“I See The Medical Ship As A Godsend!”
Behind all of the statistics of patient consultation numbers and work achieved, there is an individual story of a patient whose life has been changed through the compassionate and caring work of the Jubilee Hope team.
This wonderful truth was highlighted again recently during a recent visit to the islands, when the team met up with a patient who had accessed its services over the years.
The patient, Zaituni is 53 years old, a single mother of two who has been living with HIV since 2010. Zaituni shared with the team about how one particular visit to the ship brought life-saving help and a big surprise. Here’s an update from the Jubilee Hope team about Zaituni’s story:
“In 2017, Zaituni was seriously ill, with no nearby healthcare facilities and limited financial resources, so she started using natural herbs suspecting she had malaria. Despite her efforts, her condition was even worse after two months, leaving her with worrying symptoms. The cost of travelling to the mainland for medical help was difficult leaving her feeling helpless and isolated.
After two months, she still could not understand what was wrong. Her body was changing and she had severe vomiting. At that time, the MV Jubilee Hope arrived at her island and she decided to go for a checkup and some tests. The testing revealed that she did not have malaria but was actually pregnant! Zaituni remembers the shock, noting “this was a miracle to me and very strange because I thought I was no longer able to have children”.
Despite the unexpected pregnancy, Zaituni was overjoyed at the welcoming of her second child.
The Doctors aboard the Jubilee Hope provided her with medical advice, in particular about the importance of continuing her HIV medication and managing her pregnancy safely. Due to some other medical conditions she was suffering from, the doctors warned that childbirth could be complicated and advised her to travel to the mainland for a safe delivery when the time came.
Zaituni followed the advice and when she went into labour, she travelled to the mainland where she delivered safely her son, Yusuph with an emergency operation.
Zaituni said ‘’You can imagine if the medical ship had not arrived at my island, I would not have known I was pregnant and would have endangered my baby. I see the medical ship as Godsend because I could have died years ago!”
Today, Yusuph is a healthy five-year-old, having tested negative for HIV, which is a testament to the successful intervention of the Jubilee Hope team. Zaituni remains hopeful and prays for the continued visits of the medical ship knowing that many on her island are in need of medical care and support.”
