Visit to Acid Survivor

Yesterday I met Jude, the Psychosocial Counselor, and Samson, the Legal Counselor, at Mulago Hospital’s Burn Unit. We were there to see a middle aged Muslim man who had acid thrown on him a week before. Three of his subordinates at the hospital where he worked were jealous of his position and tried to slander him to his boss. Consequently, all three were fired, as the boss knew he was a good employee. Seeking revenge, one of the three fired men got his brother and another man to throw acid on him on his way to pray at the mosque. Luckily, he had seen a sign in his village (thanks to the Acid Survivors Foundation) that clean cold water should be thoroughly doused on acid burns. He ran to a neighbor who helped him and then took him to a local hospital. He was then transported to Mulago Hospital to get the treatment he needed.

When I met him, he was awake and able to talk. He is a handsome man with a beautiful smile. Only part of the left side of his face was burned but the worst damage was to his throat and upper chest. Skin had been grafted from his thigh in order to close the gaping wound in his neck and on his chest. Apparently, it will take a week or so to see if the graft was successful. He will remain in the Hospital for several weeks, and has a caretaker and his family who come and sit with him.

A note about hospital care in Uganda ... Patients must bring their own bedding, pajamas, food, etc. It is up to the family or a friend to change their sheets, feed them, and basically do everything an LVN or nurse would do in the States. In the nursery, the expectant parents must bring a blanket to dry the new born and another to swaddle him in. They must provide all bedding and change the sheets every time the baby soils them. There are no diapers! Parents, patients’ families and caretakers bring their own mattresses and sleep in the corridors on the floor when they are not by the bedside.

Back to the burn victim ... He told me he found solace in his religion and said his family and children were very supportive. The AS Foundation gives the victim’s family a little money to help them get by while the breadwinner is indisposed. The legal counselor told him that he was working with the police to find the perpetrators, one of whom left a shoe behind in his haste to get away. This will be used as evidence if the 2 are caught. We thanked him for his time, and he thanked us for our interest in him. From there we went to the plastic surgery unit to visit a young woman who had just come from the operation theater where the surgeon was attempting to rebuild her nose. This would be one of several surgeries to try to restore her face. Since she was just out of surgery, we did not get to speak with her. The staff from the ASF will return on Monday for a visit.

I forgot to mention that a peer counselor also visits the survivors. This is an acid survivor who volunteers his or her time to reassure the victim that he/she is not alone and that there is life after physical healing. To me, survivors helping survivors is the best treatment there is.

This begins the countdown to departure tomorrow night…