When bright-eyed Christina was born with a cleft lip, a congenital condition characterized by an opening or split in the upper lip, her father, Amos, cried. Those with cleft lip are often the target of bullying and social discrimination.
Thankfully, Christina’s parents found hope again when they heard about Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Zambia (CURE Zambia) from a health worker at a local clinic. In 2020, the highly skilled surgeons at CURE Zambia corrected Christina’s cleft lip with life-changing surgery.
“I cried the first time I saw her after surgery, but this time around it was tears of joy,’’ said Amos.
But at CURE, treatment for Christina didn’t end with surgery. We’re dedicated to ensuring our patients fully heal, which is why we operate a home visit follow-up program, with the support and partnership of Christian Blind Mission (CBM).
It was through this program that CURE Zambia was able to identify that Christina needed to undergo a follow-up cleft surgery.
About CURE’s Home Visit Follow-Up Program
During a routine check-up call to see how Christina was doing, the staff at CURE Zambia discovered that every time Christina ate food, she had to take small bites and food would often come out her nose.
Her parents knew something was wrong. “Everything was going all right till she turned two years old,” said Christine, Christina’s mother. “And recently, we noticed that small drops of blood would follow after food comes out of her nose.”
Christine and Amos are small-scale commercial farmers who farm a variety of vegetables that they sell to sustain their family of eight. On average, they make 50 to 150 kwacha per month. The cost of transportation to and from CURE Zambia was too much. They couldn’t get Christina the help she needed.
Thankfully, CURE was able to help.
CURE also believes in consistent follow-up care for all our patients.
Leaving No Child Behind
In June 2023, staff from CURE Zambia traveled 80 kilometers to Christina’s village to bring her back to the hospital and have her checked by our in-house pediatric plastic surgeon, Dr. Meredith Workman.
She is currently Zambia’s only pediatric plastic surgeon. Previously, plastic surgeries were performed only during surgical camps by visiting surgeons from the United States. With Dr. Workman on board, CURE Zambia is able to provide comprehensive plastic reconstructive care to children like Christina all year round.
After discovering an opening on the upper part of her nasolabial fistula, Dr. Meredith scheduled Christina for lip revision and nasolabial fistula closure surgery later this year.
The next step to complete her healing journey will be for her to see an orthodontist for bone grafting to her gum line, which can only be done when she turns nine years old.
CURE’s Continuing Commitment to Our Patients
Currently, through the home visit follow-up program, we visit about four homes per month and meet up with over 50 caregivers through support groups and community-based programs to better understand the continuing needs of CURE Zambia patients after surgery.
These platforms are also used to discuss various social and health topics like nutrition and feeding, strengthening the livelihoods of caregivers of children with disabilities, play therapy, home-based physical therapy techniques, and home-based speech therapy.
After Christina’s appointment with Dr. Meredith, CURE Zambia staff drove her and her dad back home, where she was welcomed by her mother, her four sisters, and her brother.
The family was overjoyed by the compassion and care CURE showed Christina and the family. Without the home visit program, Christina would not have gotten the help she desperately needed.
“My joy knows no bounds,” said Christine. “Thank you for the care and love you have shown my family.”
To learn more about the conditions we treat at CURE Zambia, please click here.
If you would like to sponsor a surgery, please consider a gift today to help another child like Christina waiting for care. Your gift goes even further as cleft lip and palate surgeries are paid for in part by Smile Train.
About the Beit-CURE Children’s Hospital of Zambia
Established in 2006, CURE Zambia performs over 2,500 life-changing reconstructive, orthopedic, ENT, and audiological surgeries each year for children suffering from treatable disabilities. Strategically located in Lusaka, the teaching hospital comprises six buildings, 54 beds, and three operating theatres. In addition to world-class clinical service, CURE Zambia ministers to the emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their communities. The Beit Trust, a UK-based charity, provided the funding for this facility as a centennial gift to the people of Zambia. CURE Zambia is a strategic partner with the Ministry of Health.
