“He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother”
Laizer (right) poses with his brother (left).
Laizer
The legend goes that a young boy was carrying his disabled brother on his back when someone asked him if it was hard, to which he replied, “He ain't heavy, he's my brother.” This quote has often been used to show a deeper meaning of unconditional love, support and selflessness within the context of brotherhood. This week, we met a former FAME patient whose story reminded us of this quote. A brother goes out of his way to save his brother's life.
Laizer* is 13 years old. A few months ago, he got a small pimple on his leg, which he didn't tell anyone about as it was small and he thought it would go away after a few days. However, the pimple kept growing.
“The pimple kept growing and became very painful, so I had to stop attending school. The school was a long walk away and I couldn’t walk long because of the pain. Also, the area where the school is located is very cold and this caused the pimple to hurt even more. So I had to stay home. I missed my friends terribly!”
Laizer’s brother took him to a local dispensary, where the doctor diagnosed him with tetanus, saying a rusted nail must have grazed him. He then gave Laizer a tetanus injection. This did not work. This is when Laizer’s mother called the local herbalist and sought his advice since modern medicine had failed.
“My mother called the local herbalist, who came and looked at Laizer’s leg. He said the pimple was easy to treat; he just had to cut it off. I did not agree with this, but taking Laizer to the hospital would be very expensive as the nearest hospital is miles away and this local herbalist was quite cheap. He was only asking for a female cow as payment and since we have many cows, that was not a problem; this was cheaper for us than a hospital. The herbalist asked us to look for the fattest goat we could find and roast it very hard for Laizer. He said that he should eat this to recover faster. But Laizer was very sick and unable to eat anything, so the herbalist ate all the meat. I don’t believe he wanted that goat for Laizer; he wanted it all for himself! I’m still angry about that!”
After the herbalist’s intervention, Laizer dealt with an open wound that quickly became infected and septic. In the beginning, the neighbors would visit and help take care of Laizer or just visit to see how he was doing, but the wound became more infected and started to smell and nobody wanted to come close to their homestead.
“Everyone deserted us. Nobody wanted to be around Laizer. His wound was very smelly and had small insects in it. I took care of him myself. I made sure to give him a sponge bath and try to make him eat something. Every day I stayed with him, day and night, I could see his condition deteriorating. That’s when I decided to bring him to FAME, a hospital I had known about for a while. The herbalist kept telling us to give it more time and that he would heal soon, but I could already see there was no chance of that happening.”
When Laizer’s brother decided to bring him to FAME, he faced a great challenge. Their village is an hour's walk on a dirt, bumpy road to the bus stop and other cars. No cars could venture to their village. So he had to find a way to get Laizer to the bus stage, where he had paid a man 250,000 TZS ($110) to bring Laizer to FAME in his car. The driver charged almost double his usual price because of Laizer's condition.
Laizer’s brother explains how he made a stretcher using two walking sticks and cowhide to carry his brother to the bus stop, an hour's walk away.
“When I decided to bring him to FAME, I asked some neighbors to help me carry him, but they refused. They couldn’t stand the smell and those that could were scared of catching what he had. So I said okay. I’ll carry him myself. I got cow skin and attached it to two sticks such that he could lie down and I could prop him over my shoulder [a makeshift stretcher]. He was very heavy, but I figured if I kept walking and taking short breaks, I might be able to get him to the car waiting for us.”
When Laizer’s brother left the homestead with his brother on his shoulders and walked a few steps, some village boys ran over to help him.
“They just came and didn’t say anything. They held the sides of the cow skin and started walking in silence. I was very upset that they had refused to help at first, but I also knew that Laizer did not have much time and with their help, I would get him there faster. So I accepted the help.”
They got Laizer to the stage, where they found the car he had paid waiting to bring them to FAME. Then they started the four-hour journey.
“Laizer kept getting sicker and sicker and at some point, I thought he might not make it to FAME. The driver sensed this and drove faster.”
Once at FAME, Laizer was rushed to the emergency room. He would end up spending four months in the inpatient ward. He had multiple surgeries to save his leg. His brother stayed by his side the whole time.
He is now healthy and back to his usual self. However, his brother is still cautious.
“He wants to take the cows out to graze just like the old days and I know he can, but I’m too scared. So I tell him to only look after a few cows closer to the home. I don’t want to let him out of my sight in case he gets sick again.”
Laizer’s brother
Laizer’s brother is grateful for the help they received at FAME.
“When we arrived at FAME, the doctors ran to him and started helping him. They didn’t care about the smell or his condition. They just wanted to make him better. I thank God for FAME and pray that you keep helping people in our community. Laizer was here for a long time, but the price was affordable. I was surprised. I wish I had brought him earlier.”
“I’m happy you saved my brother; he’s my only brother. Maasai families are usually quite big, but in our case, it’s just the two of us. He is 28 years younger than me, but he’s my best friend and I could not imagine life without him.”
“Thank you, FAME, for helping me, making me okay and healing my leg. I am stronger now and will return to school soon.”
The patient's name has been changed to protect his privacy and permission was secured to share their story. The quotes have been translated from Maasai to English.