Courtney's Jaw Operation Fund
Donation protected
This is Courtney’s story, as told by my mom Glen Beukes, her adoptive mother from Johannesburg, South Africa.
"A number of years ago, my best friend, Dianne, after a kidney transplant and numerous other debilitating ailments, was dealt the blow of having to deal with her two adopted children becoming drug addicts.
During years of physical and verbal abuse, Di, as she was known to her friends, continued to love and care for her daughters. They, however were lost to the world of drugs.
The day arrived when Di’s daughter, Debbie, announced she was pregnant. Without any means of supporting herself, let alone a baby, the announcement was met with fear and trepidation.
Courtney arrived and as expected, Debbie couldn’t cope. Shortly thereafter Debbie asked Di to look after Courtney and did not return. Di had already made a commitment to raise her grandson, from her other daughter, who was in the identical position to Debbie.
As her best friend, I volunteered to take Courtney to help. That was 14 years ago.
Many things happened over the years. The most monumental being that Di passed away in 2009. I promised her, to continue to care for Courtney, and we subsequently adopted her.
Courtney has a number of complications due to the continued drug abuse of her mother particularly during her pregnancy.
One example is her bones are developing at different rates – meaning her one leg is growing faster than the other, and causing hip displacement etc. Courtney underwent excruciating operations to rectify this, and even with the metal rod and pins in her legs, remained grateful and thankful for the fact that she could be ‘normal’.
Currently we are dealing with the issue of her jaw needing to be operated on. Her jaw, unless operated on soon, will continue to grow unevenly and cause structural issues that cannot be rectified when she is older.
My husband and I are both pensioners and our current medical aid has declined the application to assist with the procedure required. They refer to this as cosmetic surgery, despite reports to the contrary from our maxilla facial surgeon, and will therefore not cover costs.
This will not be the last operation that Courtney will undergo but it is the most pressing.
I am appealing to you, to consider assisting us financially to allow Courtney the opportunity of receiving the operation to rectify her jaw.
Yours Sincerely,
Glen Beukes
"A number of years ago, my best friend, Dianne, after a kidney transplant and numerous other debilitating ailments, was dealt the blow of having to deal with her two adopted children becoming drug addicts.
During years of physical and verbal abuse, Di, as she was known to her friends, continued to love and care for her daughters. They, however were lost to the world of drugs.
The day arrived when Di’s daughter, Debbie, announced she was pregnant. Without any means of supporting herself, let alone a baby, the announcement was met with fear and trepidation.
Courtney arrived and as expected, Debbie couldn’t cope. Shortly thereafter Debbie asked Di to look after Courtney and did not return. Di had already made a commitment to raise her grandson, from her other daughter, who was in the identical position to Debbie.
As her best friend, I volunteered to take Courtney to help. That was 14 years ago.
Many things happened over the years. The most monumental being that Di passed away in 2009. I promised her, to continue to care for Courtney, and we subsequently adopted her.
Courtney has a number of complications due to the continued drug abuse of her mother particularly during her pregnancy.
One example is her bones are developing at different rates – meaning her one leg is growing faster than the other, and causing hip displacement etc. Courtney underwent excruciating operations to rectify this, and even with the metal rod and pins in her legs, remained grateful and thankful for the fact that she could be ‘normal’.
Currently we are dealing with the issue of her jaw needing to be operated on. Her jaw, unless operated on soon, will continue to grow unevenly and cause structural issues that cannot be rectified when she is older.
My husband and I are both pensioners and our current medical aid has declined the application to assist with the procedure required. They refer to this as cosmetic surgery, despite reports to the contrary from our maxilla facial surgeon, and will therefore not cover costs.
This will not be the last operation that Courtney will undergo but it is the most pressing.
I am appealing to you, to consider assisting us financially to allow Courtney the opportunity of receiving the operation to rectify her jaw.
Yours Sincerely,
Glen Beukes
Organizer
Lana Beukes Taylor
Organizer