Anonymous donor pays for Rupununi youth
“To be honest, it really hasn’t soaked in as yet; to say what I want to this person, I can never find the full stop for it. The most I can say right now is that I am really grateful.”
These were the words of gratitude extended by Vaughn Duncan to the anonymous donor who has paid the balance for the much needed eye surgery for which he sought the public’s assistance.
Duncan’s plight was highlighted last Sunday after Stabroek News came across a Facebook post by him, asking for persons to support a fundraiser aimed at securing funds for a much needed eye surgery.
Once contact was established with Duncan, the young man who hails from Lethem, Central Rupununi, explained that he was diagnosed, with Keratoconus, a degenerative disease of the eye, by Dr. Neeraj Jain, at Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital, on April 12, 2017.
Keratoconus, often abbreviated to KC, is a degenerative eye disease in which the normally round cornea thins and begins to bulge into a cone-like shape, resulting in significant visual impairment.
According to Duncan, who was an Economics major at the University of Guyana, both of his eyes are affected, and based on consultations with the ophthalmologist, the impairment could only be halted by a onetime treatment, called Corneal Collagen Cross Linkage + Riboflavin (commonly called C3R). While the surgery can be performed at the Dr Balwant Singh’s Hospital, it carries a cost of $576,000.
Up to the time of the post, he had managed to raise a total of $180,000 towards the surgery.
However, the 21 year old got the shock of his life on Monday evening when he received an email from the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dr. Balwant Singh’s Hospital informing him that an anonymous donor had contacted the hospital and pledged the remaining amount for the surgery.
According to Duncan, after the article was published in the Sunday Stabroek, he had received a number of calls from persons who offered prayers, financial assistance, information and guidance. In addition to these calls, the young man said he received a call from a member of the public who informed him that a team of doctors would be visiting the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPHC) and would be capable of doing the surgery free of cost.
Taking this into consideration, Duncan said he consulted with his mother, grandparents and family friend, Yimochi Melville, all of whom agreed that th
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