The parents of seven-year-old Colleacia Harcourt, who has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumour, are seeking help from the public to raise funds for an emergency surgery to save her life.
“We’re asking the public to help us save our daughter’s life. She means a lot to us,” an emotional Travis Harcourt told Stabroek News.
The primary school student lives at Lichfield, West Coast Berbice, with her parents and three siblings. She was diagnosed with the tumour over a month ago after she started experiencing severe headaches. However, the tumour is spreading rapidly and her doctors are calling for an emergency surgery to save her life.
“This patient presents with a very urgent need for a neuro surgical intervention due to an intra-ventricular mass that she developed about two months ago,” Neurosurgeon Dr. Kester Nedd of the Design Neuroscience Center wrote in a letter of the girl’s condition.
Without medical intervention, Nedd stated, Colleacia would be at risk of developing a life threatening complication. He indicated that she was in need of pre-ops, neurological and endocrine work up and immediate craniotomy and ventriculostomy.
A week before school closed for the Easter vacation, Colleacia started experiencing headaches and vomiting. A teacher at her school contacted her parents and she was taken to the Mahaicony Hospital. However, after several tests, doctors at the hospital did not find anything wrong, so she was sent home.
The headaches nevertheless continued and she was taken to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital for an MRI. Noticing her condition, doctors there decided to admit her for observation; several tests were conductws and a mass was found growing on her brain.
She was then referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital. However, the type of the medical attention she needs is not available in Guyana.
“When they referred her she wasn’t eating and she was vomiting five to six times every day for three weeks. The doctors told us that this type of treatment is only done overseas and that we should apply for overseas treatment through the Ministry of Health,” Travis Harcourt said.
The Health Ministry will be releasing a $2 million cheque later this week to Colleacia’s parents. Yet, this is a small fraction of the amount needed for her surgery in Colombia, which has been estimated at US$35,000 ($7 million). This figure may increase since it does not cover possible complications, additional procedures and additional days of hospitalisation.
The deadline for payment is May 23.
“We have been praying a lot and we believe in God, we believe that she will come through this okay. When we got the news it wasn’t something we expected to here. This is our seven-year-old daughter. She is the light in our house,” Harcourt said, before adding that Colleacia is also a loving and smart child who dreams of becoming a lawyer.
“That’s her mark. She always talks about becoming a lawyer and she will be.
Her mother is a young woman of faith. We will get through this,” he said.
“Our daughter is a friendly and brave child. We would like people to help us get this surgery done,” he added.
Donations could be made to Republic Bank account number: 7302698. For more information contact 6991005/6134422.
