Bring a smile for Shante in her health recovery

Dear Family , Friends and warmhearted strangers

This is my little story.

My name is Shante , 34 years old from South Africa , currently in the USA as an H2B Line Cook. As I was growing up for some reason I always wanted to work in the kitchen , nothing else but the kitchen. My first kitchen job , when I was 17 years old , at a pizza joint. My first time applying for H2B was back in 2014 , which there was not much opportunity in South Africa which I got denied in 2014, but i never gave up i applied again in 2015. Again I got denied and again I was not planning to give up , as i wanted to work in the United States save money to help my mother in challenging times. That was my first , most probably my only reason for wanting to leave my home town. To assist my mother.

God has heard my late night prayers. I started the H2B program in 2016, this was a joyful and downhearted moment at the same time leaving my mother and sisters behind. With God’s grace I pulled myself together , constantly reminding myself I'm doing this for my mother. Months passed. I just wanted to go home. Homesickness was the most terrible feeling. I used to call my mother and say I'm quitting , she used to tell me to pray and remember why you are doing this and everything happens for a reason, as days, weeks and months passed i felt much better.

2019 when covid has started, unfortunately all internationals were sent back to their home country due to COVID. I was on a job hunt for a few months , and finally got a job. I then came across an opportunity in 2021 to work in Saudi Arabia ,which I grabbed with both hands. Saudi Arabia was a very different, difficult and grateful experience. I've worked hard day and night. I've met and worked with amazing people, chefs and management , which I dearly miss and would love to work with again in the near future. My journey came to an end in Saudi Arabia in 2023.

I went home, spent time with my family for three months, reapplied for H2B Line cook in the United States, After five years, got accepted and went to work in the United States in October 2023 in Florida. When that season ended I returned to Medora, North Dakota where I have been working in my current position as a Line Cook since April 2024.

May 2024, a shocking and disturbing timeline unfolded for me. I woke up one morning with a double vision , not knowing it was serious, went about my day off to work. I did not take the matter too seriously, I thought I might be tired. The next morning it was worse. I was rushed to the emergency room, a 45 min drive. Doctors and nurses did several blood tests , but they could not seem to tell me what's happening or what the cause of the double vision was. After 9 hours of waiting on results , the doctor told me I need to do MRI and CT scan in another town.

I was rushed with an ambulance two hours to another town. I settled in for more blood tests overnight at the hospital and the next day I had to go for MRI and CT scans. Another three hours waiting on results. The results showed I had sixth nerve palsy, a condition where damage to a specific nerve disrupts eye movement and alignment. It’s usually one-sided (unilateral) and affects one eye only, but it can sometimes affect both eyes (bilateral). It’s also known as abducens (pronounced “ab-DEW-sens”) nerve palsy, which leads to high blood pressure and 5% away from diabetes. Doctor’s gave me advice to wear an eye patch and glasses. It will take

2 - 4 months for my eyesight to be normal. When my eye hurts or is in pain I need to wear the eye patch , and my glasses permanently. I got a prescription for high blood pressure also, which was another added expense.

Since the hospital visits, I have changed my eating plan and do more walking. I’ve tried to make healthier choices daily, to improve my recovery.

Unfortunately, I now have a large bill for all of my expenses. My medical bill in South Africa currency - 119,332.20 ZAR which is 6,500.00 US Dollars. I am working as many hours as I can to try to raise the money to pay, but this is a large amount of money for me to pay. I work hard to pay rent for my mother in South Africa, who is unable to work due to a back injury. I try to send money to help her and my sisters with the needed supplies.

I need your help.

It is hard to me to ask for help, as I am a proud person. I take great pride in the work I do as a line cook. I love the kitchen, going by the book and making a difference in all I do. I take my job very seriously, and consider making everyone happy a life calling. I cook for people to create a feeling or an experience. I would not want to do anything else because of the reward of serving others. Cooking is the calm in my life.

And now, I ask for the help of others, so I can continue to help my family and pay this large bill. This bill is a large amount of the money I would be able to save this summer. Please take a moment and help if you can. Any help you could give would be great to help me continue my recovery while still doing the job I love.

Thank you in advance for the love and support.