Help Sarah Battle GBS

My sister, Sarah, was recently diagnosed with Guillain - Barre Syndrome (GBS). According to GBS-CIDP, it is an inflammatory disorder of the peripheral nerves outside the brain and spinal cord. It has many variants. Although with different symptoms, they are all rapid onset. The one that she has is AMAN (Acute Motor Axonal Neuropathy). Among its manifestations are body pains, numbness, tingling sensation, weakness, and often paralysis. In Sarah's current condition, she is experiencing some decrease in her motor abilities.

While this is a lifetime condition, there is still a way to manage her symptoms. Her treatment is through IV Immunoglobulin (IV IG). For each day, she will need 11 vials of 5mg Immunoglobulin. She will need to take it for 5 days, having a total of 55 vials. In hospitals, each vial costs around Php 28,000 to Php 30,000. When sourced from the distributors, it costs Php 15,000 to Php 25,000. However, not all pharmacies have a ready stock of IV IG. They still get their stocks from abroad, which means it will take a couple of months to stock up again. Luckily for us, we were able to find 55 vials from a medical representative recommended by Sarah's doctor. The immunoglobulin has to be administered ASAP so we made loans after loans after loans just to prepare the payment in cash as required by the pharmacy. In total, we spent almost a million to secure all the IV IG she will need. This amount is apart from her daily room accommodation in the hospital, and the other expenses like transportation, food, etc.

Behind all of these challenges financially, we are glad that our Mama Sarah is strongly battling GBS. We still have a long way to go, but we are grateful for the little miracles that God sends our way.

Right now, we understand that we cannot brave this storm alone. We need any form of help that you can share with us in this trying time in our life - in Sarah's life. May God touch your kind hearts and help us raise funds for Sarah's medical needs. Most importantly, please include her recovery in your prayers.

Thank you! God bless you!