Young cane cutter Pooran Ramcharitar, who was recently diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome and is in urgent need of financial aid to facilitate his treatment, on Monday moved one step closer to recovery when the David and Leila Persaud Foundation made a generous donation of 0,000 to his cause.
The funds were handed over after calls by the man’s family were made for financial assistance in order to have him treated for the rare condition.
The Foundation has its origin in two charitable individuals – David Persaud, former Managing Director of Toolsie Persaud and former Chairman of David Persaud Investments Limited, along with his wife, Leila Persaud – who passed in 2011, but left their fortune to establish a foundation to fund the needs of persons with serious medical conditions.
The couple are remembered for their humanitarian work in supporting those who were in need medically. Subsequent to their passing in 2011, the mandate of reaching out to these less fortunate people with medical conditions was passed on to their offspring, who have since been maintaining the family’s record.
This was attested to by their contribution to the young man, who is in dire need of medical attention since being diagnosed with the syndrome, which is suspected to have been brought on by the mosquito-borne Zika Virus.
The 22-year-old, currently a patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Georgetown Public Hospital, was diagnosed with the condition over three weeks ago and has since been on a ventilator at the institution.
His father, Surendra Ramcharitar, on Monday said Pooran was recovering “slowly but surely”. He said although doctors have not been detailed in their reports on the young man’s condition, the family has gotten confirmation that he had improved.
Ramcharitar related that his son was unable to do anything for himself, and communicates with the family by nodding.
Doctors had indicated to the family that the young man was in need of 25 bottles of vaccine to improve his condition, with each bottle costing $110,000, totalling just over $2.7 million.
Ramcharitar informed that the support from the public has been overwhelming as more individuals and organisations are generous with their finances. He disclosed that thus far, they have been able to raise a total of $2.4 million, and more funds are coming in.
When the diagnosis was made, Chief Medical Officer (CMO), Dr Shamdeo Persaud had posited that the Syndrome might be closely associated with the Zika Virus. This has not been yet confirmed, however.
The Guillain-Barré syndrome is a disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system. The first symptoms of this disorder include varying degrees of weakness or tingling sensations in the legs. In many instances the symmetrical weakness and abnormal sensations spread to the arms and upper body. These symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all and, when severe, the person is almost totally paralysed. Guillain-Barré syndrome can affect anybody. It can strike at any age and both sexes are equally prone to the disorder. The syndrome is rare, however, afflicting only about one person in 100,000. Usually Guillain-Barré occurs a few days or weeks after the patient has had symptoms of a respiratory or gastrointestinal viral infection. Occasionally surgery will trigger the syndrome. In rare instances vaccinations may increase the risk.
Most individuals have good recovery from even the most severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome.
Director of the David and Leila Persaud Foundation, Christopher Persaud hands over the cheque to the young man’s father
