Little fighter goes under surgery
A two-year-old blue-eyed, little blonde girl, will be undergoing surgery today, June 6, at Sunward Park Hospital, to remove her left lymph node after hard and solid knobs were found in her right groin area near the lymph node.
The one moment Anzel Henning, nicknamed Apie, and her parents’ only child, was still living the normal life of a little girl: Loving animals, playing with her dolls and watching Barbie.
But for the past three months, Apie told her mother, Izelle Steenkamp, that she’s got “eina” and pointed to where it was sore on her stomach.
Izelle says that she and Apie’s father, André Henning, initially weren’t so worried.
“For us it just seemed like a gland that’s swollen a bit. We asked everyone’s advice and went to the pharmacy, but they also said it’s a gland,” says Izelle.
As time went by, Izelle noticed that what she then thought was a swollen gland, was getting worse and not looking good.
“It started turning extremely blue and purple, and it’s only then when I took Anzel to Sunward Park Hospital for scans.”
Apie was then referred to a paediatrician, Dr Behroux Banieghbal, who gave them the bad news that Apie has to go for surgery as soon as possible.
Today, Apie’s left lymph will be removed and sent to a lab for further tests to ascertain whether the knob is cancerous or not.
Unfortunately, Apie is allegedly not on a medical scheme and estimated quotes from the hospital were R15 751.
According to Izelle, Apie is in the process of going onto a medical aid, but there is a waiting period of three months before it takes effect.
“My hands are chopped off. We’ve already spent over R2 000 on medication and antibiotic for her pain.
“Daddy and I feel terrible for not taking her to the doctor earlier, due to money as well. It put many concerns and frustrations on us,” says Izelle.
Apie’s parents kindly ask their fellow kindhearted community members to, if they’re willing to, to help contribute to cover the medical costs.
For any queries or information, Izelle can be contacted on 061 304 4099 or 011 894 3959 or e-mail izellesteenkamp1@gmail.com. André may also be contacted on 084 926 9227 or 011 892 5405 or e-mail andrejonty@yahoo.com. – @IschkeBoksburg
