Help raise funds to pay local boy’s medical bills
The 13-year-old boy developed a staphylococcus aureus infection after being hit on the ankle with a hockey stick.
A FUNDRAISING Halloween quiz will be held at the Keg in Hillcrest on Thursday, 29 October to help with the medical bills of Jean-Luc Talbot (13), who developed a staphylococcus aureus infection after being hit on the ankle with a hockey stick.
On 16 September, Jean-Luc played a hockey game for the Highbury first team against Merchiston Preparatory School. During the game, he tried to defend a goal and ran towards one of the opposition. The Merchiston boy managed to hit him just below his left ankle with a hockey stick in mid-swing. Jean-Luc went off the field few a minutes and then went back on the field and finished playing the game.
Initially, it was suspected that he had bruised the ankle, but as the days passed and the ankle became more swollen and Jean-Luc was in severe pain, he was admitted to hospital, where eventually tests revealed the presence of staphylococcus aureus.
“We are not your typical Highbury parents, and at Jean-Luc’s young age we identified he needed the challenges only Highbury would give him to take him to new heights. With that, we have been stretching all our resources to ensure Jean-Luc goes to Highbury and to excel with his sports on tours. The down side is we have not been able to afford any medical aid,” said his mom, Emily.
After numerous operations, the hospital bills alone are sitting at around R350 000, not including the surgeon, radiology and blood lab bills.
“With this injury it has created life-changing circumstances. This is unfortunately streaming into a series of procedures, which besides being extremely costly, have no end in sight in the doctors’ efforts to keep his foot and ankle healthy. There is still a very real potential risk of Jean-Luc losing a limb.
“Jean-Luc is going through hell at the moment. I have heard of too many stories where patients have gone to state hospitals and died soon after with infections like this, which is why we are doing everything we can to keep Jean-Luc in the best care.”
Banking details are: Hillcrest Private Hospital; First National Bank – Florida Road, Durban branch (223626); account number 6229 0405 036; reference 5093221 (number must be stipulated, otherwise the payments cannot be allocated).
Proofs of payment may be e-mailed directly to Emily Talbot at talbokids@gmail.com. Jean-Luc’s story can also be followed via Facebook – Jean-Luc Treatment Fundraiser page.
