Family seeking help for Kato mother of eight with rare brain tumour

-neurosurgeon agrees to free procedure to start treatment

Junita Gomes
Junita Gomes

Almost a year after being diagnosed with a rare brain tumour, a mother of eight of Kato Village, in Region Eight, is now slated to undergo the first phase of her treatment tomorrow.

Junita Gomes, a former teacher, was diagnosed with acoustic neuroma on March 5th, 2019. She is currently bedridden and unable to see, speak, eat, or hear.

According to the Mayo Clinic website, an acoustic neuroma, also known as vestibular schwannoma, is a non-cancerous and usually slow-growing tumour that develops on the main nerve leading from the inner ear to the brain.

In an interview with Sunday Stabroek recently, Gomes’ sister, Maria Jeffers, explained that the now bedridden woman decided to visit the Georgetown Public Hospi-tal (GPH) after experiencing severe headaches and the tumour was detected. “She wasn’t well. She was having these severe head-aches for long period and then the head, a part of it, was like swollen and the face,” Jeffers said.

Jeffers related that as the time passed, Gomes’ condition worsened.

In January, Jeffers said, Gomes began to experience blurred vision. “I went up back there [to Kato] the first week in March [this year] and I saw her. When I saw her I couldn’t believe it was her. She wasn’t seeing at all. She can’t walk. We got to move her around, hold her because she dragging on one foot. It was a real task because you know how the interior houses are, uphill and all of that,” Jeffers explained.

She said she then decided to have Gomes brought back to Georgetown to consult with a doctor again.  “We went back to GPHC because she started to have seizures in February. So she having seizures, lost balance and no vision and the headache and then a fluid start running through her nostril,” she added.

According to Jeffers, Gomes met with a doctor in the Accident and Emer-gency Unit at the GPH and treatment was recommended but she was sent home. “They send her home with treatment and then we decide we need to get her an MRI or something and then we went to Mercy Hospital……She had it done,” Jeffers said.

The MRI, Jeffers said, showed that Gomes now had CP angle brain tumor and obstructive hydrocephalus. As a result, Jeffers said doctors recommended that Gomes undergo a VP shunt surgical procedure—a procedure done to drain the fluid from the brain-at the soonest.

Jeffers said they were told that this could not be done immediately at the GPH since there is a “long” waiting list. The only other hospital where it could have been be done is the St Joseph Mercy Hospital at a cost of $1.8 million.

However, with Gomes’ family unable to afford the cost of the surgery, they issued an appeal to the public for assistance to raise the funds.

“We, the family members, are public servants and cannot raise this money so we are appealing to the public for your kind financial assistance to help my sister Junita Gomes have this surgical procedure done as soon as possible,” the family pleaded in a message on a GoFundMe page set up to receive donations.

Head of Neurosurgery at the GPH Dr Amarnauth Dukhi subsequently learnt of their plight and offered to perform the procedure free at cost.

Jeffers yesterday told Sunday Stabroek that the family met with a team of medical officials yesterday. She said Gomes was admitted at the GPH yesterday and she is scheduled to undergo the procedure tomorrow.

Jeffers said the procedure is the currently the main focus so that Gomes’ condition does not deteriorate. However, at the later date, Gomes will need to undergo a major surgery to remove the tumour from her brain.

The cost for that surgery is pegged at $4 million.

Apart from her teaching job, Gomes previously worked as a cook and was the caretaker of the Kato Guest House for a number of years.

Jeffers related that following her sister’s diagnosis, she lost her job.  “In the year, she lost her job because she couldn’t go back to work. The pain was so much and then she couldn’t keep her balance… so she started to lose her balance and then she was like that,” she said.

Jeffers added that Gomes’ husband also lost his job since he had to take care of her. “Her husband lost his job. He had to be with her to you know assist her in moving and whatever, so he lost his job. So we are like that,” Jeffers said.

The family is pleading with members of the public for their assistance. They said all the funds which are donated now will go towards the surgery to remove the tumour.

Persons desirous of assisting the family can contact Jeffers on telephone number 615-3696. Funds can also be deposited into Citizens Bank Account # 218364464.