Afia Kwaakyewaa Owusu

I first visited the FOCOS hospital in 2012 through a referral from a hospital in the Ashanti region. I had been living with a spinal deformity since age three, to which my parents sought orthodox and herbal solutions but to no avail. I had difficulty in breathing and severe pain in the back which hindered me from partaking in a lot of domestic and school activities.

After a series of diagnostic test and assessment at FOCOS, I was finally diagnosed of scoliosis, a condition which required an immediate surgery to increase my life expectancy and enable me develop the healthiest way possible. My parents were then given a surgery bill which put my father in tears because he was just a simple primary teacher who did not earn much and was also the only breadwinner of the family since my mother was unemployed. We hopelessly returned to the Ashanti region.

Six years later, we received a call from the hospital’s social welfare department informing us of a benevolent individual’s decision to fund my spine surgery. This was indeed great news which put smiles on our faces. We visited the hospital and began the necessary test and paper work prior to surgery. The hospital staff treated me and my family with optimum care and respect throughout our stay in the hospital. I successfully had my spine surgery on 24^thApril, 2018 and did not want to return home after I was discharged. This was because FOCOS was a home away from home, an experience I had never had in any hospital in Ghana. I also had the opportunity to enroll in the formal education system that the hospital had put in place to bridge the gap for the period that patients were away from school.

The care and treatment did not end after discharge, I received periodic calls from the hospital checking on my health. I am now fit and back to school. Questions and admiration from peers and teachers have compelled me to narrate my encounter with FOCOS. And I promise to preach FOCOS everywhere I go.
I would want to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to my Sponsor Dr. Ashraf (US) for footing my surgery bill, to Prof. Oheneba Boachie-Adjei and the entire FOCOS team for my life changing surgery. God bless you all.