For My Mum, A Medical Refugee

My mum, Eva Wagapu, is a thoughtful and generous 61 year old woman from the Solomon Islands who is absolutely full of life. She was recently diagnosed with cervical cancer. I am her daughter, a proud New Zealander, who is married to a New Zealander and raising two beautiful daughters (5 & 7 yrs old) in Taranaki, New Zealand.

Mum worked until recently as a Women's Development Officer for the Solomon Islands Ministry of Women, Children and Family Affairs, a position she held for over 40 years. She has also been a member of the ACWW, the Associated Country Women of the world since 1979. She has devoted much of her life to improving the lives of women and girls in imporverished rural areas and at the same time she has been the most wonderful mum to her four kids.

She spent alot of time over the last few years providing home care in the Solomons for my Dad, who suffered from chronic kidney disease while she continued her work at the Ministry. Because dad was unable to secure adequate treatment in the Solomons, he died of renal failure in March of last year.

During the time my Dad was ill, Mum neglected her own health and didnot seek medical care in the Solomons until mid, last year. When she finally did see doctors at the Central Hospital in Honiara, they told her that she had gynecological problems that they did not have the resources to treat; they gave her panadol and told her to go home.

I'm hoping with all my heart that my mum can be the recipient of the generosity of the New Zealanders and others in the world who read this post.

We all know that it is a just a simple twist of fate that has each of us being born or living in one part of the world as opposed to another, and there is a shockingly poor level of care in the Solomons for many illnesses that are routinely treated in more developed countries such as New Zealand. Despite her not wanting to impose on my family, we convinced her to travel to New Zealand in order to arrange a thorough medical assessment of her condition. My family paid "out of pocket" costs for doctor visits and testing, and the results indicate that mum has localized cervical cancer, very serious for sure, but treatable. With proper treatment that would involve radiotherapy and chemotherapy she could have a greater than 60% chance of survival for at least 5 years. With the array of advanced immunocological treatments that are increasingly available for the treatment of cervial cancer, many women with this condition are living much longer. Mum has always had such a positive attitude and been willing to face any challenges head on and I want her to be one of those women.

As mentioned above, Iam a proud New Zealander, and I also retain generally positive feelings for the country of my birth, the Solomon Islands; however, I cannot accept the fact that if my mum returns home, she will recieve no care for her illness and die simply because the Solomon Islands is an incredibly poor country that lacks the ability to provide adequate care for many seriously ill citizens either in-country or via any other country in greater Oceania.

Mum is, essentially, a medical refugee, and I am asking each one of you who loves his or her mother to consider donating whatever you can to help us pay the out of pocket cost of treatment for her condition. Iam desperately pursuing any and all avenues available to help save my mum and give her the longer and healthier life that she richly deserves.

If anyone has knowledge about other resources in our community (clinical trials, legal loopholes, private foundation grants, pharmaceutical company initiaitves, etc.) that would help our efforts, please advise me; because I love my mum and want my daughters to grow up and learn from the love and wisdom of their grandmother.

Sincerely,

Noelyn Wagapu-Tuza