Alvine Kapitako
Windhoek-A 29-year-old mother recently lost her job because she has to take care of her four-year-old son who suffers from heart and liver problems.
“I was a cleaner. But I lost my job in September. I was absent most of the time because I was seeking medical attention for my son,” explained Roswitha Kaurangerua in an interview with New Era.
Kaurangerua’s son, Vehonga Hangero, started complaining of stomach pains when he was just over one year old.
“We thought it was normal stomach pains but at night he would cry,” said Kaurangerua.
With time her son’s belly started protruding and that is when they figured there was a problem.
“Even doctors could not diagnose him and in the beginning they would simply prescribe pain killers,” she explained.
However, as the condition got worse more tests were conducted and the boy was diagnosed with a liver condition as well as idiopathic pulmonary hypertension and dilated RT heart.
According to a website titled clevelandclinic.org, pulmonary hypertension is a rare lung disorder in which the arteries that carry blood from the heart to the lungs become narrowed, making it difficult for blood to flow through the vessels.
As a result, the blood pressure in these arteries – called pulmonary arteries – rises far above normal levels.
This abnormally high pressure strains the right ventricle of the heart, causing it to expand in size. Overworked and enlarged, the right ventricle gradually becomes weaker and loses its ability to pump enough blood to the lungs.
This could lead to the development of heart failure.
Pulmonary hypertension occurs in individuals of all ages, races and ethnic backgrounds, although it is much more common in young adults and is approximately twice as common in women as in men.
Meanwhile, Kaurangerua said the doctors told them that there is nothing they can do about the liver condition.
“I don’t even have money to go to private doctors. I don’t know what to do, the explanation we got was not sufficient,” said Kaurangerua.
She also sought the medical attention of traditional doctors but that did not bear any results.