Name of Parent: Father Berhin Haddish (priest) Patients Name: Mahelet Berihan Sex: Female Age: 10 Grade 5th student. Mahlet came from North of Ethiopia 783 Km from Addis Ababa the capital city. Her father is a priest and lead their lives by farming. He has a farm that produce wheat and barely with annual yield of 12 quintals. He is serving the church for free as it is customary in his area. Mahlet stated getting sick in last September 2015. It stated as a small lump in her neck area, he took her to holly water it seemed to disappear for a month time. But in November he noticed that the lump has gotten bigger. So he took her to Mekele Hospital, and they admitted her, he paid 300 Birr. After five days they told him he needs to take her to Ayder Hospital in the same city, then in this hospital they told him Mahelt has TB. They gave her TB medication and after one month still the lumps are there, nothing has changed. She was feeling weak and did not sleep well, she had breathing difficulty. Finally, they referred him to Tikur Anbessa Hospital in Addis Ababa. They told him they suspect tumor may be cancer, they don’t have the means to treat her. When he heard the prognosis he lost hope, he was entertaining the idea of taking her to Addis because he feared what people in his village would say. This was in March 2016 and to got to Addis he knew he needed to have a lot of money, he stated asking around how much it would cost him. He got estimate of 4,000 Birr ($ 200) then he realized he needs to sell his cattle and some crop. He has six family members he has to consider what to do for them as well for few days he would be away. The scariest part for him was the story he heard about Addis, the thieves, the crowd, the cars and how expensive it is. He asked his neighbors if there is anyone they know in Addis and someone gave him an address. He came to Addis in April 2016, guy showed him Tikur Anbessa when he came to Addis and spent the night with him. Mahlet was admitted to the hospital and she started her medication she was diagnosed with Hodgenis Lymphoma. The lumps and swelling has gone down, her breathing has improved. She was released from the hospital and he went to the guy he was sent to and spend two weeks with him. But his friend was told to evict from his home and he was not able to accommodate them in his new space as it was very small. He came to the ward and told them he is taking his daughter back as he has no place to stay and follow the treatment. He asked them if the treatment can be given in Mekele. Or if they can arrange for him to stay in Asko as he has heard about the place from the coffee ceremony session and talked to parents that stay there. The nurses arranged for him and now Mahlet health has improved and he no longer believes he is going to lose his daughter. He spent all his money but he got help on medicine, accommodation, intercity transportation, and counseling.
He said, “ We are told is TAPCCO is parents organization but I call it parent to all the children and to the fathers and mothers that are here with sick children. I thank all the people supporting us, I was happy to see people form ASLAN – the organization that help TAPCCO and thank them in person. We were happy to see them and hear their stories. I now feel a lot of hand supporting me and my daughter.”
