Ailing woman needs financial assistance for life-saving surgery

Aug 26, 2012 News

In what should have been a normal day in the second week of her annual vacation, 23-year-old Keane Lynch suffered a life-altering experience which has left her bedridden and clinging to life.
The only hope for the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA) Clerk and student of the University of Guyana is a multi-million-dollar surgery to repair a rupture and irregular rhythm to a cerebral artery situated in her brain.

The ailing Keane Lynch

The ordeal began two Fridays ago, August 17th to be precise, when the Yarrowbabra, Soesdyke/Linden Highway resident began feeling unwell as she carried out routine chores around her home which she shares with her boyfriend.
Speaking to this newspaper yesterday the young woman’s mother, Cheryl Lynch, disclosed that her daughter’s unnerving sensation would continue until the evening when she attempted to take a bath.
According to the distraught mother, who resides at Plaisance, East Coast Demerara, she learnt that her daughter began feeling extremely dizzy before collapsing to the bathroom floor. Her boyfriend came to her aid after hearing faint screams from Keane emanating from the bathroom which is located in the yard.
On recognising the state of his girlfriend, the concerned young man sought the assistance of an elderly female neighbour. Together they rushed the young woman to the Diamond Diagnostic Centre. She was unconscious by the time they arrived at the East Bank Demerara health facility. Medical personnel were able to ascertain that there was a swelling to her head which was linked to the fall.
Family members were advised to take the young woman to the Accident and Emergency Unit of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation where she remains a patient in the Female Medical Ward. The young woman, according to her mother, was seen by at least two neurologists who recommended that she undergo a Computerised Axial Tomography (CAT) Scan at the St Joseph Mercy Hospital.
Having examined and re-examined the CAT scans, the doctors were able to deduce that Keane has a rupture and an irregular rhythm in a cerebral artery. She has since been placed on medication for pain and to help reduce inflammation, according to her mother. However, the doctors have also advised that the young woman be taken to Trinidad for further examination and surgery to repair the detected damage to her brain.
Her mother said that the cost for facilitating the operation is approximately G$5M at the West Medical Hospital in Trinidad. An additional US$3,160 will have to be raised to charter a plane to take the ailing woman to the Trinidadian health facility. Support from public spirited-citizens has so far helped the family to accumulate just over G$500,000 towards the operation. Attempts have also been made to secure some financial assistance from the Ministry of Health.
Persons desirous of rendering assistance to Keane Lynch can contact her mother on telephone numbers 610-9678 or 678-5858. Financial contributions can also be made to her mother’s Republic Bank account # 278 0435.