A plea for help from the Dominican Republic

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Prof. Peter Stoeter – former Head of Neuroradiology at Mainz University Hospital – who is now working as a volunteer doctor in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is asking Tulisa for its support:

The “La Fundación Dr. Juan M. Taveras R.” Foundation (www.fundaciondrjuanmtaveras.com (archive version) and www.pkanendr.jimbo.com) in the Dominican Republic cares for a group of currently 47 patients suffering from a hereditary metabolic disorder (Pantothenate Kinase-Associated Neurodegeneration, “PKAN”). The condition begins at school age and manifests as severe spasms (dystonia) of the limbs and trunk. In our patients, the muscles of the throat and tongue are also affected, meaning they can no longer swallow food, aspirate food and, in some cases, waste away to the point of being skeletal. Many patients die before the age of 30.

With the help of the Fundación Dr Juan Ml. Taveras Rodriguez, based at the CEDIMAT Hospital in Santo Domingo, Peter Stoeter, as part of a team of doctors and other volunteers, looks after these patients and provides them with, amongst other things, medication, food and feeding tubes. A care package programme has now been launched for 10 patients in a particularly critical nutritional condition (BMI < 15) to help their families with high-calorie food. The aid consists of one package per month per patient, worth approximately 40 euros. The foundation’s limited financial resources do not allow for more. Furthermore, the programme is intended only as a supplement to, and not a complete replacement for, the patients’ diet, as it is essential to avoid the families becoming entirely dependent on aid.

Nevertheless, without further support, this programme can only be funded for a maximum of one year. On behalf of the aforementioned foundation, Tulisa, we therefore ask for your support for six months, amounting to US$2,400.