Basilia is a 66-year-old chicken farmer who lives with her husband in rural Guatemala.
Basilia needs treatment for acute diabetes. Her diabetes has been uncontrolled and untreated in the past, and has resulted in frequent urination, weight loss, hunger, fatigue, and blurred vision. She has already lost sight in her left eye because of it, and is beginning to lose sight in her right eye, as well. If left untreated, acute diabetes can also cause cardiovascular disease, nerve damage, kidney damage, and an early death.
Seeking assistance, Basilia and her husband visited our medical partner, Wuqu’ Kawoq. She is scheduled to begin receiving insulin and taking an educational course to better manage her diabetes on April 24. She is requesting $1,500 to cover the total cost of her ongoing treatment.
Once her blood glucose levels go down, Basilia will no longer be at risk of dangerous fluctuations in her blood sugar readings and her energy will improve. The treatment will lessen the complications Basilia currently experiences due to her diabetes, and may provide her the opportunity to have surgery in the future to save her remaining eye.
Basilia says, “I hope to recover the vision in my right eye because each day I am losing my sight more and more and I cannot leave my house anymore. I want to be able to continue taking care of my animals.”