Nicole's Story

Yesterday we went to a private clinic to meet a woman named Laisa and her nearly 2-year-old daughter, Nicole. Nicole’s story demonstrates a common problem in the area: malnutrition.

Nicole was breastfed until she was almost 1-½ years old, when she was weaned off breast milk and onto solid foods. However, as is common in many developing countries, Nicole’s diet consisted mainly of a single, low-nutrient food: porridge.

When Nicole began to lose weight, her mother was concerned. She took Nicole to a clinic: “At first I [took her to] the clinic for a weigh-in. And they weighed her…and they said ‘Ah, her weight is too [low]’”. When Nicole started getting larger again, Laisa thought her health was improving. However the reality was that Nicole had developed kwashiorkor, a form of malnutrition that leads to swelling.  

Because the swelling can cause weight gain, kwashiorkor often goes unrecognized and untreated until it is more advanced.  Laisa told us, “When she got sick she was swollen the legs, the hands, the head and even the stomach was swollen”. Here is Dr. David Goldfarb talking about kwashiorkor.

Nicole was admitted to hospital. While there, Nicole’s condition worsened as she developed diarrhea caused by gastroenteritis. Nicole had to stay in hospital for over a month. Here are some photos of Nicole taken by her mother when she was admitted which show the swelling:

It was amazing to see the improvement from the photos Laisa brought of Nicole’s swollen limbs. How could that be the same adorable child who sat shyly on her mother’s lap, holding a stuffed “tau” (lion) and afraid of the people talking to her mom?

Nicole waving at the camera!

This little girl’s bout of illness showed two common health problems in children under 5 in developing countries: malnutrition and diarrhea.  These, if left untreated, could have made Nicole much sicker. However, because of the care she received, she has made a good recovery! Laisa finished our interview with words that moved me. When asked if there was anything else she would like to talk about she said, "...and I am just thanking God to give more power to the doctors."

*Nicole's mother gave us permission to share her story