05/10/2022
ELEPHANTIASIS ROBS GAANAOPE OF BRIGHT FUTURE
Born a healthy child 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 then to Swaneng Hill School for his BGCSE.
At 22, the young man’s life changed after developing a sore and some swelling, for which he sought medical attention and was given treatment. However, the treatment did work 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
