Giavanna was only 5 years old when she was diagnosed with stage 4 osteosarcoma.
On Tuesday 25th August 2015 at 4:30 pm Dr Peterson gave the lifechanging diagnosis to Giavanna’s
parents. He told them that she would immediately be discharged from Life Mercantile Hospital in
Port Elizabeth and that they needed to be in Cape Town the next day. They arrived home at 6:30 pm
that Tuesday, tried to come to grips with her diagnosis and packed their bags to drive through the
night to arrive in Cape Town the next morning at 3am. The family was not informed of Wings and
Wishes had they known, it would have taken such a huge burden off their shoulders because, as
much as the parents wanted to focus on Giavanna and come to terms with her diagnosis, they
weren’t able to due to the huge financial impact.
The diagnosis dramatically impacted Giavana’s life. Her family and friends were all in PE so
leaving them behind for what turned out to be 4 weeks initially, was very hard. Giavanna had been
in her pre-primary school for a year and a half and was due to be in grade R the following year
{2016} She never got to join her classmates in grade R as she was in the hospital.
Had Giovanna not received the expert medical care (only available in Cape Town) she would have lost
her leg, if not her life. The only option offered by the local doctor was to amputate her leg. Even
after amputation, she had a 15% survival rate. All her mom kept on picturing was her coming out of
the theatre without a leg and having to explain to her that her mom gave the consent for the
amputation…. her walking down the aisle without a leg… her learning to swim again…he fact that
she wouldn't be able to be a gymnast which was her dream from the time she was a little girl.
Dr Hosking is hands down the most amazing orthopaedic surgeon, he and his team saved her leg!
Giavanna received numerous operations on her leg, was in a full body cast for 2 months, had an
external fixation for another 4 months and wasn’t allowed to walk on her leg after her femur
transplant. Cancer was the most unexpected journey that we have ever been on, you could go to
Cape Town this week for a routine check-up and was booked into hospital and ended up staying for a
month… you never know what lies around the next corner, but one thing we could always rely on,
was Wings and Wishes to get us there and back.
Being able to rely on Wings and wishes to get us to our surgeries and more importantly, to assist
with the flights, especially those back home where she couldn't sit up or need extra care, was
phenomenal. Wings and Wishes assisted the family with 20 flights and 4 bus trips. Through their
assistance the parents could focus on Giavanna and all the support that she needed emotionally and
physically.
Today Giavanna is fulfilling her dreams. She loves running and playing with her friends jumping on
the trampoline and dancing!!
