Become a Child's Miracle
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Hello. Thank you for taking the time to visit my GoFundMe page.
I’ve set up this page to raise funds for a cause that’s very close to my heart. El Demerdash Paediatric Hospital in Cairo treats children across Egypt with very serious and life threatening conditions. It is solely reliant on donations and recently have been in desperate need for funds. Walking through the wards and witnessing so many heart wrenching cases, it’s painfully clear that their suffering is unnecessarily worsened, simply because their families cannot afford treatment.
But I’ll start with some background first. My name is Timmy, I’m a doctor working in the UK and was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a rapid-onset muscle paralysis caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system – the nerves connecting signals from the brain and spine to the body.
My road to recovery was long, tough and draining, but it worked as I am blessed enough to have been able to afford treatment. And here I am today, almost back to full health. But like I said, I was extremely lucky. There are hundreds of children at El Demerdash hospital who face what I have faced, and a lot worse, without any hope for a better future.
Here are just a few examples demonstrating how dire some of these kid’s situations are:
Ali is nine years old arriving at Demardash with his family having suddenly experienced a rising paralysis that rendered him and his family completely at the mercy of El Demerdash. He was diagnosed with GBS and needed immunoglobulins for treatment.
Immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment is the best therapy for numerous autoimmune disorders, including GBS. It’s what I was treated with, and, at its best can lead to a full recovery. It significantly decreases the severe damage caused by these diseases, which can include total paralysis including that of the face, lungs and lead to death. These drugs can save lives in more ways than one. Unfortunately, IVIg is expensive, needed in liberal quantities and exported from abroad, making it extremely difficult for El Demerdash to afford.
To put it into context: A child needing IVIg will normally need to take 1 g of the drug for every 1 kg of his/her body weight. 1 g of IVIg costs the hospital 1,000 EGP (50 sterling pounds). In Ali’s case he needs 28 g per day, what would sum up to a total of 140,000 EGP (£7,000) after five days of treatment, or remain paralysed.
Even just £5-10 equates to 100-250 EGP, which is the price of one CREON box of tablets (replacement enzymes) and that alone will drastically improve the quality of life of a child suffering from cystic fibrosis (currently very high in demand in El Demerdash but not attainable without our help).
Another adorable three year old girl brought in by her mother for drowsiness was later diagnosed with viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and again needed IVIg amongst other drugs. She needed 1 g for every cute 14 kg that she weighs and for two days of treatment, equalling a total of 30,000 EGP.
It is safe to say that it is an insurmountable amount of money for these children’s families who come from as far as Aswan, a 10 hour drive, in hopes of treating their children despite their poor background. So this is why I’ve set up this page. If we can raise enough, we can make an actual, real difference to these children’s lives. We will give them a future they never thought they could have. We will be giving their parents the chance to see their children grow. The right treatment can work wonders for these diseases: just look at me, I’m a case in point. And I refuse to be the only lucky one.
And so I want to do everything that I can do to help, and I’m setting us some goals: for every 20,000 EGP (£1,000) raised, I will be taking requests for fundraising challenges. So please help give these children and their families their lives back, and I promise to give you some laughs out of it along the way too.
I am in close contact with Dr and Professor Mona Ganzoury. She is working in El Demerdash and is my key contact who is allocating funds for treatment to the children in most need. Dr Mona keeps reminding me that these families and children truly have nothing to rely on but us and God. I urge you to join us and trust that with these funds we will all Become a Child's Miracle.
I’ve set up this page to raise funds for a cause that’s very close to my heart. El Demerdash Paediatric Hospital in Cairo treats children across Egypt with very serious and life threatening conditions. It is solely reliant on donations and recently have been in desperate need for funds. Walking through the wards and witnessing so many heart wrenching cases, it’s painfully clear that their suffering is unnecessarily worsened, simply because their families cannot afford treatment.
But I’ll start with some background first. My name is Timmy, I’m a doctor working in the UK and was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS). GBS is a rapid-onset muscle paralysis caused by the immune system damaging the peripheral nervous system – the nerves connecting signals from the brain and spine to the body.
My road to recovery was long, tough and draining, but it worked as I am blessed enough to have been able to afford treatment. And here I am today, almost back to full health. But like I said, I was extremely lucky. There are hundreds of children at El Demerdash hospital who face what I have faced, and a lot worse, without any hope for a better future.
Here are just a few examples demonstrating how dire some of these kid’s situations are:
Ali is nine years old arriving at Demardash with his family having suddenly experienced a rising paralysis that rendered him and his family completely at the mercy of El Demerdash. He was diagnosed with GBS and needed immunoglobulins for treatment.
Immunoglobulin (IVIg) treatment is the best therapy for numerous autoimmune disorders, including GBS. It’s what I was treated with, and, at its best can lead to a full recovery. It significantly decreases the severe damage caused by these diseases, which can include total paralysis including that of the face, lungs and lead to death. These drugs can save lives in more ways than one. Unfortunately, IVIg is expensive, needed in liberal quantities and exported from abroad, making it extremely difficult for El Demerdash to afford.
To put it into context: A child needing IVIg will normally need to take 1 g of the drug for every 1 kg of his/her body weight. 1 g of IVIg costs the hospital 1,000 EGP (50 sterling pounds). In Ali’s case he needs 28 g per day, what would sum up to a total of 140,000 EGP (£7,000) after five days of treatment, or remain paralysed.
Even just £5-10 equates to 100-250 EGP, which is the price of one CREON box of tablets (replacement enzymes) and that alone will drastically improve the quality of life of a child suffering from cystic fibrosis (currently very high in demand in El Demerdash but not attainable without our help).
Another adorable three year old girl brought in by her mother for drowsiness was later diagnosed with viral encephalitis (inflammation of the brain) and again needed IVIg amongst other drugs. She needed 1 g for every cute 14 kg that she weighs and for two days of treatment, equalling a total of 30,000 EGP.
It is safe to say that it is an insurmountable amount of money for these children’s families who come from as far as Aswan, a 10 hour drive, in hopes of treating their children despite their poor background. So this is why I’ve set up this page. If we can raise enough, we can make an actual, real difference to these children’s lives. We will give them a future they never thought they could have. We will be giving their parents the chance to see their children grow. The right treatment can work wonders for these diseases: just look at me, I’m a case in point. And I refuse to be the only lucky one.
And so I want to do everything that I can do to help, and I’m setting us some goals: for every 20,000 EGP (£1,000) raised, I will be taking requests for fundraising challenges. So please help give these children and their families their lives back, and I promise to give you some laughs out of it along the way too.
I am in close contact with Dr and Professor Mona Ganzoury. She is working in El Demerdash and is my key contact who is allocating funds for treatment to the children in most need. Dr Mona keeps reminding me that these families and children truly have nothing to rely on but us and God. I urge you to join us and trust that with these funds we will all Become a Child's Miracle.
Organizer
Timmy Hatem
Organizer
