THE Public Health Ministry has pledged $1M to assist nine-year-old Jamal Williams to undergo a liver transplant in India but much more is needed, his mother Natasha Williams told the Guyana Chronicle.

After experiencing severe abdominal pain in January 2016, Jamal, a resident of the West Indian Housing Scheme in Bartica, was diagnosed with a tumour on his liver. The tumour in his liver has caused his tummy to swell. It has been 19 long months of hardship and a struggle to secure the required medical attention, the single-parent mother said on Tuesday.

In January 2017, Natasha Williams managed to secure a quotation from a children’s hospital in India to facilitate the liver transplant at a cost of GUY$6.5M. But when travel, accommodation and other expenses are added, Natasha Williams said the cost is likely to jump to GUY$10M.

In recent days, she said the Public Health Ministry, fully aware of Jamal’s case, signalled its willingness to give GUY$1M, but requested an updated quotation from the medical institution. That quotation is being sought. Additionally, with help from the Bartica Lions Club, an account has been set up at Scotiabank for persons to contribute to the cause. Persons desirous of donating towards Jamal’s surgery can deposit their contributions in Scotiabank account #175-441 or contact his mother Natasha Williams at +592-690-5092 for further information. If she does not garner sufficient money to conduct the transplant in India, Natasha Williams said Brazil is their second option.

But even with funds being gathered, the mother of six said she has not secured a donor to assist in life-saving surgical procedure. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “organ transplantation is often the only treatment for end-state organ failure, such as liver and heart failure.”

It was noted that the procurement of organs for transplantation involves the removal of organs from the bodies of deceased persons. This removal must follow legal requirements, including the definition of death and consent. Liver transplants are not conducted in Guyana.

Reflecting on Jamal’s illness, Natasha Williams said the St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic student returned home from school one day crying for abdominal pain. Jamal had reportedly told his mother that he fell while in school. “I took him to the (Bartica) hospital the same afternoon, they ran an x-ray but found nothing,” she recalled noting they returned home that afternoon with the hope that the pain would have stopped but by 20:30hrs the same day, January 8, 2016, the pain intensified.

“In the night while sleeping, he rolling with pain, crying out for this pain, then I know he get a kick in school,” she added.
By January 9, 2016 Jamal was admitted to the Bartica Regional Hospital, where doctors there suspected that he had complications in the liver. “The doctor saw something on his liver. He didn’t know what it was, so they transferred him to the Georgetown Public Hospital.”

It was at the Georgetown Public Hospital that doctors, after conducting a computerized tomography (CT) scan, diagnosed Jamal with a tumor on his liver. Since, then he has had many visits to the public hospital. “They say the only thing that could be done is a liver transplant to save his life,” she posited.

Since his first diagnosis, Jamal has developed hernia. “Girl when he tek in pun me he does get soft soft soft. I feed him every two hours like a baby. Sometimes he would get blackout, remember he is just nine-years-old. He can’t go to school or play because the doctors say it is very dangerous.” Natasha Williams believes that God will make a way. “I believe that God works miracles. I always believe that things will work out. It is not easy but I know God will pay the way,” she emphasized.