Meet Enriqueta. My boyfriend's mother. A sweet and humble 56 year old woman who lives in a small developing village called San Marcos Carazo in Nicaragua. Enriqueta lives a healthy, simple lifestyle. My boyfriend remembers her always eating fresh foods, not consuming alcohol or smoking (in her whole life). She worked in the family supermarket and has been married to her husband (a farmer) for 30 years, and all the while suffering from diabetes for her whole life. In the past few years, her diabetic symptoms have caused other complications including; kidney failure, colon and liver problems, as well as dangerously high blood pressure and anemnia. Though she has health insurance through the public healthcare system, unfortunately in Nicaragua these hospitals aren't very good and the patients are treated poorly.
Enriqueta has been in and out of the hospital for almost 2 years now. She recently had her big toe amputated because of circulatory issues, and her family cannot afford to pay for the amount of antibiotics and medicine that she needs to fight the infection and help heal the wound on her foot. She recently underwent a skin-graft, trying to aid the healing process on her foot. But she is bed-ridden, and needs daily care from a private doctor that comes to her home and treats her in her bedroom. Her immune system is not high enough to be at the public hospital with dozens of other patients in one hospital room. If left there, she will surely die.
Enriqueta's husband has been caring for her since her first surgery. He had to quit his job as a farmer to stay at the house giving her full time care, along with caring for her son's daughter (5 years old), who Enriqueta was taking care of before the amputation. The family doesn't have a savings account. The burden of paying these medical bills is resting fully on Enriqueta's 3 children at this point. My boyfriend and I, his brother (who works in construction) and his sister (who at the moment is unemployed with 2 children). At this point they owe money to just about everyone they know, and Enriqueta's condition continues to worsen and she continues to need care.
This situation is urgent. Any money you donate to Enriqueta will first go to pay back debt the family owes to friends/neighbors and family, which they have borrowed over the last 2 years. It will also pay for her basic care from a private doctor, keeping her out of the public hospital and it's horrible conditions. It will pay for clean dressings for her wound, antibiotics, fresh healthy foods, and give some support to her husband as well, whom has had to quit his job to care for Enriqueta.
The couple is currently renting a small, one bedroom home, where Enriqueta has been bed-ridden for months. They owned a small 2 bedroom home with a family operated grocery store on the side of the home, where Enriqueta worked. They had to sell this home/grocery store in order to pay her hospital bills, leaving them to rent this tiny one-bedroom. They were in the process of building another home, in the countryside, but of course this has come to a hault because of her illness. If enough money is raised, I would like to also help Enriqueta and her husband finish building their home, so they can leave the place they are renting now.
Your donation means a lot, and anything you give (even if it's just your support, and sharing this to a friend) could help save Enriqueta's life, and give her and her husband, two honest , kind and hard working people who have been dealing with a shitty situation, a shot to overcome this difficult time and maybe even change their life forever.
Thank you from the bottom of my heart,
Kate
PS - for those of you who would like to Donate via PayPal or Venmo, please send your donation to
Paypal: [email redacted]
Venmo: @Kate-Robinson
And in the memo line please put: Donation for Enriqueta
Organizer