Livelihood Restored (COVIDImpact)

You’ve given Shanoli her livelihood back... thank you!

COVID drives sharp rise in undetected leprosy cases but THANK YOU for your healing generosity

We’re so grateful for your kindness, which helps us to find and diagnose cases like Shanoli’s, even throughout COVID.

Because with many leprosy cases going undetected during the pandemic, the goal of zero leprosy transmission by 2035 is under threat.

If Shanoli had not received treatment for leprosy, she risked permanent damage to her foot... perhaps even amputation. At first, Shanoli didn’t even realise she had leprosy!

She lost feeling in the soles of her feet but continued to work. Paralysis followed. No longer could she lift and straighten her foot as she walked. She had to drag her foot along the ground when she walked. Sharp stones and rocks cut her foot, causing ulcers. Eventually, she could barely walk... threatening her ability to work and support her family.

Thank you for supporting Anandaban Hospital, you’re such a blessing!

YOUR IMPACT IN ACTION

Your caring heart is helping Shanoli heal as you support the Self-Care Unit.

Thanks to you, Shanoli is receiving specialist treatment at The Leprosy Mission’s Anandaban Hospital in Kathmandu. Although now cured
of leprosy, Shanoli had developed a bad ulcer requiring surgery. The wound was a result of ‘foot drop’‚ a paralysis of the muscle caused by
leprosy that impairs walking.

Shanoli really appreciates being able to stay in the Self- Care Unit. Her accommodation and all her daily physical needs are attended to. Thank you for your kindness.
“The food is good here, I like much of the food and I eat a lot when I am here,” Shanoli told us.

Shanoli’s care has already taken several months. She is far from home and away from her family. Her husband initially accompanied her on the long bus ride, but it is too far to travel back and forth, and they can’t afford for him to visit. She misses him, and their two children, terribly. Her eldest son is 9 and in grade 3. The youngest is 3 and attends playgroup. Shanoli laments she cannot send her children to a better quality school. She feels education is important.

“They [her boys] want to play and enjoy. But they need to study,’’ Shanoli smiled, as she spoke about her precious children. She encourages them to go to school, but they don’t want to go. They just want to play and have fun. It is hard, because she is not there with them and has been apart from them for a long time now.
Shanoli needs to recover fully before she can return home. When she does, she must keep up a daily self-care routine to help prevent more ulcers or further damage. For the rest of her life, she will need to be diligent.

Shanoli is really looking forward to re-uniting with her family. She also is keen to get back to her work and responsibilities, when she can. Shanoli had started a goat business and had just sold her first goat at market, before she had to leave for Anandaban. Currently she has 22 goats that are growing to maturity.

“I will go to my family and do cooking and get the grass for the goats and the cows. I have to feed them and do my work at home”
                                                                                                                                                                                                                           – Shanoli

Shanoli expressed she is at loss as to how she could possibly thank Leprosy Mission supporters like you for all the care provided to her at Anandaban Hospital. So, we say “thank you” to you on her behalf.

Thank you for your heart that made it possible for Shanoli to be diagnosed at The Leprosy Mission’s Anandaban Hospital in Nepal. Thank you for your kindness that meant she could have surgery to repair her damaged nerves. Thank you for your compassion that helped provide the physio and self-care training she needed to restore function... and her livelihood!