Chemotherapy for my father Christo
Donation protected
Sixteen years ago I moved to Australia from Zimbabwe with my mother, stepfather and older brother. While life in Australia is great, reflecting on this relocation stirs a mass of emotions, as it is the point in my life where my family became separated by thousands of kilometres.
Both my Father and Grandmother still live and work on our family farm in a province of Zimbabwe. Many years ago this was a prosperous farm and a family asset that my Grandparents had built up over their life. During the early 2000s the Government reclaimed the majority of our farm amid the violent and compulsory land acquisition reforms. Everything my Grandparents had worked so hard for was stripped from them without recourse.
Life in modern Zimbabwe is a very different place with most people, my Father and Grandmother included, earning less per month than Australians do from a day or two of work. A couple of months ago my father, aged 62, was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. With very little federal Medical Aid available, our family put together enough money for surgery hoping all would be resolved. Sadly, further testing revealed he has Stage 3 Cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes.
The Doctors have recommended and prescribed eight cycles of Chemotherapy at a cost of $21,424 USD ($18,944 medication and $2,480 hospital and doctors fees). This is an enormous amount of money for an Australian let alone somebody living and earning in Zimbabwe. Knowing his life is now potentially limited by the capacity of his family and friends to contribute, my father has expressed how alone and helpless he feels.
While nobody can be sure how much time treatment will add to his life, I cannot accept a situation where it is too expensive to treat and hope for the best. I have to do everything possible to raise enough money to cover the treatment.
With a donation of any amount, please help my father Christo Greyling.
Both my Father and Grandmother still live and work on our family farm in a province of Zimbabwe. Many years ago this was a prosperous farm and a family asset that my Grandparents had built up over their life. During the early 2000s the Government reclaimed the majority of our farm amid the violent and compulsory land acquisition reforms. Everything my Grandparents had worked so hard for was stripped from them without recourse.
Life in modern Zimbabwe is a very different place with most people, my Father and Grandmother included, earning less per month than Australians do from a day or two of work. A couple of months ago my father, aged 62, was diagnosed with Colon Cancer. With very little federal Medical Aid available, our family put together enough money for surgery hoping all would be resolved. Sadly, further testing revealed he has Stage 3 Cancer that has spread to his lymph nodes.
The Doctors have recommended and prescribed eight cycles of Chemotherapy at a cost of $21,424 USD ($18,944 medication and $2,480 hospital and doctors fees). This is an enormous amount of money for an Australian let alone somebody living and earning in Zimbabwe. Knowing his life is now potentially limited by the capacity of his family and friends to contribute, my father has expressed how alone and helpless he feels.
While nobody can be sure how much time treatment will add to his life, I cannot accept a situation where it is too expensive to treat and hope for the best. I have to do everything possible to raise enough money to cover the treatment.
With a donation of any amount, please help my father Christo Greyling.
Organizer
Mandy Greyling
Organizer
Petrie Terrace QLD
