After enduring many years of ridicule from her peers as a result of an abnormal growth that disfigured her face, Christiana Amankai, a beneficiary from Healthline season one, is now back to living a normal life again, after successfully undergoing surgery sponsored by Vodafone Ghana.
Christiana who hails from the Upper East region had an unusual growth around her jaw which kept swelling as time went by. Not only did she have to live with the disfigurement, she also had no hope of relief of the constant pain she was in because her family could not afford the treatment for the condition.
Vodafone’s award winning TV show Healthline stepped in last year to ensure Christiana received treatment which included the removal of the tumour and replacement of the majority of Christiana’s jaw with a titanium plate.
One year on, Christiana has had a complete change in her demenour, facial appearance and is doing extremely well in the vocational school where she studies. Her confidence has been restored and is now able to socialise with her peers and other people in her community. Christiana’s improved wellbeing has also had a knock on effect on her family as the financial and emotional weight of worrying about their daughter’s health is now over.
Christiana is scheduled to have the second part of her surgery early next year to replace the titanium plate with a bone graft from her hip to give the jaw more function. Christiana reiterates ‘I can’t believe my swollen jaw is no more, I thought I was going to die in the process but I stand here today, strong and refreshed to bear witness to the amazing gift given to me by Vodafone Ghana. What else can I say than a very big thank you to Vodafone for their immense support”.
Carmen Bruce-Annan, Head of Corporate Communication for Vodafone Ghana added ‘we are excited to learn that Christiana has fully recovered and has confidently returned to school and is doing well. We will continue to make meaningful impact in improving the health and quality of lives of all Ghanaians across the country ’.
