Racheal W., 17

Racheal lives with her single mother in the outskirts of town. She is very hardworking. Her mother is jobless and together they go around town to wash people's clothes and houses, and find some money to be able to put food on the table. The money they get is not even enough for their basic human needs of food, shelter and clothing and they are often in a panic when either of them fall sick. If given a chance, Rachael would like to be a business lady. Racheal came to the hospital with complains of cough, chills, fever and difficulty in breathing. The symptoms had been experienced for 3 days, got worse by the day and as today the cough was persistent. She was on her way to see her friend and ask for financial assistance to be able to go for medical treatment, that she heard about Helpster Charity and that it assisted sick needy children who went to Good Hope Hospital.

Racheal presented to the hospital with complaints of cough, fever, chills, and difficulty in breathing. The symptoms had persisted for three days and progressively worsened, with the cough becoming more persistent by the day. She was diagnosed and treated for pneumonia, after which she was discharged. Upon returning to the hospital three days later for a follow-up check-up, she was confirmed to be recovering well.

Pneumonia should be treated with antibiotics. If left untreated, pneumonia may lead to the permanent lung damage, respiratory failure, septicaemia (infection entering blood stream and causing sepsis), pleural effusion (accumulation of fluid in the space between the lung and chest wall, which can make breathing difficult), and other life-threatening complications.