Mom’s second chance on life

My mother, Letitia Groenewald, needs urgent help.

My mother had an injury on duty at her job in 2013 (she fell and her histerectomy wound was torn open) - There were many complications around the various operations she had to undergo to repair the damage done that it was not properly fixed in the end.

In 2015, my mother could no longer live with the abdominal pain and had endless problems in finding a Dr to operate on her stomach because very few Dr's are willing to work with ‘injury on duty’-cases. My mom did get a Dr who was willing to operate on her - but it was just too late - the period allowed for medical assistance with on-duty injury is 2 years - after which a re-opening letter is requested before any further medical assistance is provided.

Our father passed away in 2016 - without any life policies or extra income my mother could still not afford a medical aid. We all tried hard and struggled for a long time to reopen the injury on duty case. The tear in her abdomen becomes very dangerous because all her intestines are moving back and forth through the gap in her abdomen. This causes severe inflammation and abdominal pain as well as bladder and kidney infection. My mother is constantly on antibiotics to bring the infection and inflammation under control.

The Compensation Fund sent my mother a letter requesting her to pay for her own CT scan to confirm whether or not the operation of her abdomen was related to the original injury on duty. When examining the CT scan they noticed a tumor in her right kidney. The Drs sent her for nuclear tests and sonars to determine if the cancer had spread. Luckily there are no signs of cancer anywhere else.

Without hesitation we contacted the Cancer Section of Steve Biko Hospital, but the waiting list for surgery is more than three years.

The Dr who can assist her is in Montana Hospital.He told us that the cancer is only in the kidney - if it can be removed as soon as possible my mother will be able to fully recover.

The cost of removing the kidney is about R300,000.00 because my mother would need to stay in the Intensive Care Unit for about two weeks.

I attach all my mom's papers for your convenience.

We ask for help even if it is small.

Thank you for the time you have spent reading the email.