Can't ingest food: rare gut condition impacting ability to eat anything
Help with costs for ingesting anything organic (food & drinks, except water) because of a severe superbug gut infection
Christchurch, Canterbury
My lovely brother has a life-threatening condition. It is diagnosed as 'Severe Functional GI Disorder'. He can only eat with unfunded strongly fermented probiotic drinks to subdue gut superbugs. Funds raised will last only roughly 2.5 more months, so we must raise enough for more months urgently or his life is at risk. The symptoms are severe.
His specialist advises that he do this "as long as possible" for the safety of future medication use. The bacteria have developed resistance to previous antibiotics, increasing the risk of further mutation. So I set a fundraising goal for over a year's costs.
Probiotic culture, fermentation ingredients, & nutrients/supplements are roughly $1075 monthly. Not counting electricity costs for warming up the oven for fermenting jars many times daily. More info:
• Diet is limited to 3 items of food
• Was hospitalized from Nov-Jan 22/23 & for a week in Feb/23
• Lower legs & feet were paralyzed. They improve slowly only as his condition does
• How well he is depends on how each meal goes
• Condition advanced from severe 'Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth' to 'Severe Functional GI Disorder' due to antibiotic-induced bacterial mutation
• Govt disability max is $70/week. So far in 2024, he gets $51.42 for this.
(Note: The main pic is from his time in the ICU, not recently. Pics below are of my brother, me & the fermenting. Give A Little carefully confirmed matters including from medical records)
Use of funds
Your support covers essential probiotic cultures (Body Ecology & The Kefir Company), daily fermentation necessities (milk & coco water), & vital supplements (key vitamins & minerals depleted by his condition). If donations are enough, we might see a specialist in the private market.
Latest update
Thank you and an update 28 March 2024
Thank you all for your help so far. My brother could not afford to eat any kind of food at all without the help you gave in these last few months. He never imagined he would have this level of support.
He had a severe reaction to a meal a few weeks ago which made him very unwell for a few weeks although he is now better. More importantly, he has no specialist at the moment because the one assigned by the government cannot deal with this complex case. His GP is trying to get the govt to assign him a different specialist.
We are afraid of needing to go private. A big issue as this would mean he can't use the money for fermented drinks as long.
This is the update - otherwise, there is nothing new. He is just doing what he needs to do, every day is taken up by arranging every meal and little else.
Thank you!
Latest donations
Emma: thank you very much for this. Really, it helps a lot in such a strange situation. - the brother (not Amira)
I suspect you are Jalanda's friend... this is the brother by the way, not Amira the sister.. writing you... i just need to thank you.. this comes at hard, delicate time where it is needed and a big help..i also think you gifting Jalanda in the way she asked is going to make her appreciate it, knowing her... thank you again... take care
Hi, you have hidden your information...this is Amira's brother himself by the way. Not Amira. I want to thank you though as this has come in a very delicate time where every dollar is so badly needed.... Thank you for your thoughtful generosity
this is Amira's brother himself by the way. Not Amira. I want to thank you though as this has come in a very delicate time where every dollar is so badly needed.... Thank you for your thoughtful generosity.. this one donation actually makes a major difference as I just lost close to that number of fermented products that NZ post has not delivered yet and it spoils in only two days.. so such numbers are very generous and also very important to us.. me and my family.. at this time.. thank you very much..
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