04 Oct 2022

Born a healthy in 1989 in Serowe, Rebaone Gaanaope never knew that his life would take a downturn  just when  he was doing his second year at Serowe Brigade, studying Carpentry and Joinery. 

 He started school at Western Primary School for his Standard  one to seven and went on to Boipelego Junior Secondary School for his junior certificate and on to Swaneng Hill School for BGCSE.

At 22,  the young man’s changed after developing a sore and some swelling, for which he sought medical attention and was given treatment. However, the treatment did not work did not heal and he went back to the hospital after six months and that was when he was diagnosed with elephantiasis, a rare illness with no known cure. 

“Before I was told I had elephantiasis I was clueless about it and I did not know such conditions existed,” he says.

This illness is not only a mystery to the patient, but also to the medical personnel, as they cannot not tell what causes it. It has not only robbed him of his mobility, but his independence. 

During his Swaneng days Mr Gaanaope says he was an avid tennis player, a sport he can now not play due to his condition.

 Mr Gaanaope says at the time of his diagnosis, he was doing second year at Serowe Brigade, studying Carpentry and Joinery. He said he ended up dropping out of school, temporarily he thought, to try to deal with his condition. But little did he know that it was the last time he would ever walk the corridors of the brigade.

“What is disheartening is that the medical personnel could not me tell what was causing the condition. 

Some said it was caused by mosquito bites and was most likely to occur in places where there were deltas,” he said. Mr Gaanaope says he went berserk upon hearing that, because people got bitten by mosquitoes every day, but they never get elephantiasis. He wondered why him, why should he be so unfortunate.

He said his life was now a living prison as he is unable to work and fend for his family, with even a bleaker future ahead. He says his dreams of owning construction and manufacturing companies, crumble with every swelling.

In desperate search for a cure, Mr Gaanaope said he visited a couple of churches and traditional doctors, but unfortunately his visits did not bear any fruit. 

So dire was his desperation that he posted about his condition on social media, with the hope of attracting good samaritans. His former classmates at Swaneng Hill School heeded the call and popped out P50 00 each to help him. Another one of his benefactors is a certain lady he knows as Ms Ratshosa, a distributor of Norland products from Ratshosa ward in Serowe, who also came on board and gave him pills that helped him a great deal with the swelling on his legs and draining the water.

In the meantime, the 33-year-old says like any other wound that needs to be taken care of, he washes his wounds everyday with sunlight bar and applies Vaseline or body lotion so that they do not crack due to dryness. 

“Even after dressing the wounds at the clinic, in the afternoon after they have absorbed the creams I remove the dressing so that they are exposed to fresh air” he added.

Mr Gaanaope said although some people still stare at him in shock and some laugh, he basks in his family’s love. 

He says they have been supportive since he was diagnosed with elephantiasis, adding that he wishes to travel abroad to seek better medical care.

Most vascular surgeons that he has consulted, he said have been honest enough to tell him that elephantiasis is a complicated condition to deal with and it is not yet 100 per cent safe to operate on a patient, at least not in Botswana. He said they have informed him that in this condition, one dealt with veins, which when tempered with, can cause permanent damage or worse, bone cancer.

Mr Gaanaope, who survives on the disability grant that he gets every month, to meet his food and clothing needs, has called on everyone to help him. Meanwhile, Dr Boikhutso Lethapa, who runs Trusted Care Medical Centre at the Serowe Old Mall, explains that elephantiasis is a condition characterised by gross oedema, hypertrophy and fibrosis of the skin and subcutaneous tissue of an area of the body especially the limbs. 

Dr Lethapa said the term elephantiasis was often used to refer to symptoms caused by parasitic worm infections, but may refer to a variety of diseases where parts of the body swell in massive proportions.

She says the condition is caused by obstruction of or damage to the lymphatic system, which results in accumulation of a fluid called lymph in the affected area. The lymphatic system being the network of lymph vessels that drain lymph (fluid) from different areas of the body into the bloodstream.

Dr Lethapa said that the causes of elephantiasis are; chronic long standing lymphangitis, lymphatic filariasis- affects more than 120 million people, mostly in Africa and Southeast Area, birth defects, tuberculosis, repeated streptococcal infections.

She further said lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) whose characteristics fit with Mr Gaanaope’s condition it is a very painful, very visible disfiguring yet neglected tropical disease and it is one of the leading causes of permanent disability worldwide. Dr Lethapa highlighted that lymphatic filariasis is caused by infection with parasites (filarial worms) classified as nematodes (round worms) and the infection spreads from person to person by mosquito bites when the mosquito-transmitted larvae are deposited on the skin from where they can enter the body. The larvae will then migrate to the lymphatic vessels where they develop into adult worms, the process that takes six months or more. She says it affects over 120 million people in 72 countries throughout the tropics and subtropics of Asia, Africa, the Western Pacific and parts of the Caribbean and South America. In these 72 countries 1.4 billion people are at risk.

This condition, she said, affectsed all ages, adding that even if acquired during childhood, its manifestations may occur later in life, causing temporary or permanent disability. While some may not show any symptoms, Dr Lethapa pointed out that other visible symptoms of lymphatic filariasis are; swelling of the legs, impaired immune function because of damage to the lymphatic system (they tend to get bacterial infections on the affected area) and other symptoms may include fever and chills.

In exploring the risk factors associated with this condition, she said though it can affect anyone exposed to the parasites that causes the disease, the risk is greatest in people who live long in tropical and subtropical regions. She added that infection takes more than one bite.

Dr Lethapa explained that unfortunately the disease cannot be cured as there was no complete cure or vaccine for it. She however said anti-parasitic drugs could be given to a patient, although they were only active in early stages, as the drugs work by killing the larval stages but have little effect on the adult worms. 

She said the drugs could help stop spread of illness to others and it is also worth noting that they do not completely kill off all parasites.

Dr Lethapa concurred with Mr Gaanaope that surgery for this condition was close to impossible, saying it is done mostly for scrotal elephantiasis and it is generally ineffective on limbs. Although that may be the case, Dr Lethapa said it was  best to do non pharmacological management such as limb elevation to improve lymph flow, regular exercise, limb wrapping, management of secondary infections and emotional and psychological support.

She he advised people to avoid mosquitoes or take precautions to reduce the risk for mosquito bites, by getting rid of mosquito breeding areas. BENDS