Omari is a 40 year old male with HIV and diabetes. He was diagnosed with an abdominal tumour 10 years ago and underwent surgery. After the surgery he became partially paralysed; the exact cause of this is unknown but may be due to spinal cord compression from spinal metastases (secondary cancer). The Hospice Ethiopia team became involved in his care a year ago to control his pain and help him with his psychosocial issues. A few months ago he had a fall and since that time he has been unable to walk and so is bedbound and incontinent. He complained of pain in his legs and was prescribed a number of medications to try to control the pain; although none have been very effective.
Omari is now unable to straighten his legs and finds moving his legs exacerbates the pain; in addition he has suffered from bedsores for several months. Recently he has developed 2 new sores on his lower back which were caused by a hot water bottle as he has numbness in that area so did not realise how hot the bottle was.
He lives in a small Kebele house (social housing) with his wife and their 2 children, aged 3 and 7. His family have employed a maid to care for him. He has a strong Christian Orthodox faith and as he can no longer get to church the priest visits him at home and prays with him.
Plan: He agreed to restart tramadol for the pain in his legs. Nurse Filagot will provide a sheath (donated by Hospice Ethiopia UK) to ease the problem of incontinence. The family are currently buying pads which are expensive ETB 2,000 (£33 approximately) per pack of 24. The nurses from Hospice Ethiopia will continue to visit him regularly. Filagot had a good rapport with Yonas, listening to him attentively and quietly talking with him.
Hospice Ethiopia UK 