1st ever complex spine surgery in Tanzania
Read the journey of how the 1st ever spine surgery was performed in Tanzania.
I just wanted to share a little about what the process looks like to get ready to do the FIRST complex spine surgery in Tanzania. For the past 5 years, we have been working closely with Dr. Honest Massawe to train, support, and empower a Tanzanian doctor to have the knowledge, skills, and technology to care for Tanzanian children. I knew, the first time I met him, that he was going to be the doctor that could do it! And boy was I right. In order for this to happen, for 3 years, he regularly left his family and traveled to Sweden, Switzerland, South Africa and more, to become an amazingly skilled spinal surgeon.
BBBBUUUUTTTT, just because the doctor is ready, doesn’t mean the country is actually ready. The hospital is excited and willing, but they don’t have all the equipment we need. Thank goodness for strong relationships. First, something called neuromonitoring and the person who operates it was borrowed from Kenya. Second, is finding a company that can supply the hardware that will go in her spine.
To be honest, the entire process of getting everything together took about weeks of planning, then postponing, then canceling and then planning again. Thank goodness Oliva is a strong, resilient young woman who stayed positive and patient through it all. Below is the actual timeline of how the surgery finally happened to give you an idea of what working in East Africa looks like.
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A week after our first surgery attempt:
Well…what to say…..I was so excited to announce that Oliva was going to go into the hospital on Friday, and have her surgery on Monday. But it is postponed. This is the challenge of being the first. We can’t find the actual hardware that they need for the surgery. Specifically, the rods, screws, and connectors that will be used to correct Oliva’s spine. There is not one company in Tanzania that makes all the hardware. Back to the drawing board. I hope we can find the supplies that we need soon.
10 days later:
Great news, we have the supplies and surgery is scheduled for one week from today. Woo hoo!!
6 days later:
Wait false alarm, canceled again. We had problems getting the equipment from Kenya. This time I feel really badly. Oliva was already in the hospital and was preparing for surgery when we got the call. She is such a strong young woman. She went home and simply said that I know this is going to happen very soon and I can wait. (even though she has been waiting for years already). I am in awe of her strength and positivity even with such huge challenges.
1 week later:
Here it is, third time is a charm. I truly feel like nothing else can go wrong and Oliva will finally be admitted to the hospital on Friday and have surgery on Monday. I can feel it. This is it! I can’t believe after all these years; she’s finally getting the help she needs.
Post-surgery:
I am so excited to report that Oliva had a successful surgery. She is in the ICU and is recovering nicely. If everything goes well, she will spend approximately one month in the hospital recovering and doing physical therapy before she is discharged and will return home. I will periodically send updates as she continues her journey towards a full recovery.
IF YOU WANT TO HELP US PERFORM MORE SURGERIES AND SAVE MORE LIVES, PLEASE CONSIDERING DONATING HERE
Jamila's Standing Tall
Jamila is a hilarious little girl (which you can tell from the videos) who loves to tell jokes and hang out with her family and she has a big family with lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins. She dreams of going to school, playing outside, and doing normal kid things. All those things, that are not possible right now because of her back.
Jamila took the next step in her journey on August 13, 2018. She arrived at the Dar es Salaam airport with 35 different friends and family members, who all came to wish her good luck on her trip. This was Jamila's first time ever on a plane. She was unbelievably excited and greeted every flight attendant, pilot, and helper with a huge, "Hello!" During the long 41 hour plane trip, she got to meet the pilots and explore the cockpit. She was accompanied by our wonderful caregiver, Agness Athumani, and co-founder Masha Balovlenkov.
When Jamila landed in Plano, Texas, she and Agness lived with a wonderful and generous host family who showed the girls all the different things America has to offer; Kentucky Fried Chicken, soft serve ice cream, the Texas State Fair and trick-or-treating. For Halloween she dressed up as a princess.
Her surgery was performed in September at the Texas Back Institute by Dr. Isador Lieberman and his team. The surgery was a huge success. Jamila came out of surgery 5 inches taller and went back to Tanzania 15 lbs heavier.
Although surgery went well Jamila's work was far from over. Recovery was difficult, but she worked at it everyday. She spent 7 days in the hospital relearning how to take each step. She started with just a few steps, but eventually was seen with her walker moving up and down the hallways of the hospital. After leaving the hospital, she spent the next two months in the care of Agness and her host family where she improved more and more each day until November when she finally got to go home and see her family for the first time in 3 months.
