AN eleven-year-old girl, who dreams of one day becoming a doctor treating sick people, is stricken with a rare abdominal malady and in urgent need of surgery. As a result, the parents of Annastacia Higgins, who has been diagnosed with Hirschsprung’s disease and suffers from fecal incontinence, are making a public appeal for financial assistance to help her get corrective bowel surgery abroad.
The child, who lives at Lot 67 Second Street, Prospect, East Bank Demerara, was brought to the Guyana Chronicle offices yesterday, by her mother, Amelia Seemangal, who said arrangements are being made for her daughter to have the operation done at the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the United States.
But the cost of it will be in the vicinity of US$70,000, with other related expenses, such as air fares, added to make approximately US$75,000.
Annastacia is a victim of chronic constipation and, as a result of a dead nerve in her anal area, she does not always know when she is ready to defecate.
For the time being, she is on special medication and high fibre diet to give her some temporary relief. Though very expensive, they are both necessary to keep her alive.
However, unless she is operated upon soon enough, her colon can puncture and kill her from poisoning.
Her health problems began in 2005, and, that year, she had a modified Duhamel’s operation. Then, in 2006, she developed added complications and had since undergone three other surgeries at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH).
It was after her fourth surgery, locally, that it was determined that she would require further specialist surgical intervention which cannot be done in this country.
Meanwhile, her deeply distraught mother has had to place her in a special private school with a patient friendly environment, where she gets empathy and personal care, but is still eager for her to go abroad as she feels confident that treatment there would end the child’s embarrassment and woes.
Recommending the Cincinnati Hospital, Dr. Nelson Rosen, Director, Colorectal Centre, assured that her care there will be exceptional under the doctors to whom the girl is being referred.
Unfortunately, though, because of financial constraints, more than one year has passed and her parents have not been able to get even close to garnering the necessary funds.
As a medical patient registered at the Ministry of Health, the girl is guaranteed US$5,000  from that source and is grateful for pledges made by kind hearted citizens on a recent Channel 67 telethon.
Persons desirous of making contributions to the cause are asked to make deposits in Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) Account number S1 AI 044142 or contact her mother on telephone number 627-6859.