Patient Success Stories

Francis is a mother of five: three boys and one-year-old twin girls, Mary Faith and May Joy. Not knowing that she was carrying twins, Francis first came to Kissy Center when a neighbor brought her after she began to bleed in her eighth month of pregnancy.

Though Francis received the care she needed and eventually delivered the twin girls, she and her husband, who does not have a job, worried about how they would pay the medical bills. Ms. Miu and the maternity staff reassured Francis that her health and that of her babies was the most important and that the other matters would take care of themselves. Had Francis been at a government hospital, she would have surely been turned away due to her financial troubles.

Abraham's son, Mohammad, lies limply in his father’s lap. Despondent and malnourished, the five-year old boy recenlty developed a severe rash on his arms and legs.  

Worried about the spreading rash, Abraham first took his son to the local government hospital in Freetown. Unable to pay for the services, Abraham and Mohammad were turned away. Soon thereafter, Abraham and his wife, Jari, heard from a friend that they could get care for their son at UMC Health and Maternity Center, Kissy. Abraham, a Muslim with two wives, was skeptical that he and his family would receive care at a Methodist hospital.

Abraham’s concerns were soon allayed. Upon seeing Mohammed lifeless and uncomfortable from the rash, Ms. Sasey immediatley arranged for the hospital staff to provide Mohammad, Abraham and his family with food, clothing, and care for all their children.

Abraham is greatly appreciative to the Kissy Center staff and laments for all of the ailing people in his country, “Our children are sick.”

One year ago, Jeneba, a 25-year-old mother of three, was beside herself. Her baby daughter, Elizabeth, then only eight months old, was very sick with malaria and losing weight with each passing day. Elizabeth got to the point where she couldn’t even keep down food. Her hair took on the tell-tale pink tint of an undernourished child.

Seeing Jeneba’s anguish, a next door neighbor told Jeneba about the Kissy Center Nutrition Program.

Adama is a young widow and a mother of four. Her husband died last year, most likely from AIDS. Adama learned of her own HIV infection when she was tested for the disease through the PMTCT program last year. Though Adama sadly lost her baby, the test results did lead her to seek help from the Friends Unit. Though she is very disheartened by her health situation, Adama is grateful for the livelihood assistance she received from the Friends Unit program, particularly the funds she has been given to pay her children’s school fees. Without UMC Health and Maternity Center, Kissy, Adama and her children would have little hope for survival.

Holistic Care

Eighty-three year-old Marian, contracted AIDS through her 60+ years of serving as a traditional birth attendant (TBA) in her community. Many women cannot afford or do not trust hospitals and depend upon TBA’s like Marian to help them give birth. Being unaware of the risks of AIDS and other contractible diseases, nor having an education in hygienic child birthing, Marian acquired AIDS through one of the hundreds of births she attended to over the years.

In May 2005 Marian began to experience the symptoms of AIDS—aching joints, loss of appetite, and extreme sweating. Knowing that something was very wrong, she visited various hospitals and submitted numerous blood tests. Finally, Marian’s brother brought her to UMC Health and Maternity Center, Kissy. Within a week Marian received her diagnosis, counseling, and information on her healthcare and medicinal options and was promised follow-up home visits by the Friends Unit. Though she is just starting her AIDS treatment, Marian already feels better: physically, thanks to the medication given to her through the hospital; mentally, now knowing the cause of her illness; and spiritually, thanks to the prayer and care given to her by the Friends Unit.