“It’s a small problem for you, but huge for her, and it’s literally killing her slowly,” said Isobel. “Some nights she can’t sleep and needs to sit upright just to be able to breathe. She can barely eat, because nothing wants to go down, and getting up and going to work is just about impossible, never mind the fact that nobody wants an employee who is sick for a few days every two to three weeks.”
Nicole’s father sadly passed away when she was young, and her mother has been doing everything in her power to provide for her family. She was unemployed for the most part of this year but recently started working, relying mainly on commission.
“They are at the clinic like every third week and now the people at the clinic don’t even look at the throat anymore, they just give pain medicine, which is obviously not sorting out the problem,” said Isobel, who says she’s contacted approximately 11 hospitals and clinics, searching for assistance. The waiting list at the clinics for a tonsillectomy is very long and a surgery date can not be confirmed.
Hot Cares arranged for a Nicole to see an ENT specialist, who confirmed the severity of Nicole’s situation and recommended surgery and other medical treatments. Not only do we want to ease Nicole’s suffering and ease the pressure on her mom, but it is important for Nicole to be healthy and secure employment.
With this in mind, we’re delighted to announce that Hot Cares will be covering the cost of Nicole’s tonsillectomy!
If you are in a position to donate towards making a meaningful difference or have a story to alert us to, or a programme you’d like to partner with Hot Cares on, please get in touch with us by emailing info@hotcares.co.za.
