide that!
Because of Clemensiana’s CP and her muscle contractures, our team knew that her surgery would be very complicated. Again, Dr. Casey led a detailed pre-op conference with the residents, reviewing Clemensiana and the surgery she needed in a step-by-step fashion. Because there are no orthopedists at KCMC that specialize in pediatric orthopedics, the Tanzanian residents absolutely soak up all the knowledge that Dr. Casey shares!
We had a bit of excitement in the OR when the power went off briefly, but, thankfully, it came back on quickly!
We are so grateful to SOAP donors for the implants for Clemensiana!