Guillain Barre Syndrome Treatment Campaign

My family would like to raise funds for  my brother. Waldo currently lives in South Africa and both my sister and I and our parents live overseas. He has no immediate family there to support him.

Waldo woke up with numbness and weakness spreading all over his body. He also experienced problems with his balance and co-ordination. He has since been hospitalised and diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome. This is a rare and serious condition that affects the nerves. He experienced paralysis in his legs and loss of function in his hands.

He had a week's stay in hospital where he received intravenous immunoglobulin treatment. This treatment prevented the paralysis from spreading.

Waldo started physiotherapy while in hospital and has already made immense improvement with his leg and hand function, but he does still have a long road of recovery ahead of him.

He is now able to stand with the support of a walking aid. He is still struggling with his balance and coordination and needs assistance with every day tasks. He is also experiencing severe back pain and headaches. The strength in his right hand has slightly improved, but not the left.

Unfortunately my brother was retrenched from his work last year just before Christmas, and with this doesn't have any health insurance.

We have so far raised enough funds to cover most of his hospital bills. We are hoping to keep going with the fund raising as Waldo will still need physiotherapy and will be unable to work for an uncertain amount of time. We have also hired a domestic worker to help him with all his household chores and preparing meals etc.

Even whilst facing this difficult time he still has a smile on his face and a positive attitude. We would greatly appreciate any donation you can spare. And if you are unable to donate to kindly share this fundraiser.