UPDATE: Mother exploring options for daughter's spinal surgery
Andrews has been diagnosed with the a spinal condition called spondylolisthesis, which is at its highest stage of grade 5. If corrective surgery is not done very soon Tywanna is very likely to be paralysed for life. At its present stage, Tywanna is at extreme risk of having her bladder and urinary tract collapse, which would eliminate the possibility of correcting her condition surgically.
Speaking with Virgin Islands News Online, Jules-Paul said she has not confirmed taking up the offer put forward by Dr Nagy Darwish, who is based in the United Kingdom. As previously indicated, he was willing to perform the operation free of surgical cost.
"I arrive [in] Tortola on the 1st of July and I am happy to perform the surgery the week after, this is to give time to organize and make sure all needed for surgery is on island," Dr. Darwish had said in a correspondence to Rotarian Ken Guiste, who had informed him of the situation.
Mrs Paul said while government, through its relevant agencies, had said they could not foot the required $200,000, bill, they are working closely with her on other options for immediate intervention.
Mrs Jules-Paul also said the door is still open for any form of assistance that would lend to an early solution.
See previous article posted on April 17, 2013
Good Samaritans to the rescue after Govt. fails its own!
-Rotary Sunrise answers emergency call to save the life of a young Virgin Islander
When a mother took the courage to take her call for help for her 15 year old daughter, she had absolutely no idea that someone in the Rotary Sunrise Club of Tortola had already heard of her plight and went digging for help prior to her open call at the Rotary Club's Breakfast Morning Meeting on April 16, 2013.
President of Rotary Club Sunrise, Dr. Allison Flax-Archer was all so right when she expressed how challenging it could be for a parent to swallow every last string of pride and pull the courage to go public to ask for financial assistance. The money is needed for a medical procedure that would give a child a fighting opportunity at a brilliant normal life.
At the Rotary Sunrise’s meeting, the story was told of 15-year-old Tywanna H. Andrews, the 2nd of five children for Mrs Lucian Jules Paul. “Today I am here with my eldest daughter Tywanna, who is presently in form four at the Elmore Stoutt High School. Recently Tywanna was been diagnosed with a spinal condition call Spondylolisthesis in the highest grade 5 – meaning without immediate critical surgery she will be rendered paralyzed for life,.” related the obviously sad mother.
Jules-Paul said that in December of 2012, she decided to take her child to Peebles hospital after realizing that she was beginning to have challenges walking normally. “And for whatever reason she couldn’t bend down as any normal person. The doctor examined her back and stated that she had scoliosis. He requested an x-ray of the back which alerted the radiologist to perform a CT scan,” she explained.
The mother alleged that when she returned from the doctor with the x-ray she was told that he did not see the need for the CT scan. “I told him something is wrong and he needed to contact the radiologist. He contacted me later on the same day and advised me to find an orthopedic surgeon.”
She decided to visit the Eureka Medical Clinic where she consulted with Dr. Klas Buring who she said has since been working side by side with her and daughter in the quest to find a very good spine surgeon to review Tywanna’s condition.
They recently returned from a hospital in New York where they were seen by Dr. Ohendba Boachie, a spine surgeon and who did a medical evaluation. As she struggled really hard to hold back her tears, the mother said, “Where it was further determined that she needs to have an urgent major surgery to avoid her from becoming paralyzed.” she swallowed hard and continued, “We were told that the condition as it is now, can cause her bladder and urinary tract to collapse at any moment and if that happens, then we have no more chance of helping her.”
The sad and most troubling part is that it would take over $200,000 to perform the surgical procedure and must be paid in advance. “This is a desperate situation and we are appealing for any possible assistance from you to help defray this cost.”
While her mother stood before the sizable group to speak of her condition, Tywanna remained in her seat being careful not to do too much standing to cause undue pressure on her back. She remained poised with a humble and pleasant smile plastered across her face. It was evident that while she was the one experiencing the medical condition, she was feeling the pain of her mother as she pleaded for help. This was noticeable as she frequently nodded and tried to be strong for her mom by holding back her tears.
Mrs Lucian Jules Paul said that she had taken her case to the local government health care systems which indicated that they hadn’t that kind of money to assist her. Even though disappointed, she remain determined to get help and has since approached her church, the Roman Catholic Church on Tortola and most recently the Rotary Sunrise Club of Tortola.
Rotarian Ken Guiste said that he had prior knowledge of the plight and condition of the family and went digging for help unknowingly to them and was overwhelmed that he was able to get some positive commitments in time to present at yesterday’s meeting. He said that he had made contact with a fellow Rotarian, Nagy Darwish, who is spine surgeon specialist working currently in the United Kingdom.
In an email response to Guiste call for help, Darwish wrote, “Thank you for your kind email and asking me to help Tywanna. Ken I have no hesitation to help and as a Rotarian in the Sunrise Club I am happy to perform the surgery with no surgical cost.” That was great news that caused the mother to not bother to fight the tears any more and also saw Rotarian rise in cheers.
However, the response stated that there is still need for some 20,000 sterling to off- set the cost for necessary screws and surgical equipment. “I can get the anesthetist to donate his time,” Dr. Darwish further stated in his response. He also said that reviewing the doctor’s letter he totally agrees that the surgery is critical. “Grade 5 in her condition (15 years old) is congenital deformity and need fixation and correction.”
Mrs Lucian Jules Paul does her best to have her daughter continue to lead a normal as possible life while they pray and explore possibilities of getting her well. She continues to access her school as it is a critical stage of her academic life.
Persons willing to donate towards Tywanna’s surgery and recovery are asked to make contact with any member of the Rotary Sunrise Club of Tortola.
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54 Responses to “UPDATE: Mother exploring options for daughter's spinal surgery”
Fact: for serious conditions, the quality of health services in BVI is generally substandard, who vex vex!
Please stop spreading propaganda and running with one side of the story.
The BVI people were not serious about the future of their country when they voted the VIP out of office and accepted Dr. Smith as their Primer
Thanks Rotary for doing good when government failed
Dr. Darwish may God bless you for providing your services to this young lady. We need more doctors no let me say PEOPLE like you who have a heart and is not only concerned about money but about the lives and well being of people.