Teen with kidney failure seeks financial assistance

A single mother of four children is seeking financial assistance to offset the cost for dialysis treatment for her 17-year-old daughter Jamaicy Broomes.

The teen’s life changed drastically after she was diagnosed with end-stage renal failure in February 2019.  Since then, she has been in and out of the hospital and this has put a strain on the family.

Before February 2019, Broomes was your typical teenager. She was a student at St John’s College and was preparing the sit the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) examinations.

Both of Jamaicy’s kidneys cannot function on its own.

She has been hospitalised at the Georgetown Public Hospital since December last year.

According to her mother, Kimsha Broomes, doctors said there is also 85% damage to her heart, her respiratory system is also affected and she is in constant pain.  The mother spoke with the News Room at her B Field Sophia home on Tuesday.

She explained that the teen was in the care of Child Welfare when she fell ill last year.

Jamaicy has been on dialysis for a year now; she is being treated at the Doobay Medical Centre at Annandale, East Coast Demerara.

Her mother spoke of the financial difficulties in maintaining the dialysis treatment which costs $12,000 per session three times weekly.

Dialysis is a treatment that filters and purifies the blood using a machine. This helps keep your fluids and electrolytes in balance when the kidneys cannot do their job.

Kimsha is a single parent of four children. Jamaicy’s father died from cancer-related complications in 2008.

The mother works as a cleaner at the Cyril Potter College of Education and does odd jobs on the weekends.

“It’s been real hard on me and the family, mostly me, its real hard I does get help from my workplace they would donate a session, I does get help from one and two people who does call and donate, but it still real hard,” the mother said.

She noted that she received help from the government but they were only able to assist with 40 sessions of dialysis.

“…when I go back to them they said 40 sessions is the limit.”

The mother further explained that doctors said the only solution is for a transplant to be done.

“I been looking to see if anybody will be able to donate a kidney…if any other help any other way.”

The mother explained that her eldest daughter was tested as a possible donor but she was not a match. Jamaicy’s blood type is 0+.

The mother said her daughter was a healthy child and would always excel at sporting activities in school.

Jamaicy is asking that everyone to pray for her and persons willing to contribute to helping the Broomes family can contact 219 2306, 687 0197 and 676 4420.