I am a single mom with three children. Their father has chosen not to be involved. My 11-year-old son, Joel, was born prematurely at 29 weeks, suffered a grade 3 and 4 intraventricular brain hemorrhage, among other complications, and as a result faces several challenges in his life. He has status epilepticus epilepsy, cerebral palsy on his left side, learning delays, speech delay, etc. As a result, Joel’s medical expenses are big and many. With my ex-husband not contributing to his care, Joel’s medical needs fall primarily on me. Joel’s primary medical care giver is Dr Sally Ackermann, a paediatric neurologist in Cape Town (we live in a small town in the Eastern Cape called Queenstown). Joel has been seeing her since he was two years old and she overseas his health care. She likes to see Joel annually, but I just could not afford to take him to CT for his annual checkup and had so skip a year or two. After my divorce, I didn’t have a vehicle to drive to CT either. (Joel is also a patient of Dr James Butler, a renowned epilepsy specialist in South Africa, who is at the same hospital as Dr Ackermann, so when we do go down for his annual checkups, he also sees Dr Butler/has EEG’s etc.)
Someone suggested Wings and Wishes for possible sponsoring of flights to get Joel to CT. I started following them on Facebook and then got in touch down the line. They (Inge) have/has been nothing short of amazing in assisting in getting Joel and I to his annual checkups.
Both Wings and Wishes and FlySafair have given me the means to get my son down to CT for his checkups, procedures (botox, overnight EEG monitoring). I would never have been able to afford the flights for both him and I to go down, never mind on an annual basis. Living off a single income, with three children and one who has complex medical needs, I just don’t have the means to get him to CT.
Joel needs to fly rather than drive, because, if he has a seizure, his seizures don’t stop and I need to get him to a medical facility as fast as possible. Going by bus/vehicle makes the trip very long and heightens the risk of him not being able to get medical care quickly. Flying to CT also helps by cutting down the time away from my other two younger children, as we can go and come back far quicker than if we drove.
As a result, I am extremely grateful to both Wings and Wishes and FlySafair for their absolute generosity and assistance in getting my son to CT for the medical care he needs.
How exceptionally grateful I am for the opportunity to transport my son to the medical centre where I know he gets the best treatment and care for his unique challenges.
How grateful I am that I am not just a single mother trying to fight for medical treatment for my son, but that I am a single mother who has the support of Wings and Wishes and FlySafair, in getting the treatment my son needs.
How grateful I am knowing that if I need to get Joel medical and educational help, I can ask for help from Wings and Wishes and FlySafair. This brings me tremendous peace of mind.
Lauren & Joel
