Latest update December 23rd, 2024 3:40 AM
Teen to undergo life-changing surgery in June
… Mom pleads for recovery assistance
For 13-year-old Keshava Singh, a hospital blood transfusion room is an all-too familiar place. In the very early months of Keshava’s life he was diagnosed with an uncommon genetic blood disorder known as Beta Thalassaemia.
Keshava Singh and his mother Marion Ramnarine-Singh
Beta Thalassaemia is a disorder which reduces the production of hemoglobin, the iron-containing protein in red blood cells that supplies the rest of the body’s cells with oxygen. The disorder can lead to anemia (a shortage of red blood cells) and other serious complications with an increased risk of developing abnormal blood clots.
Treatment for the disorder includes chronic transfusion therapy whereby the patient regularly receives healthy blood from a donor. In Keshava’s case, the teenager routinely receives his transfusion of B-positive blood every three to four weeks.
“When he doesn’t get the blood he would feel tired, weak, dizzy,” said Keshava’s mother, Marion Ramnarine-Singh. While Keshava is a well-adjusted teenager, soon to be 14 years old, he still has the appearance of someone younger. His mother explained that the disorder has stunted her son’s development.
For most boys Keshava’s age, monthly trips to the hospital are hardly ever a fixture in their lives. Their time is usually spent outdoors, playing, but Keshava, a student at the Aurora Secondary School, is prohibited from participating in such activities with the rest of his colleagues.
Fortunately, help came in the form of the Three River Kids Foundation, a Canada-based charitable organization dedicated to helping sick children in Guyana, whose parents are too poor to afford medical care. Come June, Keshava will be heading to India for a surgical procedure which involves the transfusion of bone marrow.
Keshava’s brother will be the donor in the US$32,000 procedure, and it is hoped that after his treatment the ailing lad will no longer need to go on those frequent trips to the hospital.
According to his mother, he should lead a healthy life after his three months of treatment in India. While she is thankful for the contribution of the foundation, Ms. Ramnarine-Singh related that it will still be difficult for her family to cover the cost which comes with her son’s recovery process. In this regard she is hoping for assistance from other quarters. Public spirited citizens can make donations at Republic Bank to account number: 174 442 4.
The woman described her son as “a very determined and brave child” saying that he constantly reassures her that he’s “not going to die”. To that end, Ms. Ramnarine-Singh is confident of her son’s full recovery.
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