Many of you will remember Belkis from her years working as a nurse at the Central de Salud in Florida. Belkis was in her 20's, she was quiet and hardworking, and very humble. She is only 31 years old now. About seven years ago she began to develop Sclerotic Pulmonary Fibrosis. We noticed the cyanosis and her increasing weight loss. I remember Victor talking with her about her emerging symptoms in the fall of 2018. Although we've continued to check in with her and visit with her during each trip to Opatoro, we've been stymied about how to help her. The interregnum due to the pandemic surely complicated efforts to find help for her worsening condition.

Belkis's family had hoped that she might qualify to be on a transplant list for a double lung transplant but that does not seem possible. Belkis has another co-morbidity that likely precludes her from qualifying but as you can imagine, for many reasons living as a transplant recipient would be a daunting proposition.

Today, Belkis requires oxygen 24 hours a day. Though she has a portable tank, she is no longer able to go to church or other community gatherings. The family is renting an oxygen concentrator for 5000 L per month, a large reserve tank for when the electricity goes out for 1800 L monthly, and a portable tank for medical appointments for 1,000 L (per trip). Belkis's medications cost the family 7900 L per month. She would benefit from nutritional support but the family is struggling with paying for even their basic necessities. The monthly costs to keep her comfortable (meds and oxygen) are $575.00. The family is now $1,000.00 in debt and will surely lose their house when it comes time to pay their loan.

We don't anticipate Belkis will survive very long, but the worry she carries is heartbreaking. Belkis knows her family will lose everything once she is no longer with them. We are looking for an oxygen concentrator that could be loaned without cost, but have not had any luck. We are exploring purchasing one and sending it so the debt will stop mounting. The idea is that we could sell it later and recoup some of the cost (approximately $500). We offered the family our generator to keep the cost of replacing the portable oxygen during frequent interruptions of electricity but they are nervous about using the equipment.

Miriam, Hugo, and Haydee have been our links with Belkis and will continue to work with us to find ways to help. We believe the best way we can help in this extraordinary case is to raise funds to pay down their debt so that she will not carry this profound worry to the end of her young life. If anyone has a lead on an oxygen concentrator (in Honduras, or locally), please let me know.

This fundraiser is only being circulated among our team members because you may remember Belkis, and of course, you are all very aware of how difficult it must be for her to live this way in such a remote village hours from a hospital. Together, I'm confident we can raise enough to pay her debt with some funds left over to pay for a couple of months of medical expenses.

We wish you all a healthy, family and friend-filled holiday season! Although we are still in the throes of finding work-arounds to send resources and brigades again, be assured the work we are doing with countless communities in Honduras endures. Opatoro remains at the heart of our mission, always.

Muchas gracias~

Belkis

By Community Health Partnership - Honduras

Belkis

Please help us alleviate the suffering of our young nurse from La Florida