Kobi, Age 5
Adored by many of the healthcare workers at Korle-Bu Hospital, meet 5–year-old Kobi from Ghana, who is on the road to recovery from bone cancer, osteosarcoma with the support from World Child Cancer.
When five-year-old Kobi fell from his bicycle when playing with friends, his grandmother Amma wasn’t too concerned. Familiar with childhood scrapes, she applied home remedies to his bruised knee. But on this occasion, Kobi’s knee did not heal. Instead, it continued to swell and cause him pain. Amma, who is Kobi’s main caretaker, began to worry and decided to take him to Bolgatanga Hospital in the Upper East Region of Ghana.
From there, he was referred to Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in Accra, a specialist cancer centre supported by World Child Cancer. The family were given the shocking news that Kobi had osteosarcoma, a bone cancer. There was no time to lose. He needed to have his right leg amputated and to begin chemotherapy.
It was heart-breaking to see him go through this pain; it was a very stressful time for him and for the whole family. It was also very difficult financially. We sold all our animals to help pay for treatment. However, we were determined to support him.
World Child Cancer helped Kobi and his family with diagnostics, drugs, accommodation, family support and the finance of his surgery. Amma expressed her gratitude for this help:
Things would have been very difficult without this support; it has really helped us.
Kobi is doing much better now, and both he and his family are delighted with his recovery. Kobi’s grandmother, Amma, expressed her great admiration for her grandchild and said she would do anything for him to have a promising future:
I pray he becomes the doctor he wants to be when he grows up
Kobi is full of energy and has won the hearts of many of the healthcare staff at Korle-Bu.
I always want to run around with my crutches, play football and have fun with my friends because at first, I couldn’t do any of these.
Did you know that £47 can pay for a round of life-saving chemotherapy for a child in Ghana?
Treatment costs for childhood cancer fall to families to pay which can be financially devastating and often result in the abandonment of treatment. Supporting treatment costs enables more children to finish their treatment and improves chances of survival. With your support, we can reach even more children like Kobi and give them a chance to grow up and fulfill their dreams.
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