LIGHT IN AFRICA'S VOLUNTEER CO-ORDINATOR TOM SAVES THE LIFE OF
A 7 YEAR OLD MAASAI CHILD
A 7 YEAR OLD MAASAI CHILD
Sophia Mollel was so hungry that she decided to eat a plant that she knew was deadly toxic but with no food in the home to eat she was prepared to take that risk.
Rushed into Calvery Dispensary, in Mirerani, Manyara Region, by her frantic father, she was gasping for breath, as the round yellow ball – like plant lodged in her windpipe. Jake Lyell the International photographer was interviewing Light in Africa’s out-reach dispensary Doctor Richard about the previous day’s dispensary out in the bush, where another child was brought into LIA care who also was suffering from hunger and was severely malnourished.
The plant which no one knows its name, is highly toxic, so much so that even the goats and cows know not to eat it, and as a maasai child Sophia would have been taught not to allow any animals to graze near the plant for fear of losing there lives.
Knowing the maasai father had no money for the child to be taken to the nearest hospital 50 minute drive away, Dr. Minja the Director of Calvery Dispensary, requested the help from mama Lynn to rush the child to the nearest hospital to try to save her life.
With mama Lynn at the time was Tom Dowsett, a medical student from Leeds University who is this years acting co-ordinator for the many volunteers about to arrive at LIA Tudor Village site. He was assisting with the filming and interviews Jake was conducting for a dvd he is producing on the work of Light in Africa, when the child was rushed in.
With instructions from Dr. Richard to keep giving the child cardiac massage, she was placed on mama Lynn’s knee with her head tilted back to allow air to enter her airways, and to enable Tom to continue the massage as the car was driven at high speed like a rally car through police check points along the way….. Three times the child’s breathing stopped and Tom massaged even harder to bring her back to life. After a journey of 50 minutes to the nearest hospital, the child was rushed into theatre where the offending plant was removed, if it hadn’t had such a hard shell, with all the pressure that was applied it could have split open and the toxins would have been released and spread rapidly through Sophia’s body and she would most certainly have died.
Sophia is one very blessed child for her to have had a dedicated medical student on hand to give her cardiac massage to keep her breathing until the obstruction was removed. She will be discharged from hospital tomorrow, and she will join the many children who are accessing Mirerani’s daily food kitchen which is such a life-line to the area’s vulnerable hungry children….
Rushed into Calvery Dispensary, in Mirerani, Manyara Region, by her frantic father, she was gasping for breath, as the round yellow ball – like plant lodged in her windpipe. Jake Lyell the International photographer was interviewing Light in Africa’s out-reach dispensary Doctor Richard about the previous day’s dispensary out in the bush, where another child was brought into LIA care who also was suffering from hunger and was severely malnourished.
The plant which no one knows its name, is highly toxic, so much so that even the goats and cows know not to eat it, and as a maasai child Sophia would have been taught not to allow any animals to graze near the plant for fear of losing there lives.
Knowing the maasai father had no money for the child to be taken to the nearest hospital 50 minute drive away, Dr. Minja the Director of Calvery Dispensary, requested the help from mama Lynn to rush the child to the nearest hospital to try to save her life.
With mama Lynn at the time was Tom Dowsett, a medical student from Leeds University who is this years acting co-ordinator for the many volunteers about to arrive at LIA Tudor Village site. He was assisting with the filming and interviews Jake was conducting for a dvd he is producing on the work of Light in Africa, when the child was rushed in.
With instructions from Dr. Richard to keep giving the child cardiac massage, she was placed on mama Lynn’s knee with her head tilted back to allow air to enter her airways, and to enable Tom to continue the massage as the car was driven at high speed like a rally car through police check points along the way….. Three times the child’s breathing stopped and Tom massaged even harder to bring her back to life. After a journey of 50 minutes to the nearest hospital, the child was rushed into theatre where the offending plant was removed, if it hadn’t had such a hard shell, with all the pressure that was applied it could have split open and the toxins would have been released and spread rapidly through Sophia’s body and she would most certainly have died.
Sophia is one very blessed child for her to have had a dedicated medical student on hand to give her cardiac massage to keep her breathing until the obstruction was removed. She will be discharged from hospital tomorrow, and she will join the many children who are accessing Mirerani’s daily food kitchen which is such a life-line to the area’s vulnerable hungry children….
The offending toxic plant removed from Sophia's windpipe
Tom who continued with cardiac massage for 50 minutes to save Sophia's life...back on the ward after removal of the object