Physical Health Nepal Project #17477

Surgery for Children with Disabilities in Nepal

by American Himalayan Foundation

Project Report | Oct 24, 2018
Everything is possible at HRDC: Saraswati's Story

By Bruce Moore | Regional Field Director

Being fitted for the braces that changed her life.

No matter where they live in the world, a child with a physical disability experiences struggles that many of us will never have to face. In Nepal, these difficulties are compounded by the country’s challenging terrain, scarcity of health clinics, and deep poverty. As a hospital dedicated to caring for children with disabilities, The Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children's (HRDC) medical team is committed to meeting each child’s unique needs to heal both body and mind. And this is exactly what happened for Shanta and her daughter Saraswati.

Just a year ago, it seemed Saraswati was destined for a life of hardship. Shanta’s husband passed away years ago, leaving her with five children to raise alone. As a widow without a permanent source of income, she struggles to find daily work and take care of her family’s needs. Saraswati’s disability was first noticed when she was a baby and had difficulty crawling. Later on, at school and in her village, children mocked her inability to walk normally. She felt anxious and ashamed. But her family’s poverty made treatment impossible.

When a local health worker learned of Saraswati’s situation, he referred her to HRDC. Hopeful, Shanta and Saraswati traveled to the main HRDC campus near Kathmandu. Saraswati was diagnosed with two conditions: the rare Arthrogryposis Multiplex Congenita, which causes multiple joint contractures affecting two or more areas of the body prior to birth, and bilateral clubfoot. She was admitted immediately, undergoing a successful surgical intervention and receiving corrective braces for both her feet. While at the hospital, Saraswati was able to continue her studies on site at the HRDC School.

Back in school, the now sixth grader walks and participates in ways she had only dreamed of. Motivated by her experience, she wants to become a social worker. “What has happened to me is nothing short of a miracle,” she says. “Everything is possible at HRDC,” she added, beaming with joy, a new-found confidence, and gratitude.

Thank you for helping HRDC transform the lives of more than 80,000 children so far. We are deeply grateful.

Saraswati in front of HRDC's main hospital.

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Jul 25, 2018
Standing up for Sakhina

By Bruce Moore | Field Director

All prosthetics are made in house at HRDC

Sakhina’s parents were worried about her. She was born with a malformed left foot and her left leg was much shorter than her right. She struggled to walk, but her father was a laborer, her family was very poor, and there wasn’t access to, or awareness of, treatment in their rural community. Villagers would gossip that her condition was punishment for a past-life sin, which hurt the family deeply.

Her family had little hope for change until she turned seven and a community health worker visiting their village noticed Sakhina and told them about an upcoming Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC) mobile camp in the area. After an initial assessment at the camp, she was referred to HRDC’s main hospital in Kathmandu. Due to the severity of her condition it was eventually determined that amputation and a prosthetic leg would be the best option.

After some counselling, her parents agreed and brought her back to HRDC for the operation. Sakhina’s left leg was amputated below the knee, and she stayed at the hospital for three months while she recovered. With tender care from the nursing team, regular physical therapy, and a nutritious diet, she soon healed. She was then fitted with a new prosthetic leg and given gait training.

Back at home, Sakhina can now walk to school on her own and play with her siblings and classmates without pain. Her parents are so grateful to HRDC. Her father stressed that, “It would have been impossible for Sakhina to go to school if we had not met the HRDC worker,” and their community is overjoyed to see the positive change in her life.

Disability and poverty fuel each other in a brutal cycle which can be difficult to escape. In a society where being a girl is already seen as a burden, being a girl with a disability makes life even harder. This is why stories like Sakhina’s are so important, and why HRDC continues to seek out the poorest and most in-need children in Nepal. Their work transforms the bodies, minds, and futures of their young patients – while also reducing stigma and changing communities’ views on disability.

HRDC has mended more than 80,000 children so far, and with your help, they aren’t stopping anytime soon.

Sakhina before treatment

Now Sakhina (bottom left) can walk to school!

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Apr 25, 2018
Keman's Story: How a mobile health camp changed his life

By Bruce Moore | Field Director

Keman at the HRDC hospital post surgery!

Keman is from a remote village in the eastern part of Nepal. In most rural areas like his, specialized healthcare just isn’t available. To reach these geographically isolated regions, the Hospital and Rehabilitation Center for Disabled Children (HRDC) has started mobile camps, bringing the hospital to them. These camps help HRDC find new patients in need of treatment and continue rehabilitation for children who have already received transformative surgery. Keman’s story is an excellent example of why these mobile camps are so important.

As a child, Keman developed an abnormal hunch in his shoulder that gradually increased in size as he got older. His parents were very worried, but they had no resources and no idea how to get him treatment. It wasn’t until he was 14 years old that his mother, Debika, happened to hear a radio jingle about HRDC’s upcoming mobile camp at the Kiktel District Hospital. She eagerly brought him to the camp, where he was diagnosed with left-sided kyphoscoliosis (a musculoskeletal disorder that causes abnormal curvature of the spine).

The camp team encouraged Keman’s mother to bring him to the HRDC main hospital in Kathmandu for further evaluation. Keman’s parents were overjoyed, and four months later he had a successful surgery to correct his condition. Only 27 days after surgery, he was able to walk without complication! He was given a special brace to speed up recovery and his parents were taught all of the exercises he would need to continue at home.

When Keman and his family went back for a follow up two months later, his parents expressed their deep gratitude to HRDC for how profoundly they had changed his life. Before surgery, they felt that life would have been impossible in their village, due to stigma surrounding disability and bullying he had faced. But his treatment changed the perception of villagers and schoolmates, allowing Keman to be easily accepted in their community for the first time.

These mobile camps are a growing and vital aspect of HRDC’s healthcare outreach. This past year (2017) HRDC’s mobile camps reached 38 districts across Nepal and over 5,000 children. These teams of doctors and health workers have helped bridge the distance between rural communities and modern healthcare, and are changing the lives and futures of many Nepali children and their families.

Keman wearing his corrective brace.

Keman at the HRDC hospital post surgery!

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