Help my mum with heart disease get through coronavirus times

ello !

My name is Ariana and I'm a 19 year old girl from Peru. I live alone with my mum and our dog in Lima, the capital city of Peru.

My mum suffers from an ischemic heart disease, also known as coronary heart disease, that has put her through three operations and two strokes. This last stroke happened only a year ago, in March of 2019. My mother works independently, i.e she’s an informal worker. She works buying and selling different goods but relies mainly on selling her jewelry, antiques and other artefacts we previously owned. She works really hard to maintain us each month. The problem is that due to the nationwide imposed quarantine she can’t go out and sell her stuff which means we don’t have an income from which to maintain ourselves. The widow pension that she receives monthly from my father, who passed away from cancer in 2013, is of 306 soles (equivalent to approx. 90 US dollars) and one cannot live on just that. Additionally, she needs to take certain medication to control her blood pressure and her general cardiac condition which can be expensive. We no longer have the same economic situation as we used to, last year I couldn’t go to university because of this. Health insurance isn’t free in Peru thus we no longer have private health insurance, I have no insurance whatsoever while my mum’s cardiologist sees her for free. Now with the coronavirus, she can’t go to the hospital as it is a point of infection and she’s a high risk patient due to her heart condition, making her more vulnerable to get the virus. My older siblings are not in the picture anymore, it’s just my mum and I and I want to be able to help her. I’ve already lost my dad and I really don’t want to lose her too.

I know these are times of uncertainty and anguish for all of us. This virus has us scared, separated from our loved ones, the dreams and projects we have have been postponed till further notice. I know some Peruvians have it worse than others, that mine is not a case of extreme poverty, as many that occur in the country. I’m thankful for the roof over my head and to have my mum still beside me. Yet, it hasn't been easy on any of us which is why I come to you for help. Any donation, whatever the amount, is welcome to buy her medication and be able to maintain ourselves during this crisis. I know this crisis is universal, it’s affecting everybody, perhaps some more than others. But I please ask for your help, that of your friends, families, relatives. Please help my mum and I. Please help HER. I’ll be forever grateful. Stay safe, take care.

Lots of love, Ariana.