Bethel Park double amputee, cancer survivor hopes to inspire others
Jean Mwale is putting one prosthetic leg in front of the other.
The Bethel Park resident is taking the steps to heal and move forward, and she wants to share her story of fear, pain, hope and love.
“Don’t give up,” said Mwale, smiling as she put on her prosthetic legs on a recent Tuesday afternoon. “Because when you think things are so bad, there are still people who care about you and want to help you. I have gone through so much, but I am still here. There are people like those kids in (Uvalde) Texas who will never be able to experience life again because they were taken away so tragically.
“I try to be strong. I am happy I am alive.”
There were times she was close to death.
She’s kept a letter from a doctor at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston asking for an expedited visa for her mother, Fostina Mwale, to come to the United States.
Jean Mwale, a native of the Republic of Zambia in Africa, was not feeling good after dining out while visiting a friend in 2016 and was transported to the medical center.
After two weeks in a coma, she woke up to find the tips of four fingers on her right hand had been amputated because of septic shock. Her mother was there with her other daughter, Doreen Mwale, who insisted that Jean be flown to Pittsburgh for treatment. Doctors there had treated Mwale for cancer, twice.
Mwale was flown by helicopter to UPMC Mercy. She needed to have both legs amputated below the knee because of the infection.
“The pain of removing those bandages after amputation, I would not wish on my worst enemy,” she said. “I thought, I am not strong enough for this. I was really down.”
That is hard to tell when you meet her. She is upbeat and has a laugh that’s contagious, despite the losses of parts of her fingers and legs.
She once wore long dresses to cover the prosthetic and gloves in the middle of summer so that people wouldn’t see her right hand, which was often swollen.
Mwale, who turned 47 in April, since has taken the gloves off and is wearing shorter skirts and dresses. She’s in the process of being fitted for finger extensions, thanks to UPMC’s Dr. Michael Munin, a physical medicine and rehabilitation physician who treats a variety of medical conditions affecting the brain, spinal cord, nerves, bones, joints, ligaments, muscles and tendons.
Munin also helped Mwale with a new prosthetic that looks more like her own limbs.
Along with Munin, she said she owes thanks to Dr. Mounzer E. Agha, director of the Mario Lemieux Center for Blood Cancer at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and associate director of medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and Dr. Alison Rager Sehgal, hematologist/medical oncologist at Hillman and assistant professor at Pitt‘s medical school.
Mwale also said the doctors at UPMC’s Center of Care for Infectious Diseases have been wonderful, and they are all the reason she is here today.
She moved to Pittsburgh in 2000 because of a relationship, after living in Los Angeles with her sister.
In 2003, Mwale felt a lump on her neck. A biopsy revealed lymphoma, and despite a fear of needles, she underwent chemotherapy at Hillman.
“There were times when I really didn’t value life,” she said. “You never think you are going to get cancer. I felt ill from the treatment and my hair fell out. I didn’t feel like eating. It breaks down your system.”
She was told it would be unlikely she could have children.
”The day I heard that, I was broken,” she said.
The following year, she felt sick.
“I went to the doctor, who said, ‘Jean, you are pregnant. What are you going to name them?’” Mwale said. “I said, ‘What did you say?’ And then I said, ‘Them?’ I was like, wow. I was happy.”
On March 12, 2005, she delivered daughter Naija B. Mwale, who weighed 1 pound, 2 ounces and son Uzodinma Jr. M. Mwale, 1 pound. The babies spent two months at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Oakland.
A few years later, a round of tests showed another type of lymphoma for their mother.
“I was devastated because the thought of chemo again almost broke me mentally and physically,” said Mwale, who is in remission from both cancers. “I prayed and prayed and decided to be strong, and realized that how could I leave my children and my amazing parents.”
Mwale keeps a photo of herself on her smartphone in which she is unrecognizable. She has no hair from chemotherapy treatments and is slumped over in a hospital bed.
“There was a time I was unable to look at that picture,” she said through tears. “But I’ve kept it as a way to see how far I’ve come.”
Mwale has learned to walk on her prosthetic legs, and she is able to maneuver steps. Not having to go up and down would make her life easier. That’s why she set up a GoFundMe account to raise money for a home where everything is on one floor.
She recalled one night watching her favorite TV show and waiting until the last minute to go to the bathroom. She forgot she wasn’t wearing her prosthetic and landed on the floor. Many amputees experience phantom limb, a sensation that the limb is still there. There can be pain, as well.
Mwale’s friend Charity Kasengele, who is like a sister, said that Mwale has been through so much.
“Jean will tell a story and smile, so you don’t realize how hard it was and is for her,” said Kasengele, who recently moved from Pittsburgh to Ohio. “She went through a real darkness. But her personality, she is a lights on, happy kind of person. She has a lot to give to society.”
Mwale founded Miracles of Hope, a nonprofit to help people here and in Africa. She took this year off work to focus on her health work on a book. She previously worked as an administrative assistant at PNC Bank and as a secretary at Range Resources and Haddad’s Inc.
Her goal is to be an advocate for anyone who has or had cancer or their family members and friends with cancer, as well as those who’ve lost limbs. Munin said Mwale continues to exceed expectations using her prosthetic.
“The emotional side of care is as important as the physical side,” Munin said. “I have a lot of empathy for patients like Jean. You do everything you can for them because it’s such a heartfelt situation. The fact Jean wants to become a motivational speaker is wonderful, because I can talk to a patient about what to expect but I haven’t experienced it. She has, and she can share that knowledge with others going through similar challenges.”
Mwale said if she can inspire even one person to stay strong and believe that miracles are possible she will be the happiest person.
“I feel it’s my calling to give back and that’s why I am writing my autobiography titled ‘I survived it all by Jean Mwale,’” she said. “Often times people don’t realize how life changes for an amputee. Once you are in the house, all is good but as soon as you go outside it’s a whole new world. Small things like a raised side walk or just twigs lying around could be life changing.”
But she’s going to keep putting one prosthetic leg in front of the other.
JoAnne Klimovich Harrop is a TribLive reporter covering the region's diverse culinary scene and unique homes. She writes features about interesting people. The Edward R. Murrow award-winning journalist began her career as a sports reporter. She has been with the Trib for 26 years and is the author of "A Daughter's Promise." She can be reached at jharrop@triblive.com.
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