The Christmas wish of a Berbice woman is to undergo a much needed surgery for a ruptured brain aneurysm and in order to do so, she is seeking the public’s help to raise funds to offset her expenses.
Parbattie Austin, 43, called ‘Ravina’, a mother of four of Overwinning, East Bank Berbice, was diagnosed with an aneurysm after undergoing a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scan at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.
Austin said it all started after she collapsed during an outing at the Berbice Expo and Trade Fair back in September. She told Stabroek News that she remembers waking up in the Port Mourant Hospital and based on the explanation given to her, her blood pressure was extremely high resulting in her collapsing.
She recounted that after spending the day at the public hospital, she visited a private hospital in Berbice where she had a CT scan. It revealed that she was bleeding in the brain.
“…Sometime in October, I was admitted in the High Dependency Unit at [the] Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) after I was unable to see. But thanks to the doctors at GHPC and my sincere prayers, by time I was discharged, after more than two weeks, I was able to see,” Austin said.
While at the GPHC, she was seen by neurosurgeon Dr Amarnauth Dukhi who directed that an MRI scan be done. It was done at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.
Dukhi, upon looking at the results, confirmed that Austin had a ruptured brain aneurysm and informed her that she needs to undergo surgery.
Since the required surgery is not available at the GPHC, Austin said she was referred to a private facility, NeuroSpine Services Inc, which is located in the city. She explained that the surgery would entail an endovascular treatment using a stent and coiling of the aneurysm.
Austin said that in order to have the surgery done, she needs $6,440,800. At present, she said, she has managed to raise close to 50 per cent of the required amount.
Since being diagnosed, she noted that she has been unable to function normally. She has been placed on medication and is required to take the medicine every four hours. The woman said that her lifestyle has changed drastically and any little activity is fatiguing for her.
“I can’t stand up for long periods and light blinds me. Noise makes me feel like my head will explode and I tend to forget things often and get confused. Sometimes, for no reason, I’m exhausted,” Austin said, while explaining her dilemma. She added that she had to cut her hair to make life easier.
The woman said that because of her condition, she relies on her husband and her children to take care of her daily needs.
“I wish if my surgery can be done before Christmas. It is my wish for this Christmas, I’m praying with hopes that my Lord will do it for me again. I’m not giving up my faith in God and my confidence in Dr Dukhi. I’m not fearful of this surgery. I read about so many success of Dr Dukhi and I have confidence that he will make me one of his success stories too,” Austin said.
She noted that since her diagnosis, she has been reaching out to the business community for help financially. She said that the responses have been slow but favourable.
“My husband and daughters having a takeaway lunch as fundraising for [the] 20th of this month with hopes that it can help to raise some of the much needed funds,” she said.
Dr Dukhi, in his report, had said that it is important for Austin to undergo the surgery as soon as possible since 40 per cent of patients who suffer from this type of brain aneurysm usually do not survive the first rupture. He noted too that the chances of survival if a second rupture occurs are lower, and in many cases, are fatal.
Austin further said that her family’s savings have been used up to cover medical expenses they have incurred to date.
She is appealing to persons to take regular medical checkups and don’t wait until they are feeling ill. “Don’t wait to feel sick, I never felt sick, I never had symptoms of high blood pressure and this is the result. It came as a shock to me so I am urging people to take care of their health,” she said.
Persons who are interested in offering assistance are asked to contact Austin on telephone number: 592 670 0345 or they can make donations to her Republic Bank account. The account number is 962352050698. Persons can also make donations to her GoFundMe account: https://www.gofundme.com/f/ruptured-brain-aneurysmsurgery?sharetype=teams&member=3097822&rcid=r01-157228090831-36df60570cf94645&pc=wa_co_campmgmt_m&utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-