Real Life Stories
ukRon Magness
In 1994 I caught malaria whilst working in Pakistan and nearly died.
I had been working all hours to complete a project and at first thought my symptoms were just from exhaustion. My symptoms included extremely high fever, night sweats, alternating “freezing shakes”, hot flashes and constant body aches and pains. I was admitted to a hospital in Pakistan and the medical staff there were very obvious about the gravity of my situation and as a direct consequence I felt FEAR. I could see the concern in the eyes of the medical practitioners, and they dealt with this disease every day. I spent about a week in hospital but it took my four weeks to fully recover.
I truly wish to help prevent others from knowing the suffering I’ve endured
Ten years later there was a flu epidemic in London and I had all the symptoms. It really never occurred to me that it could be malaria again but my GP sent me to the Hospital for Tropical Diseases at UCLH where they discovered I had repetitive, or “focal”, malaria. I have come to learn this is not uncommon among those who’ve had this type of malaria. All its original symptoms can return when one’s body is fatigued and run down. I learnt an extraordinary amount about malaria in a very short time as an outpatient at UCLH!
Because of my experience I have a personal interest in seeing an end to this horrible disease. I know it won’t help me – I may continue to have repeat bouts of malaria – but I truly wish to help prevent others from knowing the suffering I’ve endured.
More real life stories
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Jim Thomson, Banchory
Scottish father Jim Thomson runs his building business from his home town of Banchory where he is a leading member of the Rotary Club of Banchory Ternan. Along with fellow Rotarians, Jim helped lead fundraising efforts from the Crathes Vintage Car Rally in May 2011 which raised £12,000 for charities including Malaria No More UK.
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Team Stag Challenge
Ian Poulter’s wedding in 2011 presented him and his closest friends with the opportunity to arrange a Stag Party like no other. A regular stag do usually involves getting a group of friends together and going quad-biking, paintballing or out for a night on the town - at least, this is what Ian’s friends had imagined.
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Rob Henchoz
My friend Richard Atherton and I are keen car enthusiasts and rally drivers. We decided to raise money for Malaria No More UK because having lived in Angola and worked on the West coast of Africa we saw the effects of malaria on both locals and expats. The aim to eliminate the disease is clearly achievable with some financial commitment.
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Joanna Awuku Gyan
Community Nurse Joanna works on the frontline fighting malaria in Ghana, where malaria claims more lives of young children than any other single disease.
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Adwoa Pomea
Village farmer Adwoa works hard to harvest maize, cassava and plantain on her land in Ghana, West Africa.
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Edward Ahima Botwe
Dad-of-six Edward knows all about the dangers of malaria having seen each of his children suffer from the disease in recent years.
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Rra Poroto
Okavango Region of Botswana, a country that has cut malaria cases by more than half in the last decade. He’s been championing malaria education campaigns as part of a malaria prevention programme that we helped fund last year, thanks to your support.
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Bismark Amankwaah, Physician's Assistant
Bismark is on the front line of the malaria fight in his role as a Physician’s Assistant at Ejura hospital. “Around 70% of the 200 patients we see every day are suspected to have malaria. There are only two hospitals in this district and people come far to get here. Sometimes they come too late with severe malaria and it can be fatal.
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Kedibonye Motlalepula
Mum of three Kedibonye often worries about whether her children will catch malaria. Two of them are under five years old and therefore at heightened risk from severe malaria – which can be deadly in young children.
