Mother of four hopeful of brain surgery before Christmas

Forty-three-year-old Parbattie ‘Ravina’ Austin is hoping that she can undergo surgery for a ruptured brain aneurysm before Christmas providing that she garners enough donations.

Two months ago her life changed when she collapsed while working at the Berbice Expo and woke up a week later in the Georgetown Public Hospital with no vision in her eyes.

“That was the hardest part and I would never forget it when I tried to see and couldn’t,” Austin told the News Room.

The mother of four of Overwinning, East Bank Berbice says her family managed to raise almost half of the money needed for the surgery.

“I had a lot of promises but it did not materialize,” Austin told the News Room Monday.

The surgical treatment for a brain aneurysm is not available in the public health system and as such it will be done at NeuroSpine Services Inc – a private facility in Georgetown at a total cost of $6.4M.

Guyana’s lone neurosurgeon Dr Amarnauth Duhki recommended a corrective treatment via a minimally invasive procedure to give Austin a normal life. The procedure is called an Endovascular treatment using a stent and coiling of the aneurysm and involves using a steerable catheter inserted into the bloodstream guided to the brain.

Dr. Dukhi had told the News Room that Austin’s life is at stake as typically 40% of patients usually do not survive the first rupture and 70-80% of patients die from a second rupture.

“I have a lot of confidence in Dr Dukhi, I read all his success stories and I am confident that Dr Dukhi will make me one of his success stories,” Austin said.

Austin told the News Room that she is pleading with persons to desist from calling with fake promises of financial help.

She said she was also given wrong phone numbers by persons who said they would help her financially.

“I would like persons to know what happen to me can happen to anyone, I wasn’t prepared for this,” Austin said.

She noted that the Ministry of Public Health also contacted her and promised to assist.

Austin now has to be free of any stress, physical activity, noise, excessive bright lights and high scented odours.

Meanwhile, she is urging everyone to do regular health checkups even if they do not feel sick because she had no symptoms prior to collapsing at the Expo.

“Persons who only wait to do checkups when they are sick should stop, sickness doesn’t tell you when it’s coming. Don’t wait to feel sick, because I never felt sick and I woke up in the hospital ICU.”

While Austin says she has a lot of faith, she feels as if time is running out. She says she is mentally prepared for the surgery but the finance is failing her.

Anyone who is genuinely interested in assisting Austin can contact her on telephone number 670 -0345 or at the go fund me account https://www.gofundme.com/f/ruptured-brain-aneurysmsurgery?sharetype=teams&member=3097822&rcid=r01-157228090831-36df60570cf94645&pc=wa_co_campmgmt_m&utm_medium=social&utm_source=whatsapp&utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet.