Alpha Kargbo was first visited in October 2016 by two orthopedic surgeons from the German-based organization Ortopaedie-für-die-Dritte Welt (O-D-W). They hoped to be able to save his badly infected right leg. Alpha, age 8 at the time, had suffered for two years with a bone infection of unknown origin, and that had destroyed his knee joint and continued to spread. Despite three or more surgeries and different regimens of antibiotic medications, Alpha finally lost his battle against the infection, which was threatening his life.
Alpha Kargbo in 2016, with badly infected right leg 
Alpha Kargbo in 2018, after one of his surgeries.
Africa surgery asked the O-D-W team to amputate Alpha’s leg above the knee, in January 2020. Alpha, a quiet but gutsy 12-year-old by then, wanted to go to school and to play with his friends on two legs again. Africa Surgery made arrangements for their partner organization, Orthopedic Rehabilitation and Medical Services-Sierra Leone (ORMS-SL), to fabricate and fit Alpha with a prosthetic right leg and foot, including a knee joint that will actually work for him.
