Asteria* is a sweet young 16-year-old girl living with a severely compromised immune system.
Asteria was admitted to Rachel House’s service in July 2022, weighing a mere 20 kilogram – the body weight of a 7 year-old – she was frail and very sick.
Our nurses discovered her with fungal infection all over her mouth – a condition known as oral candidiasis – making it too painful for her to eat or drink. She was also diagnosed with tuberculosis that has badly affected her lungs, and may explain her severely malnourished body.
Asteria has been under the care of her grandmother (“emak”) since she was 10, when her mother – the only living parent she had known, passed away. Emak is her only family now, her source of love and security.
Emak tries her very best to provide for and protect Asteria. However, due to her age and the difficulty with finding work that affords her the flexibility of caring for Asteria when she is sick, Asteria and her grandmother often end up having to rely on the kindness of their neighbours for their meals. Many times, our nurses would find Asteria and her grandmother surviving on just one meal a day, consisting of plain white rice with soya sauce. Financial challenges also mean that Asteria misses many of her hospital visits due to the lack of money for transportation, therefore unable to renew the prescriptions for medications that are critical for her survival.
Asteria is mature enough to have a good grasp and understanding of her medical condition. She has her own worries, fears, and questions, in search for guidance and answers. Thankfully, Rachel House nurses are present to help her navigate these worrying thoughts and feelings. We are the shoulders for both Asteria and her grandmother to lean on.
Asteria often asks, “What will happen if Emak were to pass away? Who will I have then?” Sometimes these questions would be followed by a small whisper, “I don’t one to be all alone in this world without anyone to love me.” Although we do not have the answers that can soothe her fears, our nurses always remind her that she is not alone and that they care deeply for her.
How Rachel House helps:
Asteria struggled with several health challenges when she was first admitted to Rachel House. Oral candida that made it impossible for her to eat, and tuberculosis that contributed to her severe weight loss – a vicious cycle that made it impossible for her body to fight and win the battle.
For our nurses, the most pressing issue was to heal the oral candida to allow Asteria to eat and nourish her body to health. To help bring the oral candida under control, our nurses visits Asteria every week to check on her condition, and help motivate her to take her medication. Our team also helps to advocate for Asteria with her primary physician, to ensure she is provided with the medication and treatment that she needs.
Knowing that nutrition is critical for her recovery, Rachel House made certain that Asteria and her grandmother receive food and cooking ingredients that will allow them to prepare nutritious meals for themselves. For Asteria, we also provided nutritious milk powder, to help her gain weight and therefore strength that she needs to return to good health.
Our ultimate goal is to make sure that Asteria can return to health, free from pain and the discomfort that had plagued her. In a few short months, with a lot of love and attention from Rachel House team, Asteria was free from the painful oral candida, and completed her medication for tuberculosis. She is able to eat and drink without pain, speak and laugh freely now.
Weighing 33kg, Asteria’s recovery is the proof of what good nutrition and compassionate care can do to help children living with immunocompromised condition; it helps boost their immune system, ensure the effectiveness of medication, and help their body fight opportunistic infections.
Most importantly, Asteria is blossoming as her body returns to health. Where she used to struggle and was too weak to walk, needing wheelchair when she went out, Asteria is now able to walk freely and standing beautifully in her body that is growing stronger by the day. Her ultimate dream has come true – being able to walk freely like friends her age, without wheezing and breathlessness. We are so very proud of her achievements. This teenage girl has bloomed to be the happy and cheerful young lady despite the muddy and murky life she has had to face.
*name changed for privacy