My name is Ozioma, and I am simply fighting to keep my mum alive.

My mum (Theresa Okoro) has been in and out of hospitals due to uncontrolled hypertension: starbing chest and abdominal pain. A few weeks ago, our lives changed for the worse when she was diagnosed with a full-length aortic aneurysm and blood leakage into her left hemithorax her main blood vessel is dangerously swollen and weak, and has started leaking blood inside her chest near her left lung. She is in constant severe pain and struggling to breathe properly because the leaked blood is pressing on her left lung. If it bursts completely, she could bleed to death in minutes.

The only hope is an urgent and complex Endovascular Aneurysm Repair (EVAR) surgery to repair and seal the damaged artery before it’s too late. Unfortunately, this surgery cannot be done in Nigeria because the required equipment and expertise are not available. After consultation, our doctors referred us to 1 hospital in America and another in India.

Until now, we have managed her hospital bills through the kindness of friends, family, and well-wishers, but this time the cost is far beyond our means. The total cost for my mum’s surgery, medical travel, and recovery is $75,000 USD — We have exhausted our savings, sold personal belongings, and reached out to everyone we know, but we are still falling short.

She still has so much life to live and so much love to give. She dreams of seeing her children grow, of celebrating many more birthdays with her children and family. Her prayers, sacrifices, and kindness have held us together through life’s storms.

Your donations will go directly to the surgery, travel expenses and one caregiver, post-surgery care and medications.

Every donation to this brings us one step closer to saving my mum’s life. Any little act of kindness will mean a lot to I and my family.

Your kindness is her only hope of life right now.