Daily Sun (July 1 2015) - LITTLE AMUKELANI Nkuna is one year old, but he may not see many more birthdays.
The boy suffers from a rare disease that attacks babies and he urgently needs a liver transplant to survive.
IF HE DOESN’T GET IT, AMUKELANI FACES A STEADY, CRUEL COUNTDOWN TO DEATH.
The boy’s mother, Nomakhosazana Ncube (23) from Alexandra, Joburg said her baby has been sick since he was born in January last year.
“Three days after he was born a nurse at the clinic told me my son had very bad jaundice,” she said.
And his condition hasn’t improved.
“His eyes and skin are yellow and he scratches himself all the time. He had to go to hospital twice last month because of severe diarrhoea,” she said.
Nomakhosazana found that her son suffers from biliary atresia, a rare disease of the liver that only occurs in babies. He urgently needs a liver transplant or he is unlikely to live beyond the age of four.
Nomakhosazana said she was referred to Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in Joburg for a liver transplant but if the operation takes place, it will be done at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital in Cape Town, where only about three such operations are done a year. Internationally, only about one in five patients lives long enough for a liver to be found that matches his liver. People often have to wait for years for a suitable donor – but Amukelani doesn’t have that much time available.
If a donor isn’t found in the next few years, the clock will run down for him. His mother said she will make sure her son is on the waiting list when he goes for his next check-up in August.
Financially, the operation is also a massive problem for Nomakhosazana. Their only income is from her mother who works at a fast food shop.
She was shocked to hear that it would cost about R600 000 – an amount she will never be able to save.
Nomakhosazana said she desperately needs help to get little Amukelani a new liver and is pleading for help. Any SunReaders who can help in any way should please phone Daily Sun on 011 713 9088.
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