Save JJ’s Eyesight
Donation protected
For those of you who don’t know who Janice Faisal is to my family and I (we nicknamed her “JJ” when we were young), JJ was our nanny since we were little and helped raise my sister, brother and I. Because of that, we have also known JJ’s two sons, Nick (now 15) and Kenyan (now 9) since the day they were born. Even after leaving home, we never lost touch with JJ, as she has always been such a big part of our life. She even calls our grandma “mom-mom,” the nickname that all of her grandkids call her. JJ was always there when we needed her – for anything! We could not imagine life without her.
JJ recently began having vision difficulties, so she decided to go see a physician. Her physician then referred her to a specialist. The specialist then gave her some pretty terrifying news: that there is a hole in the retina in her right eye. This specialist diagnosed it as a “Stage 4 macular hole in retina.” The specialist expressed to her the urgency in immediately undergoing surgery to fix the hole otherwise she would soon completely lose her vision in her right eye. Because she did not have the funds to immediately undergo surgery, as of right now, she has already lost 80% total vision in her right eye.
The specialist told her that she would need two different surgeries to fix her condition. First, she would have to undergo cataract surgery, where they will put in an artificial lens to prevent any future complications. The specialist explained that without this first surgery, she was fairly certain to have severe complications arise. After undergoing and healing from the first surgery, she would then need to immediately undergo a second surgery, in which they would perform the repair of the hole in her retina.
As I am sure many people know, there are many doctors and medical professionals out there who are a true blessing to our society and have joined the medical profession to genuinely help people. Fortunately for JJ, she found two of those doctors. She found two doctors who are willing to perform her surgeries pro bono, but, unfortunately, they could not afford to pay for the actual costs associated with the surgery (for the cover the anesthesia, equipment, room usage, etc., as both surgeries must take place in an outpatient surgery center). As a result, she is still financially responsible for these hard costs. The doctors advised her that, in order to have both immediate and necessary surgeries, she would have to cover these hard costs.
So, now it is our turn to be there for JJ, just as she has been for our family and everyone in her surrounding community. As soon as my family and I found out that JJ needed these two surgeries that she could not afford, we knew that something had to be done before she completely lost her vision. We decided that we needed to do everything we could to help JJ raise this money. This is a very trying time for JJ, and her sons, Nick and Kenyan, as they rely on JJ’s cleaning of houses to pay for rent, food, and other living necessities. If JJ is able to raise enough money to have the surgeries, then the doctors have expressed to her that she will need to be in recovery for a couple weeks after each surgery. This truly worried JJ, as she stated that even if she was able to get the surgery, she did not know how she could afford to be out of work for a short period of time.
We told JJ not to lose hope just yet, that we had faith in our community, our family, our friends, our co-workers, and that we were hopeful that together we would be able to raise the money for her so that she could get the surgery and not worry about not being able to pay the rent or feed her children if she proceeds with getting surgery to save her vision.
With that being said, please do not feel obligated to contribute any amount beyond what you are comfortable contributing. Please just know that every little bit truly does help!!! We thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts and know that JJ will be completely overwhelmed and so extremely thankful to know how many people care to help out a stranger that they do not even know.
Thank you so much.
JJ recently began having vision difficulties, so she decided to go see a physician. Her physician then referred her to a specialist. The specialist then gave her some pretty terrifying news: that there is a hole in the retina in her right eye. This specialist diagnosed it as a “Stage 4 macular hole in retina.” The specialist expressed to her the urgency in immediately undergoing surgery to fix the hole otherwise she would soon completely lose her vision in her right eye. Because she did not have the funds to immediately undergo surgery, as of right now, she has already lost 80% total vision in her right eye.
The specialist told her that she would need two different surgeries to fix her condition. First, she would have to undergo cataract surgery, where they will put in an artificial lens to prevent any future complications. The specialist explained that without this first surgery, she was fairly certain to have severe complications arise. After undergoing and healing from the first surgery, she would then need to immediately undergo a second surgery, in which they would perform the repair of the hole in her retina.
As I am sure many people know, there are many doctors and medical professionals out there who are a true blessing to our society and have joined the medical profession to genuinely help people. Fortunately for JJ, she found two of those doctors. She found two doctors who are willing to perform her surgeries pro bono, but, unfortunately, they could not afford to pay for the actual costs associated with the surgery (for the cover the anesthesia, equipment, room usage, etc., as both surgeries must take place in an outpatient surgery center). As a result, she is still financially responsible for these hard costs. The doctors advised her that, in order to have both immediate and necessary surgeries, she would have to cover these hard costs.
So, now it is our turn to be there for JJ, just as she has been for our family and everyone in her surrounding community. As soon as my family and I found out that JJ needed these two surgeries that she could not afford, we knew that something had to be done before she completely lost her vision. We decided that we needed to do everything we could to help JJ raise this money. This is a very trying time for JJ, and her sons, Nick and Kenyan, as they rely on JJ’s cleaning of houses to pay for rent, food, and other living necessities. If JJ is able to raise enough money to have the surgeries, then the doctors have expressed to her that she will need to be in recovery for a couple weeks after each surgery. This truly worried JJ, as she stated that even if she was able to get the surgery, she did not know how she could afford to be out of work for a short period of time.
We told JJ not to lose hope just yet, that we had faith in our community, our family, our friends, our co-workers, and that we were hopeful that together we would be able to raise the money for her so that she could get the surgery and not worry about not being able to pay the rent or feed her children if she proceeds with getting surgery to save her vision.
With that being said, please do not feel obligated to contribute any amount beyond what you are comfortable contributing. Please just know that every little bit truly does help!!! We thank everyone from the bottom of our hearts and know that JJ will be completely overwhelmed and so extremely thankful to know how many people care to help out a stranger that they do not even know.
Thank you so much.
Organizer and beneficiary
Kacie Brooke
Organizer
Philadelphia, PA
Janice Faisal
Beneficiary