Carry Each Other’s Burdens

Discovering Emma’s Condition

I’ll be honest, my heart is broken AND I know that God is at work in bringing us together to help a desperate situation. This is not a normal blog post. If you are reading this you, probably like me, do not have a frame of reference to comprehend village life in Uganda where the challenges of facing a broken bone can turn tragic and life threatening. Warning: (these images and videos are raw and difficult). This is an urgent call for compassion and prayer.

Emma, is the 8 year old son of Joseph & Christine. We know about this need because Emma’s dad, Joseph, has been volunteering with AEM for years and most recently came on staff part-time. No one shares these kind of needs. They are kept private because everyone around you has needs that can’t be met.

Emma’s Medical Background

Emmas was born normally and developed typically until he started experiencing pain and swelling in his right knee during his first term in primary one in 2024. Despite initial X-rays showing no issues, further examinations at a regional hospital revealed a broken bone with bacterial infections and pus. Emma underwent surgery and spent a month and two weeks in the hospital. However, after a fall, he broke the same bone again and the hospital referred his parents to an orthopedic hospital, which they couldn’t afford.

Meeting Emma in 2024

We visited Emma in the hospital one year ago (summer 2024) and our mission team prayed over him. He had broken his leg as an active 7 year old, but was bedridden in the hospital due to an open wound that prevented them from casting the leg. He was pretty low and absolutely pitiful lying in the bed with his leg immobilized waiting for the bone to heal for over 6 weeks.

After praying we left some activities to try and occupy his mind for the duration of his hospital stay. The cost of a long hospital stay is a heavy burden in Uganda. The family must provide their own supplies and care for the patient. This includes sheets, food and even drugs (going to the pharmacy for prescriptions). The cost of any hospital stay is out of the question for most Ugandans. Because most families survive off of less than $2 per day.

Heartbroken – Lack of Medical Care

Later in the fall we heard he was released from the hospital to return to school. Unfortunately we didn’t receive any updates until our recent mission trip in early July. Our team was asked to go pray for one of Joseph’s sons. When we arrived at the home we realized it was the same son. Emma (now 8) was in need of prayer and in a much worse condition. One of our college students asked permission to photograph his leg (top photo). Our eyes filled with tears as our hearts broke over the overwhelming physical situation. Even more so, we felt his despair especially of missing school and friends. It was evident that his heartbreaking depression had led to a loss of appetite and strength fueled by hopelessness and constant pain.

Unimaginable

We were shocked to learn that sometime after his release from the hospital last year his right leg broke again in a different location. Without the resources to pay for treatment or even travel the long distance to see the specialist, Emma languished at home unable to go to school for almost a year and now unable to walk and in excruciating pain. We simply can not imagine what it must feel like as parents to not have any choices to help your child. The helpless and hopeless situation that broke them as they cried out to God in prayer for months was now spoken and shared with us.

Before his injury, Emma was the top student in his class. He is so bright, in fact, teachers provided his books at no cost because they saw his motivation and potential and didn’t want any financial burden to hold him back. Emma is one of 6 children in his family and has 1 sister. He is followed by a set of younger twin brothers.

We prayed with them and for them. All I could vow as a ministry leader was that I didn’t know the way forward but we would stand with this family, stand with Emma. I told our Uganda Country Director, Daniel Okwara, ” I don’t know how much it will cost but whether it takes 2 days, months or longer, all my trust is in God to provide for the road ahead. This family is not alone.”

A Call to Action

Our team gave a love offering at the the end of the trip, several hundred dollars to simply pay for the fuel to travel and see a specialist, a surgeon, and start the process of finding out what could be done. Last night at the end of a long day that began in the village and included 210 km of painful roundtrip travel, Daniel and our team shared the full report on Emma’s leg and how we must pray and share. Click Current Diagnosis to learn more.

Current Diagnosis:

After a year of struggling with pain, Emma received financial support from the USA team to visit Kumi Orthopedic hospital. The diagnosis revealed:

• Chronic malunion of the right femoral mid-shaft fracture with angular deformity and possible limb shortening
• Evidence of bone remodeling and reduced density at the structure site
• Soft tissue swelling due to chronic inflammation or residual trauma
• Anemia and malnutrition

Emma’s leg did not heal properly in 2024 and then broke again in 2025. It left a 10 cm portion of bone that has died. The sharp splintered edges are causing tremendous pain each time he moves and have made walking impossible. The leg is full of infection that the surgeon warned if not treated immediately could lead to sepsis.

Recommended Treatment Plan

The treatment plan will be managed in stages:
Stage 1: Sequestrectomy

• Remove dead bone(sequestra) from the right femoral mid shaft
• Use a cement spacer to allow knee flexion and extension
• Conduct a culture and sensitivity test to identify effective antibiotics

Stage 2: Bone grafting

• Replace the sequestra with a metal implant and bone graft from the lower right limb.

Emma’s bloodwork revealed that he is anemic. The family will adjust his food to strengthen him before surgery where they expect him to need blood. They do not believe there is any other underlying problem at this time that is a root cause.

A Call to Prayer

Please pray with us to God our Healer, for Emma. I am praying for God to call these dry bones to come to life. God is the maker of heaven and earth, He parted the Red Sea, He is the same God who raised Jesus from the grave. He can do anything as we ask in faith. I don’t know how He will choose to work in Emma’s situation but I know He will bring healing. As you can imagine, every step of this journey, needs God’s miraculous touch to stop and prevent infection and to make a way where there’s seems to be no way. Lord all our trust is in you Abba Father.

“We are trying to reach people of compassion who will partner with us to get Emma the help and surgery that he so desperately needs so that he can walk again. The doctor from the Kumi Orthopedic Center wanted to operate immediately to stop the infection and begin the reconstructive surgery. I am thanking any and everyone that can give any amount toward meeting this need. God will multiply it.” -Mandi Johnson, AEM Love Executive Director, July 29, 2025

Next Step: Raise Funds for Surgery

The orthopedic doctor is ready to operate. He will remove the dead portion of femur and clean out the infection in his leg. Then he’ll determine the best antibiotic and treat the infection. He will place a cement spacer where the muscles have atrophied around the collapsed portion of bone to create space for a bone graft.

The cost of the first surgery is $3000. This will cover the surgery and the 2 week hospital stay for observation. It will cover the cost of a parent staying with him and their meals during hospitalization. We will use the AEM car for transport so we only need fuel. Lastly this will provide a few hundred dollars toward the antibiotic treatment to kill the infection. True cost of the antibiotic will be known after the first surgery when cultures reveal which one will kill the bacteria in Emma’s leg. The worst case could require as much as an additional $1500 for the antibiotic.

We are taking this one step at a time. Once the infection is cleared, bone fragment removed, and spacers implanted the second surgery will be to do a bone graft from his lower right leg in order to repair his femur. Now we pray and wait for God to provide for this need through people like you and me. Please share Emma’s story and pray with us for the provision and full and complete healing for this precious boy who has his whole life ahead of him. Emma and his family need our compassion and prayer.

If you have a heart to give to Emma’s First Surgery, please give today:

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“Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