Brackenhurst resident Bianca Ackhurst (22) with Guillain-Barré syndrome needs help
“Only one in around 100 000 people get this disease and the severity of Bianca’s case is very high.”
IMAGINE someone you love is suddenly overcome with an extremely rare, life-threatening disease and they must be hospitalised for an indefinite period of time with the treatment available being very expensive and hard to find – what would you do?
Tragically, Brackenhurst resident Bianca Ackhurst (22) was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome at the beginning of this month. Signs of the disease started appearing on June 26, when Bianca’s fingers and toes started feeling tingly and she showed flu-like symptoms.
She was admitted to Netcare Clinton Hospital Intensive Care Unit on July 3 after she and her family were delivered the tragic news.
Only one in around 100 000 people get this disease and, unfortunately, the severity of Bianca’s case is very high. She uses a wide variety of medication daily, she currently relies on a ventilator to breathe as she is completely paralysed, and she also requires physiotherapy and special treatment called polygram and plasma, to help her recover.
She has since been moved to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital on July 9. However, the hospital bill from Netcare Clinton has already accumulated to around R250 000 to R300 000. The treatment she received there cost around R30 000 per batch and only lasted for three days.
The average time that a Guillain-Barre sufferer spends in hospital is more or less six weeks. She is not on a medical aid and had to be transferred to a government hospital for treatment, even though this hospital does not have the specialised treatment for this very rare syndrome.
Full recovery possible
“We are all absolutely shocked and heartbroken at how quickly Bianca went from being a bouncing ball of energy to paralysed,” said her father, Jeff Ackhurst. “She was always so bubbly, in love with life, always laughing and dancing and she loved spending time with her friends and family. We are all praying for full and speedy recovery.”
Bianca’s close friend, Chanté Seymour, also commented: “As a personal trainer and biokeneticist, I’ve luckily been working closely with a client who was also diagnosed with this Guillain-Barré syndrome three years ago. With rehabilitation and the proper treatment, he has made a full recovery and can now live a normal life with his family and even enjoys doing park runs.
“So, Bianca’s recovery is just funds away and with Dr Adri de Kock as her doctor, she is in the best hands. It is possible to recover – I have seen it first-hand. I truly believe that Bianca will recover fully, we just need a little help to give her a fighting chance,” concluded Chanté.
You can help
Please help Bianca’s family raise the funds to see her and her loved ones through this difficult journey ahead, and to lift some of the financial stress they are experiencing, so they can focus everything on helping Bianca with her recovery.
You can donate any amount of money through her Back-A-Buddy page by following this link: https://www.backabuddy.co.za/bianca-treatment-guillain-barre.
You can also keep up with her progress through her Facebook page called Support Bianca Ackhurst fight against GBS.
If you would like to help the family in any other useful way, Bianca’s parents can be contacted on 060 936 8594 (her father, Jeff) or 060 956 2236 (her mother, Charmion).
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