Abdominal Tuberculosis
Micah (left) poses with his uncle (right) during the interview.
This week we met and interviewed a former FAME patient who had come for a check-up and to pick up his medicine. He was accompanied by his uncle, who was also with him when he was admitted at FAME three months ago. This is his story.
16-year-old Micah* was out grazing cattle with his cousins when he collapsed. He had not been well for a few weeks but was still strong enough to do his daily chores. He had lost a lot of weight which he put down to running after their big herd of cattle; his father had bought new cows, so the herd was much bigger than he was used to. He also suffered from abdominal pain that would come and go.
“I am rarely sick and when I am, my mother gives me some herbs and I get better. This time it didn’t seem to work. That morning when I got up, I felt my body was hot [fever] and I had diarrhea. Also, my stomach was swollen and painful, but I thought I had eaten too much the previous night. I fainted while grazing cattle a few hours later.”
Micah’s cousins panicked and immediately called home and asked his uncle for help.
“My uncle owns a pharmacy in the village and sells medicine to people. We call him doctor because he can always tell you what medicine you need, so most villagers go to him when the herbs fail. But he tells me that when he arrived and saw me on the ground, he knew there was nothing any of the medicine he sells could do for me and knew he had to rush me to the hospital.”
Micah’s uncle hired a car that brought him to FAME.
“When I saw his condition, I knew he needed to see a doctor urgently. He was conscious and could understand what was happening around him, but he couldn’t stand up; he was too weak and in pain and had to be supported to walk. I have known FAME for many years, so I brought him here.”
At FAME, Micah was admitted to the inpatient ward. The doctor ordered a CT scan and laboratory tests. He was diagnosed with abdominal tuberculosis.
“When the doctor told me Micah had abdominal tuberculosis, I told him he was mistaken. We know about tuberculosis and people with tuberculosis cough and cough. With Micah, there was not even a sneeze! But the doctor explained that there are different types of tuberculosis; the one where people cough is in the lungs, but Micah’s was in the stomach.”
While caused by the same bacteria, lung and abdominal tuberculosis are two different forms of tuberculosis. Though they share similarities regarding the underlying infection, there are important differences between the two conditions regarding symptoms, diagnostic methods and treatment.
Micah was immediately put on anti-tuberculosis treatment. The treatment duration would be six to nine months to ensure complete eradication of the bacteria. While surgery is needed in some cases to treat abdominal tuberculosis, Micah was lucky that his condition could be solely managed by medication.
After five days at FAME’s inpatient ward, Micah was allowed to go home. He is now in his third month of treatment. His uncle reflects on their time at FAME.
Micah (left) chats with his uncle (middle) and FAME’s Social Worker, Kitashu Nganana.
“I thank FAME for treating Micah and not charging us a lot. Since we come from quite far, most of our money was spent on transport. When the doctor requested a couple of tests to diagnose Micah’s condition, I was worried that I could not afford everything; I asked him to pick only one test, the most important! But everything was affordable and the little money I had left could comfortably cover his tests and treatment. I was also delighted to learn that tuberculosis medicine is free! Thank you, FAME, for all your help and cooperation.”
Free tuberculosis (TB) medication is provided to FAME by the Tanzanian Government through the Tanzanian National TB Control Program (NTCP), which is responsible for implementing TB control strategies and ensuring the availability of TB medication. The government spearheads initiatives to combat tuberculosis and increase the country's access to TB diagnosis and treatment. FAME is grateful to have this support and partnership with the Tanzanian Government.
“I continue to get better and have no pain or weakness anymore. FAME made me better. I say thank you.”
*The patient's name has been changed to protect his privacy and permission was secured to share his story. The quotes from this interview have been translated from Maasai and Swahili to English.