Blind Man In The Caribbean Urgently Needs Help To Undergo Eye Operation
A St Lucian man is seeking help to undergo an operation in Cuba.Valence Emmanuel,34,is suffering from Guillain-Barre Syndrome and is being cared for by his common law wife Joanna Joseph.
Guillain-Barre Syndrome is a rare and serious condition of the peripheral nervous system. It occurs when the body’s immune system attacks part of the nervous system.
Emmanuel has become partially blind as a result and is reaching out to the community to assist him in raising the funds needed to fund his operation at the Instituto Cubano De Oftalmologia “Ramon Pando Ferrer” in Cuba.
“Valence needs all the support he can get right now and I am doing all I can to help him.” said Joanna,32,who is spearheading a few fundraising campaigns to help raise the £10,000 needed for the operation.
Joanna, who have been living with Valence for the past 12 years said he has been blind for at least a year and three months.
” He has to go to Cuba where he will be assessed fully.He needs a cornea transplant. His right eye is a little worse than his left one. I am not sure what they will do until he gets to Cuba. It will be up to doctors to decide what to do to help save his sight.” said Johanna, who is the mother of the couple’s two children.
The Operation will cost £10,000 and to date, not much has been raised. Speaking about the predicament she now finds herself in since Emmanuel who was the main breadwinner is ill and unable to work, Joseph maintains that she is under a lot of stress as she strives to bring in the funds to pay the bills , feed her family and to look after her sick partner.
“I am not working much and it’s not easy to look after someone who is sick and there isn’t much coming in,” adds Joseph, who is hosting Country and Western dances among the many fundraising activities which she hopes will help acquire the funds for the much-needed operation to help restore her partner’s sight and to nurse him back to full health. “We are getting there and I am thankful for all the help that I can get.”
Donations can be made at The Bank Of St Lucia.
Account Number : 141090453
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