Fund Mirta's operation

Mirta has been married to my Dad, Mac for 31 years. Mirta has a cyst in her pancreas. It is benign but of the type that could turn cancerous. She has been hospitalised four times with dangerously high amylase levels and needs to get it removed. She has an operation scheduled for the first week of February in Buenos Aires and the pensioners health care scheme will pay for the care and her hospital stay. Unfortunately with the economic situation in Argentina if she were to have this operation in the public hospital there is a strong likelihood that it would be cancelled and delayed. The surgical team only have access to one intensive care bed once a week on a Wednesday. If an emergency came in on that Wednesday, Mirta would have to go home  and return the following week (a round trip of 1,000 miles).  There would be no guarantee that the operation would proceed the following week. To ensure that Mirta gets her operation I am raising funds to pay for the surgery privately. It is going to cost U$10,000. Mirta's son William (third from left in the picture) is also raising funds and Ali (in the middle) has some money saved which will pay for friends and family to stay nearby when she is recovering for a month after the operation. I am doing a sponsored swim on December the 16th and aim to swim a mile.  If I cannot raise the full amount I will take out a bank loan to cover the balance. Bank loans are not available to individuals in Argentina or in Mexico where Ali lives.  But this also means that should you wish to give some money but cannot do so before February then your donation will go towards paying off the bank loan. Thanks so much for helping us raise money for all the expenses involved.

Cathy