Milka M., 18

Milkah is a bright and cheerful girl who lives with her parents and six siblings in a grass-thatched, mud-walled house in a rural village. Her father works as a security guard and is the household’s main provider, earning approximately KSh 2,300 per month. This limited income is insufficient to meet the needs of the nine-member family, including food, education, housing, and healthcare. Despite these challenges, Milkah remains joyful and focused on her future. She enjoys playing outdoor games with her siblings and neighbourhood friends, helping her mother with household chores, and reading any books she can access. She hopes to excel academically, secure a good career, support her family, and one day build her parents a permanent home. Milkah, who is living with sickle cell disease, developed fever, headache, joint pain, and fatigue that persisted for three days. Her family could not afford medication from a nearby pharmacy. While going to the market to buy some medication, she met a former Helpster beneficiary who noticed that she was in pain and directed her to Al Ihsaan Health Centre. She was assessed and diagnosed with sickle cell crisis and severe malaria.

Milkah was diagnosed with sickle cell disease. She spent 6 days in the hospital. She was treated with anti malarial medications, antibiotics, blood transfusion and other hydrating fluids to compensate for the fluid-loss. She's now back to her normal activities and spends most of her time with the family members. After receiving treatment, she likes reading books with the aim to excel her education and save her family from poverty.

Milkah was seriously ill with severe malaria and a vaso-occlusive crisis associated with sickle cell disease. She required urgent admission for antimalarial medication, pain control, adequate fluids, close monitoring, and supportive care. Her immediate prognosis is favourable with prompt treatment, although delayed care could result in severe anaemia, organ damage, or death. In the long term, she will require regular sickle cell clinic reviews, prescribed medication, good hydration and nutrition, vaccination, laboratory monitoring, and prompt treatment whenever she develops fever or pain. With consistent care, she can remain active and enjoy a good quality of life.