Meet Grace. I'm usually not a fan of singling out patients especially because so many of them have a heartwarming story. There's no way to pick one, but an urgent situation has made me reconsider...
Grace Joel has been a permanent fixture at FAME. She was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 3 and has been receiving chemotherapy for the last 2 years. She finished her induction therapy in the national capitol - Dar es Salaam and has been receiving her oral maintenance therapy here at FAME. Like many children, she has a way of sneaking into your heart without you realizing how. She would hang out in people's offices and follow the staff home, smiling and giggling the whole time. Grace has quickly became our 5 year old bundle of joy and many folks here consider her family.
Which is why when Grace began complaining of an increasing headache yesterday, we were all very concerned. We assessed her and also spoke with the pediatric cancer specialist at Muhimbili this morning to discuss Grace’s treatment. She needs an urgent CT scan to rule out an acute intracranial process such as sinovenous thrombosis or an abscess possible followed by a lumbar puncture. Unfortuately, we can’t do those things here at FAME, and even if we sent her to Arusha for the CT scan, they would not be able to perform the lumbar puncture to help differentiate whether her problem is due to worsening leukemia or an opportunistic infection. Either way, she has some intracranial process that needs urgent attention. She has previously been doing very well and has responded to her chemo, so this is a major setback.
We can’t send her to Dar by public bus as she is neutropenic from her chemo and trying to fly her commercially will take at least two days to arrange. We contacted flying doctors, a medical flight service here who picked her up and took her to Dar where she will be taken by ambulance to Muhimbili, the government hospital and only place to receive oncologic care in the country. The cost for this trip will be 1.2 million Tanzanian shillings which converts to $1275 USD. FAME doesn’t have this kind of cash lying around in their budget and we’ve raised some of it here from volunteers, but I am also hoping that a few of my readers may also be able to help out with this. Flying doctors has graciously taken many of our patients without the fee upfront and we are grateful for their help.
Grace Joel has been a permanent fixture at FAME. She was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia at the age of 3 and has been receiving chemotherapy for the last 2 years. She finished her induction therapy in the national capitol - Dar es Salaam and has been receiving her oral maintenance therapy here at FAME. Like many children, she has a way of sneaking into your heart without you realizing how. She would hang out in people's offices and follow the staff home, smiling and giggling the whole time. Grace has quickly became our 5 year old bundle of joy and many folks here consider her family.
Which is why when Grace began complaining of an increasing headache yesterday, we were all very concerned. We assessed her and also spoke with the pediatric cancer specialist at Muhimbili this morning to discuss Grace’s treatment. She needs an urgent CT scan to rule out an acute intracranial process such as sinovenous thrombosis or an abscess possible followed by a lumbar puncture. Unfortuately, we can’t do those things here at FAME, and even if we sent her to Arusha for the CT scan, they would not be able to perform the lumbar puncture to help differentiate whether her problem is due to worsening leukemia or an opportunistic infection. Either way, she has some intracranial process that needs urgent attention. She has previously been doing very well and has responded to her chemo, so this is a major setback.
We can’t send her to Dar by public bus as she is neutropenic from her chemo and trying to fly her commercially will take at least two days to arrange. We contacted flying doctors, a medical flight service here who picked her up and took her to Dar where she will be taken by ambulance to Muhimbili, the government hospital and only place to receive oncologic care in the country. The cost for this trip will be 1.2 million Tanzanian shillings which converts to $1275 USD. FAME doesn’t have this kind of cash lying around in their budget and we’ve raised some of it here from volunteers, but I am also hoping that a few of my readers may also be able to help out with this. Flying doctors has graciously taken many of our patients without the fee upfront and we are grateful for their help.
Any donations can be made directly through the FAME website at http://www.fameafrica.com and just make a note or send an email to them that it for Grace Joel. If you’d like to email me you can as well and I will keep you updated on Grace's care - payal1128@gmail.com. Life is so difficult here, but to have an illness like this would be difficult anywhere.
Thank you for your generosity!
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