Two small and seemingly harmless pimples appeared on the chest of Hadija Makokhha and before long, they had grown into huge tumours, denying the teenager a normal life. Robert Amalemba spoke to her grandmother about the life-saving operation she underwent and the girl’s future
Tell us about yourself...
I am Fosca Mugeni, 55 years old and grandmother to Hadija Makokhha who is now 14 years old. She developed a rare breast condition that doctors called Gigantomastia, due to sensitive tissues that made her breasts weigh about 10 kilograms.
How did the condition start?
Small pimples appeared on the lower part of her breasts and later developed into big growths. One weighed five and a half kilos and the other four and a half kilos. I was worried about her and kept wondering what had befallen my granddaughter.
How did the condition affect you and the child?
The condition affected her self-esteem and health as a teenager.
She feared associating with her peers because most of them kept mocking her.
I moved her from school to school hoping to change the environment, but it couldn’t help because the condition worsened.
Worse still, villagers picked the gossip that she had been bewitched and my lovely granddaughter couldn’t hide anymore. She wept all the time.
When did she drop out of school?
In class four when the condition was no longer bearable.
Unable to understand what was going on, she kept crying and asking me what was wrong with her body. I took her to several hospitals in Nambale, Busia and Nairobi, where she was examined but her condition never improved.
I was getting frustrated as well because the child I had adopted since she was a toddler was wasting away, yet I had hoped she would live a full and healthy life.
Did you get any help?
She went to a local Catholic church in Kisocho, where her former teacher demanded to know why she was missing classes. Because she had wrapped a leso around her breasts, the teacher thought she was hiding a pregnancy.
But when the teacher examined and saw her condition, she was moved and quickly took her photo and posted it on social media.
Soon, mainstream media were at my home ready to air her story.
What happened after the story was aired?
Calls from across the nation jammed my cellphone and this made me even more fearful. But the callers were offering to help through plastic surgery.
One caller informed me of a scheduled free surgical operation at the Kakamega County Referral Hospital.
Was the information helpful?
Well, it happened like a miracle. First, I had not booked her for the once-in-a-lifetime operation which I would later learn was offered on a first come, first served basis. Patients had been booked in for various procedures long before I got wind of the information. But interestingly, due to the seriousness of her condition, one doctor put her name on the list and made her a priority patient.
Two breast tissues weighing about 10 kilograms were removed from her chest.
How do you both feel now after the operation?
I am happy because she looks relieved, she keeps smiling from her hospital bed and is looking forward to the future again. She wants to go back to school, interact freely with her peers and live like other children.
Where are Hadija’s parents?
Her mother is a housegirl in Nairobi, but I don’t know where her father is. Hadija is my child and I am happy that she is happy.
What are your aspirations for her?
I can’t say much, but one thing I know is that the Lord will open ways and more well-wishers will come and assist in the post-operative care.
I also wish that she changes school and gets a new beginning at a decent learning environment because I know she is a brilliant girl.
