Dominic is an energetic twenty one year old boy who loves to sing, play sports and praise God. He stays at Uptown, an area in Nsawam in the Eastern region of Ghana. He has three siblings, one brother and two sisters. They all grew up attending a Roman Catholic Junior high school in Nsawam and always held  the things of God very dear to their hearts.

Dominic is the kind of gentleman who has the X-factor when it comes to going the extra mile to help people and in reaching his goal of becoming an Army Officer, Preacher, Sports person and role model. In his secondary education period he served his school with dedication when it came to sports and the choir. He is currently in the third year hoping to complete his final examination and proceed to the University.

In sports he played football, tennis and involved himself in a lot of Physical education, which provided him  the opportunity  to compete with various sister schools in their zone. Due to this he is well recognized in his school as a brave heart. When he is not engaged in sport, he takes to singing in the school choir where he sings the leading part in songs of praise and worship.

Everyone who knows Dominic said he is the light in every situation, putting smiles on the faces of people and advising his fellow colleagues on what to do when they have skeletons hidden in cupboards and don’t know how to bring them out to the light.

Unfortunately Dominic’s life changed in a split second when his help to a fellow neighbor showed him a different side of life.. On August 2016,a day like any other day, Dominic closed from school, got home and quickly changed because it was raining and his cloths were wet. He went out to take some fresh air and chanced on his neighbor carrying a heavy television to his house. With  compassion Dominic decided to help his neighbor carry the Television. The grounds where wet and very slippery but he still decided to help. Just after Dominic took the Television, carriage it  on his head, he took a few steps and slipped, his whole body hitting the ground with a great impact. The  sudden fall triggered a simultaneous paralysis of the whole body. Dominic became motionless, unable to even speak but he felt pain in his spine while his neighbors gathered  around to help.

He was rushed to the emergency ward at the nearest Hospital and later was referred to the Korle Bu teaching Hospital where he received treatment to get better. In the Hospital he received several medications, blood transfusions and infusions, just to get his immune system working again. Then there were MRIs and X-Rays just so the doctors could know what exactly was going on with him internally. From the imaging reports they could see that he had an injury to the cervical spine (neck area) which is causing the paralysis and incontinence.

Six months later Dominic’s  situation was getting better when he began moving his hands, head and  speaking. Still, he was unable to move his legs. He was later transferred to the Koforidua Hospital where he received more treatment hoping things might improve. Unfortunately he started developing a pressure wound  around his buttocks and it grew bigger and bigger since his movement was completely limited. Doctors advised that his wound be treated and healed before any surgery could be done.

The family eventually got stuck financially since they had spent all their money in treating their son’s illness, so they had to bring Dominic home to continue with treatment. Home has been his treatment center for six months. Dominic’s situation and his condition is not getting any better. His mother is dressing the wound every day and spending all they have to buy medicinal provisions for him but the wounds are not healing.

The Community Outreach Team at OTC learned of Dominic’s predicament when information reached us that, a boy of great essence to the society of Nsawam had broken down, and needed urgent aid to enable him to recover.  We became his hope for a better life in the future. We did not hesitate and visited him right away. Our first sight of Dominic triggered tears in the eyes of our team and we are working diligently to ensure he gets better. At the moment, Dominic has a personal nurse and physiotherapist who see to his day to day  health needs. OTC also provided an adjustable electronic bed to help with his movement, several medicines and food supplements to build up his strength, immune system and blood level. We know that Dominic will get better so we bring all hands on deck, pulling together to improve the life of this wonderful boy.

 

Life has a way of creating inspiration, hope, and opportunities for everyone. In spite of diverse challenges, we still hope and pray that our dreams become reality, but sometimes unexpected adversity seems to shake the ground and make a dream seem impossible. Joseph Magab is like many of the children who have achieved wonderful dreams despite the unexpected challenges that came his way.

Joseph was born in the central region of Ghana in Afram plains. He was a healthy and intelligent boy living with his mother and siblings in the northern region of Ghana. He attended a government primary school and a Roman Catholic Church in the area, and he had friends like everyone does.

On one fateful day at school, a group of healthcare workers came to administer medication to all of the children. Unfortunately for Joseph the medication had a devastating side effect.  He became sick and experienced boils all over his body.  The reaction was severe, and he had to be hospitalized. He was diagnosed with Steven Johnson’s syndrome, a disease that seemed to turn his whole life upside down.

