Emergency treatment cost of my mother

I am doing this for my mom -  Zulfiya Rasuli, a very kind, gentle, humble and a loving person going through a difficult time..

I live and work in London and my mother visits me often in the UK. On 27 November I had to call an ambulance because she had sudden and severe abdominal pain.  She was rushed to Whittington Hospital's A&E and had to be operated without delay to save her life. Doctors later confirmed it was a stomach perforation caused by ulcer. Overall, she had to spend 3 weeks in the hospital. She was frail due to her long-term rheumatoid arthritis and the effect it had on her body. Thanks to NHS team, she survived although there is still a long way to full recovery (she cannot take her previous medicines for R.A and this affects her mobility). I will look after her until she is able to travel back.

Mom is a citizen of Uzbekistan (a former USSR country). She got discharged on 20/12 and got an invoice for 19,096 GBP(!) for the treatment as an Overseas patient. This is a 150% of the normal tariff imposed on her because she was on a UK family visa and, sadly, had no insurance (was not required for her type of visa).  The fact it was an emergency did not change things. Unfortunately, these are the regulations as of 2015 (they took me by surprise, to say the least).  In addition, as of 2016, Uzbekistan and UK no longer have a bilateral healthcare agreement under which she wouldn't have been charged.

Mother is expected to pay the bill by 20 January 2019. The problem is my mother is disabled and retired and cannot afford it. 

I settled in the UK as a highly-skilled migrant and I work full-time.  However, I am a single parent. That said, I hope to find around 8-10k for her together with relatives. Yet, this does not cover a 19k bill in full. And this can be a reason for the Home Office not to issue her another UK visa...

I decided to launch this Gofundme campaign hoping that it can help my mother to cover her medical bill.

Thank you for your kind support in advance.

Yours, sincerely

Zaynab