I have only recently discovered this sad news. I would like to thank all that have donated time and money to the Suubi Trust, International Hospital Kampala, and those at Hope Ward that took great care of him during the year of his life that he spent there. Whilst I was there I saw him going from being a very sick little boy to a smiling, happy one, playing with some of his new toys.

Please continue to support Suubi Trust so it can continue to help more of those with serious illness without the means to help themselves.

Jennifer

Dennis had been with us for more than a year, we did our very best to treat him and he was very brave in his fight against cancer.

Dennis had many friends on Hope Ward, he was a very special child.

In his last month the cancer spread very quickly to his spine and lungs eventually leading to his death. He was on very strong painkillers and we did our best to ensure he was comfortable in his last days.

We will greatly miss Dennis. May his soul rest in eternal peace.

Jemimah Kiboss – Kyeyune

Program Coordinator
International Medical Foundation.

Ordinary people don’t get obituaries that people read. However he was really extraordinary because of his stoicism and gentleness, so, forgive me for telling you about Dennis Odong who died on my ward this week.

He epitomises what we are trying to do on Hope Ward. He came from Lira in the recently war torn part of north Uganda. About 2 years ago our clinic in Lira found him with this facial cancer and he spent a lot of the next 2 years on Hope Ward. Chemotherapy is given monthly for 6 monthly cycles.

Dennis only has his mother, who is dying, and at 9 years of age he was her sole carer. Sadly when we allowed him home after one of his cycles of treatment he did not come back and when we did find him he was in a very poor physical state.

So, over the last year he has spent most of his life on Hope Ward, having chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery.

He became a special part of the hospital and everybody loved him. He only spoke Acholi and so many of us could not talk to him but I think I got to know him very well and became very fond of him.

2 weeks ago we took our Hope Ward kids to the zoo at Entebbe and this with the love and care he got from our lovely nurses, highlights what we can do, even if we don’t win every time.

This comes to us just a few days after receiving an update from Jemimah telling us about the wonderful trip that Dennis and the other Hope Ward children had at the Zoo. We are so glad that Dennis was able to make this trip and take part in a fun day with his friends.

Thanks to Sharon O’Brien for suggesting and paying for the trip to the Zoo. Read about it here…

He’ll be missed.

You can read other postings about Dennis here: http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/tag/dennis-odong/

We received the following update from Dr. Hamza about three of the patients being treated as a result of funds raised by the 3 Mums:

KF- Has struggled to pay cash (so pleased now to have funds from the 3 Mums) and has finished 3 cycles of the proposed chemotherapy but had not gone any further than that; so I had sent her for radiotherapy which she completed. She has 3 more cycles to go, then depending on the outcome, she will start on oral Tamoxifen 20mg for at least 5 yrs. She is clinically stable and will most likely do well.

Sophie

has started chemotherapy; she has so far received 1 cycle of chemotherapy and is remaining with 5 more to go. She is doing well so far – many thanks to the 3 Mums for their generous support.

Dennis

has so far had 5 out of 6 proposed cycles and doing well so far. He has one cycle to go after which we will re-assess him for any residual tumour. If he still has measurable disease we may give 2 more cycles of chemotherapy and then plastic/cheek reconstructive surgery.

It isn’t that difficult to make a BIG difference to these lives: Lucy simply cared and arranged some help in Hope Ward. Simple, small gifts such as a coluring book can make a huge difference…

Please help.

Kevin.

Dennis has had 3 complete cycles of chemo and has 3 more to go. He has improved significantly on treatment; the tumour swelling has markedly reduced and yet we have so far not had any major complications due to chemo.

Therefore I am, so far, happy with his progress. I intend to complete the full course of chemo and then review him for possible reconstructive Surgery.

3 quick updates from Suubi Trust…

1.    If you want to see a great example of the difference that your support can make then please take a look at our latest postings about Dennis, a young boy being treated for cancer in Hope Ward.

http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/2008/07/12/dennis-odong-2/

http://blog.suubitrust.org.uk/2008/06/20/dennis-odong/

2.    Friends and Family of Matt and Lauren Bookle raised more than £2,300 as wedding gifts. This money will be used to provide treatment for 300 patients at our Clinic in Lira.

http://suubitrust.org.uk/laurenandmatt.html

3.    Charlotte, Kate and Ruth are “Three Mums in a Boat”; they will be rowing down the Thames in August to raise funds for Cancer Care in Hope Ward. Please give them your support.

http://suubitrust.org.uk/3mumsinaboat.html

Kind regards,

Kevin.

Ha, you’d never guess it but Dennis has made an amazing transformation! After the surgery, he had more chemo and the tumor is ready for the second de-bulking surgery; it’s fantastic that it is so soon. He may need radiotherapy but is happy about how he is feeling now, mindless of the side effects of the chemo. Today, I gave him a puzzle and a teddy… he laughed so much, it made everyone else in the room laugh too. He has completly filled the colouring book that Jenny gave him and it has become his prized possession. How nice it is to see just how much he and Jimmy, his cousin, treasure every single gift they are given, including this course of treatment.

I didn’t manage to get one of them together looking at the camera but after teaching them what to do with the puzzle took this one. (My sister sent some puzzles away to an orphanage and as noone had seen one before, they shared it out so each child had a piece each, not really understanding what it was for but all the same, each child was very pleased with their piece).

He will probably stay in Hope ward until September. I will send Jimmy home for a few weeks after Dennis’s operation, which is on the 16th of July. The commitment he has shown for caring for Dennis is amazing. They are both such a pleasure to meet.

Thank you everyone.

You can read more about Dennis by clicking here…

In April 2008, Lucy made a visit to the state hospital in Lira, here she met Dennis.

Dennis Odong is 7 years old; he has an older brother of 14 years and three sisters, each of 5, 3 and 1 years old. His father died in 2007 and his second brother died in 2000.

In February 2007, Dennis developed a growth on the side of his face. 1 year later his mother took him to see a traditional healer who cut the lump open, drained it and stuffed it with herbs. This caused the rapid growth and aggravation that led to Dennis’ decline in health and admission into Lira state hospital.

On the day of Lucy’s visit, Dennis had been in the hospital for 3 weeks; he had only seen a doctor once (on admission) and was having no medical treatment. He had been prescribed antibiotic drugs on day 1 but these were too expensive for his family to buy for him. He had also been advised to have a diagnostic x-ray, which again his family was unable to afford.

Dennis was referred to Hope Ward in Kampala where he was accepted for treatment. His cousin Jimmy, 13, came out of schooling to accompany him to the hospital as his primary carer, his mother being to sick to travel herself.

On his arrival at International Hospital Kampala, a biopsy of the growth was taken which tested negative for cancer. Unconvinced, the doctors performed a second biopsy, which this time indicated that the tumor was cancerous. Unfortunately, the second biopsy caused further aggravation and the tumor quadrupled in size, becoming almost the size of Dennis’ head.

Dennis is now having chemotherapy along with strong steroids. Consequently the tumor has halved in size, he is no longer in pain, is eating well and smiling again.

If Dennis had stayed in Lira, he would not have received the treatment he needed and would have most certainly died. Through the care of Hope Ward, Dennis has been given the best chance of survival.