If someone can help us, our lives will also change!
Daniel Admasu Kebede
Daniel is a 28 year old man from the village of Dessie in the Amhara Region, about 400 kilometers from Addis Ababa. Whenever Daniel K. speaks his voice comes out in a soft low murmur, better suited to a college library than a packed waiting room in Addis Ababa. As he talks, he forms a fist with one hand and kneads it into the other in a textbook display of nervousness. Only when he speaks of his family—he is the eldest of three boys, and his brother currently studies engineering in college—does he look up and smile, and then his voice swells with confidence and pride.
From an early age, Daniel suffered from a pathological excess of cutaneous skin growths due to a medical condition known as Neurofibromatosis Type I. NF-I is a complex genetic disorder that can affect and disrupt nearly every system in the human body. In addition to its medical complications—such as heightened risk for vision problems, cancer and life-threatening heart issues--Daniel’s condition was a socially debilitating one which kept him from making friends or fitting in at school. It did not help that he also suffered from kyphosis, an abnormal and potentially life-threatening curvature of the spine. In those days, he mostly kept to himself.
Despite his condition, he managed to obtain a degree in Information Technology and find a job in IT in Dessie. He thought of his skin condition as a fact of life, something he would just have to live with for the rest of his life.
But a few years ago, a cousin of his came to him with some exciting news. Like him, she had been suffering from a kyphosis. But an American doctor in Addis Ababa who ran a free clinic had been able to arrange a miracle for her—a spinal surgery in America that had cured her kyphosis and given her back a normal life. Perhaps he should give this doctor a try, she told him.
Emboldened, Daniel made the long trek from Dessie to Dr. Rick Hodes’s clinic, staying with relatives in Addis. And in 2018, Dr. Rick managed to refer Daniel for an operation at the Korean Hospital in Addis Ababa where he underwent extensive surgery to remove all this excess skin growth.
Daniel is overcome by gratitude at the changes this operation has ushered into his life. He says that now, without his skin deformities, he has been able to form a circle of good friends to spend time with, and that his lifestyle has improved immeasurably (No girlfriend—yet, he adds, with a sly smile).
When asked if he ever feels different from other people because of his defect he responds, “No!”, shaking his head vigorously.
Both of his parents were teachers, and he wants more than anything to make them proud. In the future, he aspires to continue with his education, get a better job, and improve his life.
At Daniel’s most recent follow-up, physical examination revealed a milky-blue cataract in his right eye—which Dr. Rick is hoping to correct by referring him for surgery in a few months’ time with a visiting American eye surgeon, one of the best in the world. Right now, his vision out of that eye is a hazy blur.
Having concluded his follow-up appointment, Daniel is going back to Dessie to continue to work and wait for his cataract surgery. “A place like this helps a lot of people,” he says. “If they can help more and more people like me to get better, the world will be a better place for everybody.”
We encourage you to donate so that Daniel and others can get the care they desperately need.
Belaynesh Addis
Belaynesh Addis is a friendly, 21 year old woman who is being treated for heart difficulties.
Belaynesh is originally from Gondar, a city in the northern part of Ethiopia. She is a housekeeper now, living in Addis Ababa. At about age 14 she realized that she was having heart problems. Her symptoms included shortness of breath, coughing and continuously feeling tired. After several years enduring this condition she went to see a doctor in her home town. There, a doctor recommended that she travel to Addis Ababa for treatment. In 2016 she moved to Addis Ababa and took a job as a housekeeper for a family. One of the family members recommended that Belaynesh come to the JDC clinic to seek treatment. At the clinic she was diagnosed as having mitral valve stenosis, a condition that is often caused by Rheumatic Fever. In November, 2017 Belaynesh underwent a balloon valvuloplasty, a procedure to expand the damaged mitral valve and restore blood flow through the heart.
Immediately after the 2017 procedure Belaynesh noticed a marked improvement in her quality of life. The coughing stopped, she had more energy and her breathing was normal. In 2018 another echocardiogram was performed and it showed some more narrowing of the mitral valve. Belaynesh is still able to work as a housekeeper but she is concerned that if her strength declines she won’t be able to support herself. In late 2019 she returned to the clinic because some of her symptoms are returning. Dr. Rick ordered a new echocardiogram in order to determine the next course of treatment.