Rafika B., 15

Rafika is a polite and hardworking 15-year-old Rohingya girl who lives with her parents and six siblings in the Kutupalong Refugee Camp, helping her mother with household chores while hoping to continue her education one day. Her father is the family's only earning member, but due to his age and declining physical strength, he can work only a few days each month, leaving the family largely dependent on World Food Programme food assistance and unable to afford the cost of orthopedic surgery, hospitalization, medicines, and follow-up care. After learning about Helpster Charity during a medical outreach program at Kutupalong, the family sought assistance in the hope of restoring Rafika's hand function. Despite their best efforts, they have no savings and no access to nearby government orthopedic services. Without timely treatment, the traumatic dislocation of her left carpometacarpal (CMC) joint may result in permanent deformity, chronic pain, stiffness, loss of hand function, nerve damage, and permanent disability, severely affecting her ability to perform daily activities and care for herself.

The recommended treatment includes hospital admission, specialist orthopedic evaluation, pain management, detailed clinical and radiological assessment, followed by Open Reduction and Internal Fixation (ORIF) of the left carpometacarpal (CMC) joint under anesthesia, with postoperative wound care, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, and regular follow-up. With timely surgery and appropriate rehabilitation, Rafika is expected to regain good hand function, experience significant pain relief, and return to her normal daily activities. If left untreated, the dislocated joint may heal in an abnormal position, leading to permanent deformity, chronic pain, joint stiffness, reduced grip strength, nerve damage, early arthritis, and permanent disability of the hand.