The Sunday News
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu, Gwanda Correspondent
A 30-YEAR-OLD Gwanda woman is seeking financial assistance to undergo a CT scan of the abdomen and blood tests as she has a bloated stomach, a condition which she has lived with for the past 29 years.
Ms Patience Matutu who stays with a relative in Geneva suburb said the problem started when she was a year old as her stomach would expand and depreciate periodically. She said her stomach started bulging in July and had not deflated since then, making her life difficult.
Ms Matutu said she was experiencing excruciating pain due to her condition. She said doctors told her that she had to undergo a CT scan of the abdomen and have some blood tests so that they could diagnose her problem but she did not have the funds.
“I went to hospital for an X-ray and scan but they told me that they couldn’t see what is wrong with me. I was told that I had to undergo a CT scan for the abdomen and some blood tests so that they could diagnose the problem and from there I would know what kind of treatment I need. The problem is that I don’t have money to undergo these medical processes and I appeal to well-wishers to assist me because I’m in pain and my life is very difficult because of this condition.
“I started having this problem when I was a year old and when I was in Grade Three I was operated on and they told me that my intestines were tangled but that didn’t solve the problem as it kept recurring. All along my stomach would become bloated and then depreciate but it has remained this way since July and this time around it is larger than ever and it’s very heavy. Sometimes I go for two months without relieving myself as my system will be blocked and when this happens, I stop eating,” she said.
Ms Matutu said she had great difficulties in walking or doing chores around the house.
She said she had become a laughing stock in the community as people kept gossiping about her whenever they saw her and children make fun of her.
She said her parents passed away and her remaining family members had abandoned her because of her condition. Ms Matutu said she now depended on distant relatives or members of the community who would feel pity for her and take her in. She said at the moment she was staying with her father’s cousin.
“Whenever someone feels pity for me they take me in and when they can’t accommodate me anymore I find another well-wisher. My desire is to live a normal life as this condition has affected me throughout my entire life,” she said.
Ms Matutu said those willing to assist her could call on 0779597709 or send money to this number via EcoCash.
@DubeMatutu.
