Mellony's Medical Miracle
A couple of months ago our medical team in Uganda reached out to us letting us know that a young mother, Mellony, was in distress after giving birth.
Her pregnancy seemed to have no complications and on July 31st she gave birth to a perfectly healthy baby girl. The two of them were sent home, but the next day Mellony was back in the hospital and it was discovered that she was suffering from severe anemia, hemolysis, and kidney failure.
As the days went on her symptoms worsened. Eventually, she needed to be put on dialysis and monitored constantly. After a week of minimal improvement, medical professionals were losing hope and they told our team that Mellony’s chances of survival were very slim as there was too much stain on her organs.
The team continued to pray for her diligently, sending her encouragement daily as well as making sure she had access to the care she needed. Just when it appeared that all hope was lost Mellony’s health took a miraculous turn for the better. Her Kidney functions improved astronomically and within a week of the turn around she was ready to leave the hospital. One nurse even said “I don’t know how she is alive, medically there is no explanation as to how she is still living and getting better”
What a testament to the power of our God and what can happen when we have faith in his healing power.
Mellony is now staying at one of the Impact Nations shelters with her baby and she has almost fully recovered! Mellony stated “I never expected to come back to life, I had already told my mother to take care of my baby because when I looked at what was happening to me, I felt my life going… I can’t thank you enough!”
Thank You Dance
The Impact Nations family provided over $80,000 to rescue teen mothers in Uganda. Our leaders on the ground wanted to say 'thank you' for equipping them to get the job done!
A Hole in the Head
Akram is 18 months old now. He was born to one of our teen moms in the Princess Shelter, Kampala; and she was rescued for psychosocial support and proper protection. Fortunately, the teen mom received psychosocial support and she was enrolled into main stream education in primary six. She is a bright girl and desires to become a Lawyer. However, through our regular growth and development sessions at Maisha in house clinic, it was discovered that Akram had his Anterior Fontanelle not closed. It was a concern to our Health team that the Anterior Fontanelle was still exposed just like that of a 6months old baby; and it was accommodating 5 fingers at ago during the assessment.
The baby was inactive and had failed to exhibit the expected milestones at this stage. This therefore necessitated a pediatric review at our partner hospital. The doctors confirmed a severe lack of Vitamin D3 which is a necessary requirement for closure of fontanelles in babies.
Akram was given vitamin D injections and put on daily Vitamin D supplements in form of syrups and chewable tablets as seen in the photo. He was also put on special feeding with eggs, fish and milk on a daily basis.
After one month of treatment, a review was done on 25th of May and the fontanelle had started to close. Now it is able to accommodate 1 and half fingers instead of 5 fingers like earlier diagnosed.
Akram has improved in his day-to-day activity and achieving his milestones well. Failure to arrest this condition would have caused reduced activity and a mental retardation. He will continue with treatment and special feeding until the anterior fontanelles close completely. We are so grateful for this healing.
Mom at 14
We received Brenda a 14-year-old teen mom through the Lubaga Hospital teen safe space. She was defiled by a neighbour who kidnapped, abused and abandoned her in an unfinished building in their neighbourhood. He threatened to harm her should she reveal what had happened to her. Brenda was in shock and did not tell her Auntie whom she lived what had happened to her, afraid that the perpetuator would kill her as he had warned. What she did not know was that she had conceived as a result of this incident, and of course, one cannot hide a pregnancy forever.
When our team was called to support her, Brenda was weeping painfully; she was depressed and was struggling to accept that she was pregnant. She refused to eat as an attempt to end her life. Brenda needed counselling and mental health support. Even though the perpetrator was imprisoned and her case is being pursued, Brenda’s life was being threatened. She needed a place where she could feel safe, protected and loved.
After a series of counselling sessions and specialized care to for Brenda, she accepted her baby and even began to look forward to holding him in her arms. She had her antenatal care reviews until she was 35 weeks along, when she got preterm labour pains. On October 13th, Brenda underwent an emergency caesarean section and gave birth to a baby boy – she named him “Joy”.
At birth, Joy was in foetal distress. Joy was asphyxiated with a very low oxygen score of of 4/10 and weighed 2.6kgs (5.7lbs). He was rushed to the neonatal unit in a critical condition where he spent 4 days. They were later discharged in a fairly good condition. One week later, however, Joy’s condition worsened and he was readmitted because he was still having difficulty breathing. After 3 days of close monitoring and regular tests, results indicated that the baby’s heart had a small PDA. According to the cardiologist, this should close by the time he makes 3 months, but we were advised that if it fails to close then surgical measures will be taken. Brenda is grateful as she testifies that it could have been a life lost if we did not intervene. She says
“I am forever grateful that The Remnant Generation saved my baby and I.”
Brenda is a strong girl and she loves her baby very much. Baby Joy is still in hospital. It costs about $57 per day for the medications, special tests, and general facilitation for our nurse and teen mom while in hospital. Join us in believing for complete healing.
Six Months Pregnant
When her mother discovered that Pasha was pregnant at 12 by her stepfather, she got Pasha an abortion and abandoned all three children to their grandfather. When we met her at age 14, she was complaining of terrible abdominal pain. Pasha assumed this was because they hadn't eaten in three days. Their grandfather was upset ofer their cost of living and had kicked them out of the house.
Pasha is now six months pregnant. After being reunited and accepted by her biological father, her suicidal tendencies have ended and she found forgiveness for her mother and grandfather. Pasha is now able to express herself, socialize with her colleagues, and smiles often.
Rescued to Rescuer
Robinah's story is an inspiration to more than just the girls she is teaching every day. The Impact Nations family is inspired to rescue 100 girls like Robinah this year.
2020 In Review
2020 was an incredible year at The Remnant Generation. They never gave up in the face of lockdown and found creative new ways to continue serving their community. From a mobile School of Purpose to new hospital partnerships, this year was packed with innovation and impact.
Heroes in Health
"Lubaga Hospital has decided to take this partnership a notch higher and have opened up a special area for pregnant teenage girls, assigned particular nurses and midwives to take care of them, provided a free ambulance to come to pick them from our shelter, and capped all their fees at a very minimal amount regardless of whether it's a c-section or whether there are other complications that require further expertise.
They will also provide a private room so the girls are shielded from the prying eyes and wagging tongues of in the maternity wards... And this is not just for the girls from The Remnant Generation, but for all the other teenage girls within the community who come to the hospital.
Additionally, The Remnant Generation has been nominated in the Heroes In Health Awards 2020 Awards in the categories of Maternal health & child health care and Our Health Officer, Ruth Namubiru Mugenyi was nominated for Nurse of the year!"
