Organised by ST NICHOLAS FOUNDATIONWe are raising funds to support a 3-year-old boy and his family as they face the battle against leukemia. The boy needs urgent, expensive chemotherapy, and his family, who come from a poor area, also require support during this difficult time.
Dear Friends,
We urgently need your support for a brave 3-year-old boy called Ali who has just entered the Nursery class at St. Nicholas Charity School. He has been diagnosed with Acute Promyelocytic Leukaemia. This serious illness requires immediate, prolonged and costly chemotherapy treatment, but his family, who live in the impoverished community of Bankuman in Tema, Ghana, cannot afford these overwhelming medical expenses.
In addition to covering the treatment, we also want to support his family during this difficult time. There will be an ongoing and constant need to support Ali and his family in the community as they have to follow a very strict regime to ensure that Ali’s chances of survival are as high as possible. They are facing not only the emotional toll of his illness but also the financial strain of caring for him while managing their own daily struggles.
Your donation, no matter the size, will help fund his life-saving chemotherapy and provide essential support to his family. Together, we can give this little boy and his loved ones the hope and strength they need to get through this difficult period.
From the bottom of our hearts we thank you for your generosity and kindness. You can follow his story in the future via our own social media.
https://web.facebook.com/StNicholasTema
Ali has now started his final phase of chemotherapy at Korle Bu Hospital and, after this phase, he will have a full blood count test. If this is successful he will have a clean bill of help and we hope he can resume his schooling next term. Thank you for your support.
We are now able to share some fantastic news about Ali Osman and his cancer journey in Ghana. We have heard from Patrick, head of the NGO in Ghana, who has been able to report the following progress.
Dr Samirah who is the doctor in charge of the oncology department at Korle Bu Hospital in Accra has explained that Ali’s Bone Marrow has not produced any cancer cells since the last test. She added her appreciation to all those involved supporting Ali, the timely intervention and the provision of expensive medication, without which the outcome may have been very different.
She explained that Ali will continue with his current treatment for another week, after which there will be a one month break. Thereafter the process will continue to try to decrease the likelihood of the cancer coming back.
Ali is visibly better and tears were being shed today when the good news came through. His Mum and Dad also want to express their thanks for the support that has been extended to them.
Whilst we have had good news today we are not at the end of the journey and there is more to do and more medication to purchase.
We thank ALL our donors and supporters who have helped with Ali and his fight against cancer. We will publish further updates in the future.
Thank you from everyone at the St Nicholas Foundation.
We are now able to provide a short update on the progress of Ali as he continues his treatment. Since a recent Bone Marrow test Ali has been making daily visits to hospital. He has started a second phase in his treatment which involves medication via IV over a period of 2 weeks. He has been able to attend all visits and is being well supported by his family. Normally Ali would have been readmitted but the hospital does not have the capacity do enable this at the current time. This second phase of treatment will finish soon. Further updates will follow when more details are known. Thank you for supporting Ali.
Due to the results of blood tests at the hospital Ali had to be re admitted on the 5th December. After further tests on his blood he was discharged on the 7th December but will visit the hospital again for further tests on the 10th December.
We are able to report that Ali has been discharged from hospital and will continue his medication at home with monthly visits to the hospital.
(Report from Patrick after his visit on the 28th November)
My visit to the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital on Wednesday to see Ali Osman was very encouraging. Upon arriving at his ward, I noticed a remarkable change in him. Ali, who had previously been quiet and reserved, was now actively engaging with his ward mates in the library, playing computer games. He appeared more confident, vibrant, and full of energy, moving around and enjoying himself.
During my discussion with the doctor, I learned that Ali had completed his first chemotherapy treatment last week. A bone marrow examination conducted afterwards revealed that about 5% of cancer cells still remained in his blood. To address this, a second round of chemotherapy, referred to as “deletion,” was initiated to eliminate the remaining cancer cells.
Another bone marrow test is scheduled for today, and the medical team is optimistic that it will confirm the complete clearance of the cancer cells. If all goes as expected, Ali Osman will be discharged today, Friday. The remaining part of his treatment will be carried out at home, with monthly hospital visits for assessments.
This marks a significant milestone in Ali Osman’s recovery journey, and it’s truly heartwarming to witness his progress.
We visited Ali at the hospital again. This time, we presented the imported medication. The doctors were delighted to receive the drugs and expressed their gratitude for arriving at the right time.
We were informed that Ali will complete the first phase of his treatment on Saturday. He will then undergo all the previous tests again. If everything goes well, Ali will be discharged. The doctor emphasised the importance of Ali maintaining a clean environment and eating hygienic food.
The first phase of Ali’s treatment will last for 28 days and involves chemotherapy, antibiotics, and steroids.
Ali is doing well. He has shown significant improvement in both his physical and eating habits.
His parents are incredibly grateful to everyone who has contributed to Ali’s treatment.
Thank you for supporting Ali, please share this fundraising page with your friends.
We went to visit Ali at Korle-bu teaching hospital this afternoon. We had an update from one of the doctors. Ali is continuing to respond well to the chemotherapy treatment he is receiving. He is also receiving large doses of antibiotics due to his lowered immune system. Ali is also taking steroids to try to increase his weight. Overall, he looked in better shape than when we last saw him. Providing Ali continues to respond well to treatment, he is likely to be in the hospital for another two weeks.
We just finished visiting Ali Osman at the hospital. Ali has shown marked improvement. According to the senior doctor, he is responding very well to chemotherapy. The treatment includes IV sessions, while the remaining medications are administered orally.
The doctor noted that after this week, Ali will need to redo all the tests he previously completed to check his bone marrow condition. Based on his current physical state, the doctor is hopeful that the tests will show bone marrow recovery, after which Ali can be considered for discharge.
The doctor also discussed Ali’s home care needs with Ruth our school social worker. Post-discharge, he will require a high level of hygiene in his environment, personal care, and food preparation. Consistent hand washing—both by Ali and anyone handling his food—and the regular use of sanitisers are crucial.
Regarding his diet, the doctor mentioned that Ali can eat anything, as long as it is clean and prepared under hygienic conditions.
Additionally, under no circumstances should herbal medicines be administered to him. This is vital and should be reinforced regularly with his family.
Any health issue, however minor, that arises after discharge should be treated as an emergency. In particular, any rise in temperature should prompt an immediate hospital visit. To support this, the hospital will provide a letter to the family detailing instructions for such situations. Ali’s noted will be shared with any hospital he may visit for initial care prior to Korle-Bu.
Little Ali has started chemotherapy. Some of the medication he requires is not available in Ghana and the doctor has requested this from other sources abroad. So far almost £3000 has been spent and we are urgently trying to raise all of the funds so that he can complete his treatment. He will require therapy for many months and as yet we cannot quantify it.
If any of your friends would like to donate, please do pass on this request as this is a very special little boy in desperate need
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