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  • 1 year ago
Acquiring funds for a much-needed surgery is a matter of life and death for four year old Jimmella Braithwaite.


Her father is issuing a plea to the public, as the family has to raise half a million dollars in the next few weeks.


Here's more in this report from Alicia Boucher.
Transcript
00:00Having had two healthy children prior, when Jimmy Braffet and his wife Melissa
00:05Braffet gave birth to their last child Jamila in 2020, they never imagined the
00:11situation they're faced with now. Eleven months after she was born, doctors
00:16diagnosed Jamila with hersprung's disease, which in short is the absence of
00:21nerves from parts of the intestine. Now at age four, Jamila has undergone two
00:27surgeries in Trinidad due to enterocolitis, which is inflammation of
00:31the digestive tract, a complication of hersprung's disease.
00:35They say another episode, she could die or to save her, they might just have to put a stoma back there for her.
00:46The last operation in June 2022 was expected to be successful. However,
00:51during the healing process, the child's stomach began swelling and about three
00:56months ago, her parents were informed by doctors that she would need to undergo a
01:01transanal pull-through procedure because of a narrowing of her colon, which has
01:06caused her intestines to be almost completely blocked. The procedure
01:10performed anally is described as minimally invasive and involves the
01:15diseased part of the intestine being cut and the healthy portion being pulled
01:20down to the anus. Can they perform it in this country? No, they can't. They have,
01:25doesn't have the facility for it and the training, I guess, because well, that's
01:31what the surgeon tells us. A letter from the Eric Williams Medical Sciences
01:34Complex on September 4th confirms this. It further states that the corrective
01:39surgery is needed within the next six to eight weeks as the risk of death rises
01:45the longer it is delayed. In the meantime, Jamila's parents say they have the task
01:50of inserting a rectal catheter into the child daily to relieve her from the
01:55intestinal gas and backed-up feces. Which is painful for her. Sometimes tears in our eyes as well, trying to relieve her. If she get
02:08infection again, the intestine will erupt because it's so fragile right
02:15now. A consultant pediatric surgeon at Mount Hope has recommended the Colorado
02:24Children's Hospital in the United States for Jamila to get professional help.
02:28What is the overall cost? The overall cost is $500,000. Sometimes I just like break and tears
02:37come to my eye. Well, just when you're really thinking about what could happen
02:43to her, it's just frightening. The Colorado Children's Hospital is not on
02:49the list of those utilized under the Children's Life Fund. The family tells us
02:54while the government is exploring how it can assist, they've also been advised to
02:59raise funds. So far, they've raised $21,000. Braffett, who is the only
03:05signed painter at the Tunapuna-Piaco Regional Corporation, has this plea to
03:09the public. We need her in our lives. She hasn't lived life yet. So I said, please,
03:18anything at all will help. A GoFundMe account has been opened in Jamila's name
03:24under FundMeTNT. There is also a Royal Bank account under Jimmy Braffett's
03:30account number 110000005203436. You can also call the family at 305-4676 or 301-0838
03:48if you wish to help save Jamila's life. Alicia Boucher, TV6 News.
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