Ira has been living all her life with a very serious illness, she has never known anything different. Like any other six-year-old girl, she loves to sing and dance. Her favourite movie, like many young girls across the world, is Frozen. Ira lives with her family in a small house in Jakarta.
Late last year, Ira began losing a lot of weight. Her family couldn’t understand why and became frustrated when nothing seemed to be working to stop this.
Thankfully the local hospital referred Ira to Rachel House. Since October last year, nurse Dadan has been visiting Ira and her family to provide them with medical assistance and support at home. The very first thing that Dadan did was to investigate why Ira had been losing so much weight.
It became clear that one of the main reasons for Ira’s declining health was that she had not been given her medication in a consistent manner by her family. They either did not understand or did not have the time to administer them to her. This caused her illness to take hold, resulting in multiple infections that compromised her ability to eat.
To get Ira healthy again, Dadan helped the family understand the importance of keeping Ira on a strict medication regime. He also figured out Ira’s favourite milk – a chocolate flavoured nutritional milk formula! So, he made certain this was made available to her whenever he visited. Dadan also provided Ira’s family with emotional support, understanding that their wellbeing is critical to ensure Ira’s return to health.
In a matter of a few short months, Ira has made a wonderful recovery and is once again able to participate in activities at her school. Ira, who loves singing, recently won the local choir contest, representing her school in South Jakarta.
When asked how she felt about winning the contest, Ira responded with bright eyes and a beaming smile and said, “I feel happy!”
Ira’s health and her happiness is heavily dependant on the support and wellbeing of her family. Through our homecare service, Rachel House provides a strong support network for our patients’ families to help ensure optimal quality of life for all our patients.
Will you help us support more children like Ira living with serious illnesses, and their families, to live pain-free and with joy? Donate here.
