Cornelius O., 16

This is a first born child among three other siblings; he is currently living with his maternal aunt after his parents separated. He lives with his mother's sister, the uncle and 8 cousins. He is a Form 2 student at a local day school and sometimes misses school to look for what the family can feed on. The mother is far away living also with another relative, the other siblings were also given to other relatives to live with. He is an athlete and takes part in the competitions. He is very emotional and sad at what life has thrown at him, but more often than not he is really jovial, free hearted and a storyteller. Although he is studying hard, he has fears that he might not meet his dream career of becoming a doctor. He has two cousins who have not joined Primary (grade) one due lack of school fees and they are waiting till next year when the first born shall have completed his secondary studies. For the past five days, he has been experiencing chest pain, headache, backache and abdominal pains. He has also been coughing alot. No medication had been taken prior to coming to the hospital to seek for treatment. He looked quite ill by the time he came to the hospital.

Cornelius was brought to the hospital exhibiting coughs, headaches, and complaints of chest pains. Initial lab tests were done, and his blood work returned negative for malaria parasites. Further examinations were done, and he was found to be suffering from pneumonia. This warranted admission, and he was admitted for three days. He received medication as per the Treatment sheet, to which he responded well. This compelled the doctors to discharge him, and he was released on orals. A call by the volunteer to the guardian confirmed he was indeed well and had even resumed school.

This is a severe cases of pneumonia that requires hospitalization. If left untreated, Pneumonia can be very serious and can cause death. Complications from pneumonia include respiratory failure, sepsis and lung abscess and are more likely to affect older adults, young children, those with a weakened immune system and people with other medical problems. Otherwise when well managed, Patient is restored to good health and continue with his normal life without depending on others for daily living skills.