Kidney failure is a serious, and often fatal diagnosis. But thankfully there is sometimes a cure for failure – and a cure for kidney failure at the Good News Hospital.
Robust is a man in his thirties who spent 26 days in the Good News Hospital. When he arrived, he was very sick and a blood test showed a very high Creatinine level, indicating severe kidney failure. Without intervention, he would have died within days.
Kidney failure has many causes, but in Mandritsara, a frequent cause is the tropical disease Schistosomiasis or Bilharzia, and this was the case for Robust. He had been infected with the Schistosome parasite by walking through stagnant water – a lake or slow-flowing river. The parasites have a complex life-cycle which includes passing inside a certain kind of snail which is widespread in the district. In humans, the parasite lives in the liver and then moves to the bladder or bowel. Eggs are produced here which are passed out in urine or stools and these hatch and penetrate the snails to complete the cycle.
In Robust’s case, the Schistosomiasis had affected not only the bladder, but had also blocked the lower end of the ureters (the tubes which drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder) so that his kidneys were unable to excrete the body’s waste products like Creatinine, and the result is what we call kidney failure.
There are medicines which can cure the Schistosomiasis infestation, but they may not be able to repair the damage already done, such as the blockage in the ureters. In many cases this needs a surgical operation. This is very difficult surgery, but we are grateful to God for highly skilled surgeons at Mandritsara who are able to do this.
Firstly, Robust had a nephrostomy performed on each kidney. This is a temporary procedure whereby a plastic tube is placed from each kidney to the skin surface, allowing his kidneys to function and urine to drain into a bag. His Creatinine level came down to normal. A few days later, he underwent an operation to attach the healthy part of his ureters on to his bladder. He made a good recovery and was able to go home with completely normal kidney function.
Ted asked him what he thought about the gospel message that he had heard each day. Robust’s response was this – “I know that God has been very good to me in saving my life, and now I want to continue to follow him when I go home.” Praise God for this work in Robust’s life, and do please pray for him in the coming days – for his ongoing physical recovery, and also as he takes these first steps of faith.
Laurence is a lady in her late 20s who arrived at the Good News Hospital 5 months pregnant, but in kidney failure with a Creatinine level over 800. She was treated with bilateral nephrostomies and her Creatinine came down to normal. She stayed in hospital for about 3 months until she delivered a normal healthy baby. Two weeks later, Ted operated to relieve the ureteric obstruction. In her case the Schistosomiasis had affected the upper part of both ureters, meaning there was not enough healthy ureter to connect to the bladder. So Ted fashioned an “ileal conduit” from a piece of small intestine. Laurence made a good recovery and was discharged with her kidneys working normally.
Ted says: “We operate on about 30 cases like this every year, with patients as young as 15! Without prompt treatment these patients would all die within days.” Praise the Lord for thirty cures for failure (kidney failure) each year!
But as I write this, there is a problem in Mandritsara. The machine which measures Creatinine levels, essential in diagnosis and management of the patients, is very old and the manufacturer has stopped making the test strips that it needs. So by the end of the year the Good News Hospital laboratory will be unable to measure the level of Creatinine. The hospital is hoping to buy a new machine that is available in Madagascar. It costs £4000. This will enable the hospital to continue these life-saving operations, and to care for many other patients with kidney and bladder problems. The suppliers will come to Mandritsara to install the machine and train the staff in its use.
Would you like to help us to purchase this machine?
If so, please contact our treasurer, Richard Bulmer by clicking here, or go to www.mandritsara.org.uk/give
Thank God for Ted and the other surgeons with the skill and experience to care for these patients who otherwise would certainly die – and pray for wisdom and help from the Lord for them and the nursing team as they undertake these procedures.
Pray for Robust, Laurence and all the others – not only for their physical recovery, but that the Word of Life which they have all heard in the hospital might bring them to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Please pray for funds to buy the new machine to measure Creatinine levels.