Good Morning Angels Follow-up: A life saving donation from LottoStar for 13-year-old to beat Lyme Disease

After the help of Good Morning Angels, Keira Rutherford took her first steps again!  

BACKGROUND:  Until eight months ago, 13-year-old Kiera Rutherford from Hoedspruit in Limpopo was a bubbly and active school girl. Then she fell desperately ill. She’s been ill and in agony - going from a healthy, active, talented sports star to being unable to walk or use her arms. She has not been able to attend school or do any school work. After three incorrect diagnoses, she was finally diagnosed with Lyme Disease, a tick-borne disease that is extremely rare in South Africa. As Lyme Disease is so uncommon in SA, by the time the diagnosis was made, Kiera was already suffering from Stage 3 Lyme Disease. The only option for treatment is in Germany at a cost of R 800 000,00. The prognosis is that within 3 weeks of treatment, she will ‘Walk out of the hospital on her own”.

The community of Hoedspruit jumped into action and already raised R680 000,00 (in a week). The hospital in Germany asked Kiera to check in as soon as possible. Now they only need to raise that last R120 000,00 to secure Kiera’s best shot at being healed. 

REQUEST FOR: 13-year-old Kiera Rutherford

REQUEST FROM: Debby Thomson

ANGEL: Tasoulla Hadjigeorgiou, LottoStar Director

SPONSORING: LottoStar will cover the final R120 000,00 needed for Kiera to travel to Germany to receive her life-saving treatment 

YOU CAN HELP: 

Minnaar Attorney’s are managing the funds for Keira Rutherford's’ treatment.

Banking Detail:

Acc name: Minnaar Attorneys Trust Account

Bank: FNB Commercial Attorneys Trust

Acc nr: 62411625778

Branch: 252145 (Hatfield)

Ref: Keira Rutherford

ORIGINAL REQUEST: 

Hi Martin and the Good Morning Angels,

Firstly, thank you very much for the opportunity to contact you as regards Kiera Rutherford and the urgent assistance we are needing to help raise funds for vital medical treatment needed in Germany for her.  

Keira Rutherford from Hoedspruit Limpopo used to be a happy, caring and loving child. After falling desperately ill in July 2018, her life was changed irrevocably. Initially UNDIAGNOSED, she was riddled with severe and debilitating pain that left her bed and wheelchair bound.   

After 8 long and trying months, and a world of blood tests, examinations and medical tests, doctors were finally able to get a confirmed diagnosis of Lyme’s disease - a tick-borne diseased not believed to occur in South Africa. Sadly the length of time in securing a proper diagnosis has resulted in the disease progressing to severe stages that now requires very specific treatment only available in Germany. 

Lyme disease is little known in South Africa with only 2 or 3 other cases having been diagnosed here.  If allowed to progress to its severe stages, it is exceptionally debilitating and painful and can be life-threatening in certain situations. 

 It has been a heartbreaking time for her parents watching their young girl having to deal with such extreme pain and not knowing what to do to help her, what was causing it or how to deal with it. The pain is so debilitating she is unable to use her limbs. In March this year, it now spread to her arms and as a result, she is now barely able to do much for herself and she needs to be assisting with most day to day needs and activities. 

 Diagnosis has helped them overcome the first major step but now we need everyone’s support to help her get treatment in Germany.   We can only rely on an extensive number of open hearts to join us in helping young Keira Rutherford get to Germany for treatment and to hopefully get her back to the young, happy girl she once was. 

 In addition to telling you about Keira – it would only be complete for me to tell you about her father as his nature and commitment to the community is largely responsible for the massive outpouring of concern and response from so many many people.  

 Her father, Ranking Rutherford, is a key member of our local community group called Hoedspruit Farmwatch. In his role in Farmwatch, Rankin is the first person to always respond to anyone in need in the community –whether it be assisting with a motor vehicle accident, or donning a bulletproof vest to keep his neighbours and community safe. He personally has been involved and contributed to the successful arrest of numerous high-level criminals and poachers in our region. All of this done on an entirely voluntary basis and purely done on the back of his concern for the safety and security of our community. 

As we know, many of the police stations in our country are challenged with a shortage of vehicles, and of course, Hoedspruit is no different.  In addition to a shortage of vehicles, when a vehicle does need to be serviced or repaired, it is very often out of commission for 2 or 3 weeks until such time as it is repaired. Rankin personally goes out of his way to assist the police in maintaining the small fleet that we do have and will quietly service, fix or repair our police vehicles at no cost and no fuss,  just to assist them in keeping their vehicles on the road and usable and to assist the community in having an accessible police force. This even includes supplying them with new parts, tyres etc, that normally would take far too long through standard bureaucratic channels – he just quietly supplies and installs whatever is needed 

Rankin is also the most gentle and humble person you can ever meet, as is his wife. 

 Hoedspruit is a community that is filled with some of the most incredible individuals as well as a wonderful community spirit - and it is an absolute pleasure and pride to live here.  Apart from Hoedspruit Farmwatch being a leading organisation in the region, that has become far more than just a typical neighbourhood watch type unit. We respond to and assist absolutely any situation and any individual within the greater region whose life or property is under threat, from motor vehicle accidents to mountain rescues, natural disaster, to prevent suicides, to all nature of criminal incidents and of course, the ever-present anti-poaching activities. We have wracked up some exceptionally impressive statistics I’m all that we have done and are now being asked by other communities to come and assist them in getting something similar set up in their own communities. 

Hoedspruit Farmwatch together with the Hoedspruit Victim Support Unit now consists of over 150 volunteers who will give of their time willingly to the community and to visitors within the community, whenever the need should arise.

As Rankin is such a pivotal member of the team, it was only natural for us to put our minds towards assisting him with raising funds for this vital treatment for his daughter. Typical to Hoedspruit’s nature, having started this campaign last week Thursday morning, after 1 series of meetings on Wednesday night, we have already raised just over R300 000.00 in 3 short days, however, as we will be needing around R800 000.00 for Keira, we still have a very long way to go and thus would love to ask for the assistance of the Good Morning Angels to assist us to get closer to this goal. 

Keira as a young girl, and the Rutherford’s as a family, more than deserve this for all that they have given to the community and to others over the years. 

If you would be able to fit us into your GMA programme and assist with a little bit of extra funding, it would be beyond greatly appreciated.  I would love for you to meet them and some of our key members in Hoedspruit who are indicative of what good old fashioned community support and commitment should be. 

Looking forward to hearing from you.