Kidneys failed, pocket empty - Doreen Malcolm in dire need

Kidneys failed, pocket empty

- Doreen Malcolm in dire need

Within a year, Doreen 'Kizzy' Malcolm has been slapped with a double whammy of sickness, having been diagnosed with end stage renal failure last November, and then diabetes last month.

Thirty-eight-year-old Malcolm, who once prided herself as being an independent single mother, and vendor of Denham Town, Kingston, now has to rely on her family and kind strangers to assist with her costly dialysis treatment.

However, funds are running low, and she has turned to the public once again to appeal for help. "It is just a sad, sad story," Malcolm said with tears streaming down her face. "Oh God! The worst part about it right now is that I can't move. Mi can't go where me want to go. Whatever I want to do, I can't do it. Mi affi just wait patiently for help to come."

Having end stage renal failure means both Malcolm's kidneys have stopped working and are unable to rid her body of waste matter. To survive, doctors prescribed a dialysis treatment three times per week, but that is easier said than done.

two treatments

Her cousin, Valire Cowan, who has been working assiduously to source funds to continue Malcolm's life preserving treatment, explained that she can only afford two treatments per week. These are done at the St Joseph's Hospital, which Cowan said offered the most cost effective dialysis treatment. It amounts to roughly $25,000 per week to cover the dialysis treatment, an injection to accompany it, and transportation.

In addition, she occasionally has to purchase an instrument known as the dialysis catheter, which costs $26,000. Since her diagnosis, Malcolm has gone through three of these, but she cannot afford to purchase the permanent one at $60,000.

Malcolm and her family will have to keep finding ways and means to foot the cost of treatment at the private hospital for the next five years, as the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) said their renal clinic is full to capacity. Malcolm, her daughter, 22-year-old, Carlene Williams, and Cowan said they are eternally grateful for the efforts of members of the Denham Town community, who organised a street march to collect funds.

Rosellie Stewart of the Post and Telecom Department has spearheaded an islandwide drive, collecting funds from post offices. The Light of Life Gospel Assembly and the Denham Town Baptist Assembly are among the entities that continue to offer support.

The family is imploring authorities, including the Ministry of Health, to assist in getting Malcolm into KPH where treatment is free. The break from the hefty cost of dialysis will give them room to consider doing a kidney transplant, which would help Malcolm get her life back on track.

Persons wishing to assist can contact her daughter Carlene Williams at 1-876-806-6626, and deposit funds to the St Joseph's Hospital NCB account number 231 052 186 at the Cross Roads branch.