604A4248“I cannot believe that Manzy is walking, talking, seeing everything around him”, said his father in gratitude to our staff. “I’m almost wishing to go home now, but of course I can’t, he must complete his treatment”, he continued.

Manzy is a four year old boy from Rwanda who was urgently flown in to 57357 in a critical condition thanks to the help of the Egyptian embassy in this sister African country. His father is a truck driver and his mother is without a job and raising three other siblings.

A solidarity chain has been formed around the boy with the first link being his North American Physician in Rwanda, who at the recommendation of her counterparts in Boston, guided the father to take him to Hospital 57357 where he could receive quality care for free.

When the boy arrived at 57357 on the 12th of October, his vision was impaired, one of his legs swollen, his body covered with white patches and he was bleeding from different parts of the body. He was assigned to Pediatric Oncologist Dr. Sonia Mahmoud who performed the necessary tests to find out that he was an MDS case, a severe form of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

Manzy’s case necessitated an initial aggressive chemotherapy treatment to achieve remission including the administration of the drug twice for a duration of 10 consecutive days followed by 20 days of hospitalization each time. This first part of the treatment which lasted more than two months has been successfully completed. The second part of the treatment which necessitates allogeneic bone marrow transplant (i.e. bone marrow from another person or relative) will start as soon as his 19year old brother is enabled to fly to Egypt.

Thanks to the concerted efforts of his pediatric oncologist in 57357, Dr Sonia Mahmoud and his physician in Rwanda, blood samples of his siblings and mother were safely flown in to 57357 to perform the necessary tests to find the right match for the bone marrow transplant.

Meanwhile, 57357’s comprehensive care approach compelled the Hospital to deal with the problem of Manzy’s vision impairment. Manzy suffered mainly from a severe eye infection due to his decreased immunity level. He was administered an aggressive anti-biotic treatment and underwent a minor eye surgery to remove fluid which threatened a detachment of his retina.

The excellent care he was given at the hospital and the vast transformation that happened in just a few little months gave his father reason for hope.

“I cannot believe that Manzy is walking, talking, seeing everything around him”, said his father in gratitude to our staff. “I’m almost wishing to go home now, but of course I can’t, he must complete his treatment”, he continued. But with his difficult financial situation, weakened more by his entire efforts channeled towards fighting to keep Manzy alive, the news that Manzy’s brother must be flown from Rwanda is an added financial burden on the family.

The allogeneic bone marrow transplant provided by Manzy’s 19 year old brother is thus the last step to realizing this story’s success and happy ending. The family is in dire need of financial support, one last ring in this chain of solidarity to complete the journey.

With financial support from the various entities involved, we hope that the costs of Manzy’s brother’s trip can be covered and a bone marrow transplant can be conducted. We ask for your help in doing so in order to save the life of Manzy, who touched the hearts of all of us here at 57357.

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