Help Maryam, a 50-year-old widow, to support her family’s medical treatments for fibromyalgia, slipped disc, asthma, diabetes & psychiatric issues

AMOUNT NEEDED

Maryam and her family require a total of JD 2,148 to cover three months, as illustrated below:

CALL TO ACTION

Your help is needed to cover the essential medication, physical therapy, and psychological treatment of Maryam and her family for 3 months.

THE FAMILY HISTORY 

Maryam is 50 years old and bears the full responsibility of providing for her six children aged between 14 and 32. Her husband passed away suddenly and without cause in late 2016 when he was only 56 years old. The family has no fixed income or salary, forcing them to rely on generous donations to cover rent, food, electricity, and water.

Though three children hold university degrees and diplomas, none of them work mainly due to health problems. The youngest daughter is currently attending school while the youngest son left school after having only completed 8th grade due to learning difficulties. 

Two of Maryam’s daughters suffer from fibromyalgia, a chronic condition that causes pain all over the body, fatigue, as well as sleep, memory and mood issues. Treatment for fibromyalgia aims to ease symptoms and improve quality of life, but currently no cure exists. Although two daughters were continuously showing symptoms of fibromyalgia, they were being misdiagnosed by doctors. Finally, after paying a great deal of money, the two daughters were properly diagnosed with fibromyalgia - eventually draining the family’s money, emotions, and energy. 

One of the daughters was prescribed a set of medication, yet it was changed several times as she wasn’t responding to it. Therefore, the doctor requested she visit the psychiatric clinic, as her illness is of psychological origin. The doctor further recommended three physiotherapy sessions per week as well as one physical therapy session per week because she suffers from severe tension and anxiety, which cause muscle tension and spasms and ultimately constant pain. Adding to her fibromyalgia, she also suffers from a slipped disc, which is strongly pressing on the nerve. An operation has been prescribed for her, but she decided to leave this as a last resort, as she prefers to try physical therapy treatment instead - hoping the pain will go away.  Among her other siblings, she is in most dire need of psychological treatment (once weekly), physical therapy (three sessions a week), as well as her other prescribed medicines. 

One of the older daughters was finally diagnosed with fibromyalgia in November of 2021 despite suffering back pain for the past 10 years.  She now receives medical and physical treatment, monthly visits to her doctor as well as medicine to treat her anemia. 

As for the youngest daughter who is still in school, she unfortunately suffers from severe obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and social phobia that compels her to sit in the bathroom for hours on end. Though this has affected both her personal and school life, she remains strong. An assessment needs to be conducted to determine what can be done in her case, so initially she requires a weekly session with a psychologist. 

Two sons suffer severe chronic asthma and need permanent treatment as well as examinations every three months. One of the sons is the youngest and dropped out of school due to learning difficulties in the subjects of math, science, Arabic, and English. He is now staying at home with the hopes of finding a tutor to help in his studies. 

Last but not least, Maryam needs medication to treat her diabetes condition and blood pressure.