Support Getenesh's journey to recovery

NOTE: This funding is for Getenesh's medical care and recovery. Getenesh friends and colleagues are behind this page founded by Frida Omarsdottir. As her country's bank accounts are not on the GoFundMe site's accepted country transfer list and because Getenesh is not able to receive and organise her support herself, a German account was founded especially for this collection by her sister Gudrun Omarsdottir, who lives in Germany (one of the accepted countries). The funding will be used to pay for her transport and surgery in Germany as well as all aftercare needed.)

Update as of October 2023:

Getenesh is a geothermal energy specialist who received a Master’s Degree from the United Nations University’s Geothermal Training Programme in 2019. Her life changed irrevocably in 2020: she was the sole survivor of a terrible bus crash (the driver fell asleep at the wheel). Previous support has allowed her to survive, and she was able to improve for a time. However, the broken infrastructure in in her country and her lack of funds have caused a significant setback, and her health has deteriorated. Getenesh is in a critical state at this moment, with constant debilitating pain.

The good news: we have connected Getenesh to a doctor in Europe who can help her. One of Germany’s leading spine experts has evaluated her situation and recommends removing a pin which was previously inserted into her back - the pin was not placed correctly and is pressing on her nerves, causing immense pain.

We – members of Women in Geothermal (WING) - ask for your support to send Getenesh to Germany and receive the treatment that has been recommended by the German specialist. In addition, there will be costs related to housing and for follow-up visits to the doctor during the post-surgery period. Also her teeth are broken causing her pain and difficulty in eating. She also suffers on and off from internal stomach bleeding and beeds medication and treatment for that. Thank you for anything you can spare for Getenesh. With your help, we can relieve her pain and put her on the road to a real recovery from a devastating accident. Donations in any amount will improve her situation. Together, let’s help Getenesh get healthy and return to her family and to her profession.

The full story:

Getenesh is a geophysicist working to develop the geothermal resources for her country and the east Africa region. Two years ago, her friends and colleagues, in the geothermal sector helped raise emergency funding for dear Getenesh, who graduated on a UNU-GTP MSc Fellowship in 2019, and was severely injured in a terrible bus accident in her home country in 2020.  

The cause of the accident is believed to have occurred because the bus driver fell asleep and the bus rolled over several times causing injuries to everyone on board. She needed urgent life saving surgery. All the people involved in the accident have since passed away from their injuries, except Getenesh who survived, thanks to the medical care she obtained after our last funding efforts from amazing friends and well-wishers around the globe in the geothermal industry, she managed to survive. The funding enabled her to get surgery for her back, shoulders, and arms. Which otherwise she would never have been able to get due to the high costs of the specialised care.  

Since the accident, Getenesh has made amazing progress and is able to walk a few steps, regain her speech and movements of her hands. However, she still has far to go and and the recovery is slow as she is not able to afford the follow-up surgery, medication, and physical therapy needed to progress. To add to these difficulties, there are ongoing conflicts in her country, making the costs of medicine and medical treatment even more expensive, along side basic necessities such as food. Getenesh and her family have spent all their earnings on getting her the most urgent medication but still some treatment is needed to treat the fracture in her neck and misplacement in her spine along with a surgery to correctly place a pin which is pressing on her nerve causing her immense pain. She also needs medication to treat her intestine ulcers. She has also not been able to continue the needed physical therapy to fully enable her to function properly again. Her teeth were smashed in the accident making it difficult for her to eat properly as well as causing her a lot of pain by simply drawing a breath. She has not had her teeth fixed because she considers that to be a non-urgent matter compared to her other injuries.  

Therefore, we want to help her get back on her feet after her incredible ordeal. The situation is her country is immensely difficult so any effort and any amount of donation will surely help!  

Getenesh has been reluctant to ask for help as she is endlessly grateful for the lifesaving help she already received but now she feels she has no other option. She wrote a letter to explain her situation and condition as well as recorded a thank you video to all those who supported her so far.  The full thank you video can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYFPladK6ME&t=27s

 

If you can... please support whatever you can to get this brilliant female geophysicist back in the field... !

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A message from Getenesh in early 2023:

Hello Frida, I am glad to write and talk to you again.

Thank you so much and I am happy for your help and all the people so far. I truly thank everyone for the financial and moral support at this difficult time, I never forget really please thank everyone very much. My condition is better than before. But I still need alot of medication and treatment. I reached up to this point today with the help of you, the people around you, my family and friends and colleagues. But still, I need your help to regain my health. After I finished the money raised by you and others, my family took over and spent all the money they have for my medication but now they have also finished and they can’t do anymore. Now I can’t do anything and not even buy medication I need so that is why I need your help again. I send the cost to Tsegaye and he told me he sent to you. The doctors estimated the total cost is 18,000 $ including medical and various diagnostic costs, physiotherapy treatment for, chronic hypertension, and dental treatment.

I understand that it costs alot. I am bothering you because the cost is beyond the reach of my family. I have nothing on my hands now and I still need a lot of medication and treatment. The doctors calculated the main costs but they didn’t even include the small costs. It may seem like a lot but here is truth. I know I put alot of pressure and headache on you but I don’t have any other opportunities. The current situation in the country is dire after the recent conflicts and war and there is financial situation problems and currency increased so much that it is very difficult to get proper medication and treatment due to the huge increase in the price of medicine and medical service. Even the food costs and other things is very high. 

My current condition is like this. About the shoulder and scapula they said they need some fixation.

About the spine T7 T8 T9 have some misplacement but they didn’t tell me exactly what they will do. My right leg has problem too. They give me medicine and said I need new ct-scan to see the next step. 

The doctors ordered physiotherapy as necessary especially for the neurosystem and I did last year for five days then I stopped because of lack of money.

For my stomach, I was telling them I have pain, but their focus is mainly on the spine and now they told me it is becoming serious. Serious Stomach and intestine ulcer and blood mixing with urine. I have been noticing that for the last 8 month and I didn’t get enough medication to fix that. They recommend me to go to another hospital but still I didn’t go because of issue of money.

About my teeth I didn’t get any medication yet. My front three teeth need to be replaced. And I only chew on one side as I am not able to chew on the other one. I still don’t now what they will say. My right eye was hit during the accident, and it was swallowing and it looks it was not there but it is there thanks to God but I have much pain now and still no medication. Just let you know some of my issue.

My Blood pressure is also becoming serious problem. The lack of exercise and the medication is not good. I write to you some of my issue to let you know. I didn’t want to ask for a long time because everyone has been so good and generous but now I have no other options now. 

For my health condition I can walk in the house and in the compound using a stick and help of my family for some minutes and rest then I continue. I am trying my best with the help of God but the improvement is now taking longer time.

I will go hospital in the morning. If I can try to communicate to you tomorrow if I didn’t get headache, after the hospital. Normally I get strong headache after going with the car or I move related with the nerve. 

Have a good night my sis