The Linden woman who is in urgent need of surgery as she is suffering from a rare disease, Cushing’s syndrome, is yet to raise the US$12,000 needed for the surgery in Trinidad.
“She is sitting at home wasting away and all the places her brother and I have approached are not giving any assistance,” Valerie Sharpe of the Regional Welfare & Women’s Affairs Committee, Region 10, told Stabroek News yesterday. The welfare committee is assisting the woman and her family in raising money for her surgery.
She said so far they have only managed to raise about US$1,000, a far cry from the money Maureen Mohabir needs to save her life. Her relatives had told Stabroek News that the Ministry of Health had been approached and while promises were made for assistance to be given this has not yet been verified and they would still have to raise funds on their own.
Sharpe said that most of the companies approached, except for one, have indicated that they cannot give any financial assistance but should there be a fundraising activity they would assist with some free products. She said one religious body that was approached told them that their medical board had informed them that the surgery can be done in Guyana. She said she has since written the body and asked for assistance in identifying the medical practitioner who can do the surgery but no response has been forthcoming.
She pointed out that Mohabir has been suffering from the disease for sometime and she went from doctor to doctor but all were unable to identify her ailment. It was last year that a local doctor made some preliminary findings and the woman went to Trinidad to have it verified and a doctor there confirmed that she was suffering from Cushing’s syndrome.
“If the surgery could be done here we would be happy because all she wants is help to live. But it is surprising that even the Ministry of Health did not indicate that the surgery could be done in Guyana,” Sharpe pointed out.
She said one of the woman’s brothers who has been at the forefront of the fight to get the money for the woman has now run into some problems with his place of employment, putting the family into an even more difficult situation.
Sharpe is appealing to Guyanese here and overseas to hear the woman’s cry and answer it so that she could receive the help she needs.
Mohabir has severe swelling, a symptom of the disease, and she is in constant pain. Persons wishing to help Mohabir can do so by placing donations in the Republic Bank account, a/c#516-773-9 which is in the name of the Regional Women’s Affairs Committee. Persons can also contact Sharpe on telephone numbers 444-6058 or 444-3048 or the woman’s family on telephone numbers, 444-4214 and 444-2089
Cushing’s syndrome is a hormonal disorder caused by prolonged exposure of the body’s tissues to high levels of the hormone cortisol. Sometimes called “hypercortisolism,” it is relatively rare and most commonly affects adults ages 20 to 50. An estimated 10 to 15 persons in every million are affected each year.
Symptoms vary, but most people have upper body obesity, rounded face, increased fat around the neck, and thinning arms and legs. Children tend to be obese with slowed growth rates.
Other symptoms appear in the skin, which becomes fragile and thin. It bruises easily and heals poorly. Purplish pink stretch marks may appear on the abdomen, thighs, buttocks, arms and breasts. The bones are weakened and routine activities such as bending, lifting or rising from a chair may lead to backaches, rib and spinal column fractures.
