for a friend.

dear 'all who read this blog',

if you remember a past entry titled, 'the good stuff' - i posted up something a friend (Poesy) wrote about me on Friendster.

well, i won't waste anymore of your time - just read what's below - and ... i don't know what to say...

X

Hi, I am Poesy. What I have to say might be news to some of you, but I shall try to make it short.

I am due for a CyberKnife surgery asap to remove/zap tumours left in my spinal cord during my last spinal surgery. These growths has persisted over the last 13 years and I have had to deal with paralysis and/or disabilities countless times. Over the years, my neurosurgeons have performed 2 major removals of these spinal tumours. I have fought hard to walk again every time. Due to having had those intrusive spinal surgeries, I am not to open up my spine again. In layman's terms, it is a big mess inside - with the old scar tissues, new scar tissues, damaged nerves, affected blood vessels and scattered residues of tumours - everything fused together. It is now practically impossible to do much with physical surgery, but the tumours will continue to affect me as they grow. These medical ordeals have left me with some permanent disabilities, albeit that I work hard at them to go as unnoticeable as possible. I am clearly lucky to even be walking again, and am determined to continue doing so.

After extensive research and obtaining different opinions from the most capable neurosurgeons around, I have been advised to seek a stereotactic radiosurgery called CyberKnife before I lose further functions of my legs. CyberKnife is a medical technology invented in Stanford 9 years ago and is the only one which is currently fit to operate on the spine. During my recent visit to Stanford University, it was decided that I am to undergo treatment within the period of Dec 05/Jan 06. This procedure will eliminate and disable reproduction of tumour cells, but it is not without risks.

I am writing this e-mail as an appeal for help. The surgery is going to cost USD$85,000. My insurance agency are not keen to speak to me at all. I am a little stuck at this point but am not willing to give up hope. Hence I am reaching out to friends for any form of contribution - be it help on raising this amount in such a short time or a personal/institutional donation. Every penny counts at this point to make up the amount!

I will be grateful for any kind of response. Thank you for your time. For further information on my condition, please feel free to contact me with the contact details listed below.

X

erm, i didn't feel right about posting up her contact details. so ... if you have any queries - leave a comment and we'll see what we can do eh?

signing off, the commonjack.