On Call

I was called this evening to see an  unconscious 7 year child.  The child was started on HIV meds in January and was doing well so mother stopped her medications in April.  She has been ill the last week with fever and a swollen thigh.  She became unconscious today.  

The child is covered with Kaposi Sarcoma lesions and the left thigh was swollen to twice the normal size with a large open ulcer.  Her hemoglobin is 7.3.  She will hopefully respond to antibiotics and malaria treatment along with a blood transfusion this evening.  Then onto her HIV and probable osteomyelitis of the femur.  Noncompliance to long-term medications is a continuous problem here but is more difficult to deal with when an innocent child is the victim.  

Pray for this sick little girl and her family.