Joseph’s condition worsened because the disease created a condition whereby his body could not produce fluid to keep his eyes well lubricated, and this caused him to lose his vision. He eventually had to drop out of school because of his vision loss and was at home hoping a solution would come his way. He didn’t give up because his family was struggling to make ends meet, so he decided to enrol at the Akropong-Akuapem School for the Blind.

He started at the School for the Blind and had to work harvesting honey in order to pay his school fees and buy food for himself. The school was impressed with his hard work and his ability to cope with school activities and the curriculum in such a short amount of time, so they also helped him financially.

Joseph’s life had taken a turn that allowed his dreams to once again seem possible, but

little did he know that an accident would lead to his right leg being amputated. It all started when he fell from a step at school and injured his knee.  He didn’t want to tell the teachers what had happened, because he was scared they would send him home, which seemed to him a distant place with little hope. So, he kept the injury secret, hoping it would heal, but it got worse and drew the attention of the teachers. The whole school became aware of Joseph’s predicament, and every child gave money to help Joseph to go home and get treatment.He journeyed back home to the north and visited the hospital. Doctors told him that the best option was to amputate his injured leg. The news of losing his leg brought back memories of losing his vision, but he had no option other than to have the amputation. It now seemed to him that all hope was lost. In the midst of this adversity, Joseph was given reason to hope again when his story reached a Good Samaritan who decided to sponsor him to get a prosthetic leg at the Orthopedic Training Centre, OTC, in Nsawam, Ghana.

Today Joseph has gone through intensive rehabilitation and is now walking with his prosthetic leg. The OTC  with help from donors, enrolled him in the Akronpong-Akuapem School for the Blind once again and provided a laptop for him thanks to the generous donation of our faithful supporters. After two years absences from school, the warm smiles on the faces of the staff, teachers and students showed Joseph that his dream is still waiting for him to take a hold of and turn into a reality.

Your generous donation of $30 every month allows us make children like Joseph’s dream come true, Whatsapp +233506759386 and ask me how.

 My disability as stated in my last article was never a problem, but High School made me think otherwise. It exposed me to the real world.

I entered Senior High School (SHS) in the second term, and it was in a boarding school. My new community was not familiar with people with disability like me, so they tend to either loath me, or be over sympathetic around me. I had people who wished I vanished by morning, and those who will wake up at night to make sure I am still breathing.  Times in high school was very hard! I was kicked out of my basketball team after my first tournament, because my coach could not have ‘someone like me’, on her team. She said to me, “People stare too much at you, and it makes most of your teammates nervous so they find it difficult to concentrate on the game.”  This came as a big blow to me. My mother used to tell me I can be whatever I want to be, but little did I know some of these wants were not my decision to make.

When I was in SHS, my trips to OTC kept me; I met other young ladies like me who where seniors when I was only beginning. They all told me the same thing, that I will get used to the people, and they will get used to me. It did not happen the way they said it would. I had friends and tutors who really supported me and I had other people who made it their mission to make my life difficult.  My General Knowledge in Art tutor was very encouraging. She told me, “If you survive high school, and it does not break you, nothing ever can”.

I  survived high school, and all stigma that came with it. Before I completed, I was a dinning hall prefect in my final year; I joined the choir; I stayed in the boarding house till I graduated. They never got over the fact that I had ‘one short crooked leg’ yet did everything. I fetched water with or without prosthesis. I did everything by myself.  Although I did not play basketball I was an active student, and I made sure everyone who was there during my time remembered me.  I also told stories about the OTC, and other children with disabilities to my friends and classmates.

Here I am today living life to the fullest. I have completed  my first degree, and I am a career woman . One day a question came to my mind, and it has been steering my life till now. ‘Would I have been where I am today, if my parents had not sought help for my mobility?’. For the most part I can not tell, but this I know that, OTC has had a great impact on my life.  When you are less dependent on people for your mobility, it makes you a little more confident.  It also changes your self-image. These are few of the gifts OTC have given me.  At the moment, I am the Executive Officer at OTC, raising funds; managing the webpage, receiving guests; being a role model for the children, and an ambassador to the world. I love it here, and I am glad my parents made this choice. OTC is not just a rehabilitation center for people with mobility challenges, but one big family.

My name is Gloria Williston, and this is my story.

If you want to support OTC to give children with mobility challenges a chance to living a full and happy life,  you can reach our hotline on +233268339092; donate in the US via our Venmo account @OTC-Ghana; or visit our Donation column on this page for more options.