Almost two weeks after Stacyann Van Rossum, a single mother of two, publicly shared that she has lost her ability to walk, the Government of Guyana has stepped in to provide her with free medical assistance.
Better known as Stacy, the resident of Mocha, East Bank Demerara, on Friday said that since sharing her story with the News Room, numerous people have reached out to help her.
She said President Dr Irfaan Ali directed renowned neurosurgeon, Dr Amarnauth Dukhi, to take up her case.
“I went to do a MRI [Magnetic resonance imaging] at Mercy Hospital yesterday and actually, when I meet with Dr Dukhi, he said the President gave him a call. And he called into them [Mercy] and they paid off $804,000 for the MRI.”
When contacted, Dr Dukhi confirmed that the President indeed spoke with him and he has since met with Stacy to start the process of diagnosing her condition.
Stacy lost her ability to walk in 2020 and despite numerous visits to several doctors over the years, they were unable to diagnose the reason.
As a result, the single mother could no longer work to maintain her two young sons; she relies solely on $30,000 monthly – $14,000 public assistance and $16,000 disability assistance.
Dr Dukhi told the News Room that this is the first time he was informed of Stacy’s case. He has since instructed that she re-do all tests, including advanced scans of her nervous system.
According to Dr Dukhi, he also personally organised for the Ministry of Health to pay for all of Stacy’s tests.
Stacy gets severe pain in her legs and suffers from headaches. She said sometimes her body shakes uncontrollably because she cannot move like she used to.
“The last MRI I did in last November didn’t get to be done good because my feet keep hitting the machine; that’s why they put me to sleep. I go in like 6:30 and didn’t come out until after 12,” Stacy explained.
Stacy said she is happy that she has been able to meet with Dr Dukhi; she did her first scan on Thursday and she is currently staying with her mother while she recuperates.
Dr Dukhi will meet with her again on Monday.
According to Stacy, many persons are visiting her and are trying to accumulate money to assist her with her daily needs. Already, she has received a bicycle to help her with traveling through the tracts that lead to her home.
“Remember I keep saying, God don’t give you sickness. I just want to get back on my feet…I didn’t think I would be global, worldwide but everybody saw it and I am just keeping my fingers crossed because the journey is not easy,” Stacy said.
