33 Years of Trouble
Kollo has lived with the effects of leprosy for 33 years. He
has been in and out of Danja for a long time. Because Danja is a center that
specifically treats leprosy patients, the staff are not alarmed by the thought
of interacting with patients with the disease, and there are usually three or
four leprosy patients in and around the ward. It is a place where leprosy carries
no stigma, so patients feel comfortable returning year after year for
continuing care. Kollo was in a motor vehicle accident years ago and hurt his
leg. The resulting wound, in spite of multiple skin grafts, would not heal, so
recently when he came for more treatment, the infection was so advanced that he
was finally sent to the government hospital in Zinder for an amputation just
below the knee. Kollo is back in the Danja hospital now, eating good food,
trying to reach complete healing for the stump, and working with the physical therapist
to get movement back to the knee joint so that he can be outfitted with a prosthesis.
He says, “I have drunk trouble for 33 years.” But he says it with a smile.
Kollo has lived with the effects of leprosy for 33 years. He
has been in and out of Danja for a long time. Because Danja is a center that
specifically treats leprosy patients, the staff are not alarmed by the thought
of interacting with patients with the disease, and there are usually three or
four leprosy patients in and around the ward. It is a place where leprosy carries
no stigma, so patients feel comfortable returning year after year for
continuing care. Kollo was in a motor vehicle accident years ago and hurt his
leg. The resulting wound, in spite of multiple skin grafts, would not heal, so
recently when he came for more treatment, the infection was so advanced that he
was finally sent to the government hospital in Zinder for an amputation just
below the knee. Kollo is back in the Danja hospital now, eating good food,
trying to reach complete healing for the stump, and working with the physical therapist
to get movement back to the knee joint so that he can be outfitted with a prosthesis.
He says, “I have drunk trouble for 33 years.” But he says it with a smile.
