THE 13-year-old schoolgirl, whose leg was amputated in South Africa in her brave battle against a rare bone cancer, has been discharged from hospital but her family still faces a R25 000 bill. Shalom Onoja is a student at Nettleton Junior School in Harare. He family raised half of the R50 000, which was needed for her to undergo surgery.
Now, the family has to raise the outstanding R25 000. Her father, Joel Phiri, thanked Zimpapers for supporting her daughter’s cause in raising the funds by publishing her story, which caught the attention of many well-wishers. “We are yet to know when she is going to be back in Zimbabwe.
“We are still left with a balance of a R25 000 hospital bill which we are still sourcing but we currently are relieved that our daughter was successfully operated.” “Ultimately, Shalom will need a prosthetic leg in the long run.” He said they mobilised US$6 500 from Nyaradzo Group, Pahushamwari Hwedu, Women in UK and the corporate world, but unfortunately, delays and additional medical expenses forced them to return to Zimbabwe. He said they ultimately had to consider amputation in South Africa to save her life as the tumour had grown too big and she was now bedridden. “They told us that she no longer requires bone salvage surgery but an implant because we had delayed in taking her to India and they had to redo the tests, which were once done in South Africa, hence most of the money we had was spent on tests and chemotherapy.” He said when the doctors realised that they failed to raise the money, their daughter was discharged and they went back to the hospital in South Africa, where the doctors told them that the bone could not be saved and they had to amputate the leg.
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“In South Africa, she was admitted to a smaller hospital and they were saying there were not enough beds at the Johannesburg Hospital,” he said. “But I thank God my daughter was operated on and we hope for the better. We have other children in Zimbabwe who need to be taken care of, and it’s difficult.” Those who would like to help, feel free to contact her mother, Ndakadashe Nyaradzo Shumba, on her WhatsApp: +263783896440 or to call on: +27603044582 . The donations can be made via Ecocash, E– Wallet, Mukuru or World Remit platforms.
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