Sa'idu A., 14

Saidu Abubakar is a fourteen-year-old boy with a quiet resilience and a body that has been fighting a silent war for months. He lives with his parents and four younger siblings in a small farming village in Birniwa Local Government Area, where poverty is a daily reality. His father is a subsistence farmer who grows just enough millet and groundnuts to feed his family, but there is never enough left over for healthcare. His mother helps by selling vegetables at the local market. Saidu is the eldest son, expected to help his father on the farm, but his chronic illness has left him too weak to work, too tired to play, too sick to dream of a future. Saidu Abubakar, a fourteen-year-old boy, with a six-month history of chronic diarrhea (5-6 episodes daily, often bloody), severe abdominal cramping, bloating, nausea, poor appetite, and significant weight loss. He also complained of fatigue, weakness, and occasional fever. His mother reported that he had passed worms in his stool on several occasions. On examination, Saidu was pale, thin, and malnourished, with a distended, tender abdomen. Laboratory tests confirmed inflammatory bowel disease (elevated fecal calprotectin, elevated CRP) and intestinal helminthiasis (Ascaris lumbricoides on stool microscopy). He was diagnosed with Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS) complicated by intestinal ascariasis. He was admitted for treatment including nutritional support, anti-inflammatory therapy, deworming medication, and symptom management.

Saidu sat on the hospital bed, his thin frame barely making a dent in the mattress. He was fourteen years old but looked much younger his cheeks hollow, his arms thin, his eyes tired. His mother sat beside him, crying. 'He was a strong boy,' she said. 'Now he cannot even walk to the latrine without collapsing. We have no money.' We admitted Saidu and found two problems: inflammatory bowel syndrome and intestinal worms. The worms were stealing his nutrients. The inflammation was causing his chronic pain and diarrhea. We gave him deworming medication, anti-inflammatory medication, and nutritional support. Within days, his diarrhea decreased. Within a week, his abdominal pain improved. He started gaining weight. He smiled for the first time in months. Thank you, Helpster Charity Foundation, for giving Saidu his life back. A family who had lost hope got to see their son smile again because of you.

Saidu Abubakar, a fourteen-year-old boy, presented with a six-month history of chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, nausea, poor appetite, significant weight loss, fatigue, and visible worms in stool. On examination, he was pale, thin, malnourished, with a distended, tender abdomen. Laboratory tests confirmed Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (elevated fecal calprotectin, elevated CRP) and intestinal ascariasis (Ascaris lumbricoides on stool microscopy). Prognosis is good with prompt treatment.