Lavender S., 9

Lavender is a 9-year-old girl living with her grandmother in a rural village. Following a difficult marital separation between her parents several years ago, she was left in the care of her elderly grandmother. Her mother abandoned her three years ago, and since then her grandmother has been her sole caregiver and breadwinner. Due to extreme financial hardship, the household often survives on only one meal per day. As a result, Lavender is significantly malnourished and has never been enrolled in school. Lavender is living with cerebral palsy (CP) with complications that have severely limited her physical functioning. She is stunted, unable to perform activities of daily living independently, and has been frequently unwell, leaving her progressively weaker over time. She was referred to the hospital by a Community Health Promoter who encountered her during a routine household visit. According to her grandmother, Lavender suffered a stroke in March 2025. Since then, she has been unable to walk and has remained bedridden, with noticeable progressive deterioration. Her feeding has been poor, marked by reduced intake, intermittent vomiting, episodes of coughing, and recurrent fevers. Over time, her overall condition has declined significantly. On examination at presentation, Lavender appeared acutely ill and severely malnourished. She was weak, wasted, and clinically fragile, with clear signs of chronic illness and nutritional deficiency. Her condition was critical and required urgent medical evaluation, stabilization, and comprehensive inpatient management. Lavender’s case requires multidisciplinary hospital care, including nutritional rehabilitation, management of complications related to cerebral palsy and possible post-stroke sequelae, infection control, and supportive therapy. Given the family’s extreme financial constraints, assistance from Helpster Charity would be crucial to facilitate admission, diagnostic investigations, treatment, and ongoing follow-up care. She was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and severe dehydration in a patient with cerebral palsy. It was discovered that she got the stroke out of sickle cell disease

Lavender was admitted in critical condition with severe acute malnutrition, severe dehydration, stroke, and cerebral palsy. She was immediately placed under close medical supervision. The treatment began with careful rehydration using intravenous fluids to correct the dehydration and stabilize her vital signs. Due to severe acute malnutrition, she was started on a therapeutic feeding program beginning with F-75 and later F-100 therapeutic milk, alongside micronutrient supplementation. Her stroke was managed with supportive care, including medications to reduce brain swelling and prevent further complications, while her cerebral palsy required physiotherapy to help improve muscle tone, mobility, and overall function. Doctors, nurses, and nutritionists closely monitored her progress throughout her hospital stay to prevent infections and other complications. With the help of Helpster, Lavender received all necessary medications, nutritional therapy, laboratory tests, and inpatient care free of charge. Gradually, she regained strength, her hydration status normalized, and she began responding better to feeding and therapy. Although she will require continued follow-up and rehabilitation for cerebral palsy, her condition significantly improved, and she was discharged in a stable state. Her grandmother expressed heartfelt appreciation to Helpster for the compassionate support and life-saving treatment that gave Lavender a renewed chance at life.

severe malaria is a life threatening condition with has index of death if not treated on time, Severe acute malnutrition (SAM) causes severe physical wasting (marasmus), fluid retention (kwashiorkor), and significantly weakens the immune system, making children 11 times more likely to die from common infections. It causes rapid muscle wasting, skin lesions, hair loss, and, if untreated, leads to irreversible cognitive impairments, stunted growth, and long-term developmental, academic, and behavioral deficits. These conditions could cause death if not treated and managed. She was got improved and discharged home in a fair stable condition