Since heading home, Jamila loves to boast that she is finally taller than her little sister. She spends a lot of time playing and practicing her new English language skills. She just recently started at school for the first time in six years! She's attending Good Samaritan, in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Her favorite part is being able to leave the house and make friends again. We are so excited for Jamila and can't wait to see what she can achieve with her new healthy spine.
Meet Zainabu
Zainabu is a beautiful 17-year-old girl and the only girl I’ve met whom actually dreams of being an accountant. In January, she is going to start her senior year of high school. She has so many dreams and is such a fighter, but her trauma is the one thing holding her back.
I met beautiful, 17-year-old, Zainabu 2 years ago when she was 15 years old. During that trip to Tanzania, we met so many children with severe spinal deformities that they inspired the founding of Stand Tall International. Zainabu was one of those children. Unfortunately, the two times Zainabu was supposed to go for surgery, another child that was more critical bumped her at the last minute. Now, Zainabu can’t wait any longer. She has severe difficulty breathing, has challenges eating and digesting because her organs are so squished, and she hasn’t grown taller in 8 years.
Zainabu is the only girl I’ve met whom actually dreams of being an accountant. In January, she started her senior year of high school. She has so many dreams for her future. She is such a fighter, but her trauma is the one thing holding her back.
Zainabu’s family first noticed a problem with her spine when she was 6 years old. They took her to the local hospital. The doctors gave her a back brace to wear and told her that as long as she wore the brace she would “grow straight.” Well, as you can tell by the pictures, she did not grow straight. After almost two years in the brace, they returned to the hospital and at that point, the doctors realized there was nothing they could do and told the family they should look outside of the country for help. Imagine not having access to local doctors who can help. That's where Stand Tall International comes in.
Zainabu needs our help. I can’t imagine a child dying because we couldn’t raise enough money. All the money we raise will go towards her transportation to FOCOS in Ghana, her surgery and recovery. Please help spread the word. If we work together we can save her life.
You can contribute to Zainabu's GoFundMe by visiting https://www.gofundme.com/zainabu.
$10,000 Save-A-Life Pyramid
It’s a pretty simple, really. Below you will see a graphic with 150 envelopes. Each envelope has a number. That number represents a dollar amount. Once the dollar value has been donated, the envelope gets crossed out. The fundraiser continues until all envelopes are crossed out.
Sounds simple right?
It’s a pretty simple, really. Below you will see a graphic with 150 envelopes. Each envelope has a number. That number represents a dollar amount. Once the dollar value has been donated, the envelope gets crossed out. The fundraiser continues until all envelopes are crossed out.
Sounds simple right?
As you can see, we also have a physical wall of envelopes in our office as well. But since we interact with the majority of you online, we needed to come up with a digital solution.
So here’s how it’ll work:
Step 1: Join our Facebook Page, here.
This way, you can follow the progress and see which envelopes are available!
Step 2: Choose an envelope that has the cash value you want to give or raise.
– Make sure the envelope you want is not crossed out.
– If the envelope is crossed out, chose multiple envelopes that equal the amount you feel led to give or raise. Example: If you know you want to give or raise $100, you could choose many different envelope combinations to equal the sum of 100.
*Note: Your envelope will not be held or “claimed” while you are raising the money for your envelope. Our aim is to raise money fast, so the faster you raise your donation, better are the chances that you will meet your donation goal. Your money will not be counted until it has been received, posted, processed, paid, etc…
Step 3: Give or raise cash fast.
– Start your fundraising! We are excited to have you involved in this journey with us. By extending this fundraiser to your co-workers, extended family, roommates, hall-mates, school friends, Sunday school class, Mops group, and everyone you know, you give them the opportunity to participate in this beautiful journey of hope for a child living in Tanzania. So, get creative. Host a bake sale. Skip on eating out for two weeks. Get all your co-workers to give you $10. There are lots of ways to raise these amounts of money fast!
– Donate the cash value of your envelope by:
- using the DONATE button below
- using the “send money” feature on PayPal (use email masha@standtallinternational.org)
- sending a CHECK to Stand Tall International, 1733 S Mansfield Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90019
Step 4: Give yourself a high five and dance around the room because YOU ARE AWESOME!!
Right now, we have 4 children that have all been on the waiting list for one year. If we fill all the envelopes, one of the them will be able to receive surgery in early 2018.