An Argentine woman collapsed during a trip to Australia and needs 160 thousand dollars to pay for her treatment

María Ponce is 50 years old, she is a tutor and lives in Posadas, province of Misiones

Maria Elsa Ponce She is 50 years old and is originally from Innscapital of MissionsAt the end of April, he traveled with his best friend to AustraliaHer idea was to travel around the country and learn English, but she suffered a stroke and had to be admitted to hospital. She remains there to this day and her health is delicate. Meanwhile, her family, from Argentina, is looking for a way to cover the health expenses that they will have to face once the woman gets better and can return home. According to them, they need to raise around 160 thousand Australian dollars and, for that, they promoted a collect.

“It has been a very hard process but seeing the small improvements in mom gives us hope and strength to keep going,” said her daughter Inti, 22, in conversation with Infobaeabout the days she has been through since her mother was rushed to the hospital Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital last July 23rd.

“It has been a very hard process but seeing the small improvements in mom gives us hope and strength to move forward,” said her daughter Inti

“Mom traveled with a tourist visa and decided to study English, but immigration laws changed and she couldn’t change her permit, leaving her without adequate health insurance. We are not a wealthy family, so she planned this trip well in advance. She sold her motorcycle and other things to be able to go on it. All the money she had managed to save was already running out. Nothing was going as she and her friend had planned,” she began to tell about the reason why Maria might have suffered health problems.

María Elsa Ponce was rushed to hospital and doctors found six blood clots in her head

And he continued: “After a lot of stress and pressure, he began to lose sensitivity and had convulsions so she was rushed to the nearest hospital. They discovered six clots in the head and was transferred to another center where had two high-risk interventions”.

“Neurosurgeons believe that his stress, combined with a blow to the head he suffered in a motorcycle accident in February, worsened his condition,” he added.

The family estimates they will need $160,000 to pay for medical care in Australia.

“Mom was in a coma for two weeksin intensive care,” lamented the young woman. When Inti received the tragic news, she also learned that the doctors had considered two possible paths for the family, given Ponce’s state of health. “They told us that it was difficult for him to recover without serious consequences, so they gave us two options: perform a tracheotomy and give him more recovery time, or evaluate the possibility of disconnecting it. We decided to do the first and, surprisingly, is slowly improving“, he explained.

“She had two high-risk operations,” lamented Maria’s daughter

The event shocked both the family and the community of Posadas. They say that María worked as a tutor at a school in the capital, and was an “extremely active and caring” person. “She was always healthy, she didn’t drink or smoke, she went to the gym three times a week without fail, did Zumba, and she liked walking and riding a bike. During the weekends, he liked to make little dolls by recycling plastic bottles and caps to give to the children’s hospital at Christmas time.“So the possibility of her becoming disabled, to the point of becoming dependent on another person for the most basic things like eating or going to the bathroom, was very bad,” her daughter confessed.

The woman had entered the country to travel and study English.

In addition, from the social networks of the High School Education Center No. 4 from Posadas, where the woman worked, wrote: “María, who has dedicated 30 years of her life to CEP N° 4 as a tutor and secretary, has left an indelible mark on each one of us. Her human warmth, her professionalism and her commitment to education have inspired generations of students and colleagues. Today, Maria needs our solidarity more than ever. That is why we organized a solidarity campaign to raise funds and help Maria cover her medical expenses.”

Finally, after days of agony, her health has shown a slight – and at the same time very hopeful – improvement. “Thank God, after the tracheotomy, she is recovering although there is still a long way to go. She is just beginning this process and we have already been told that it is slow,” said Inti.

María Ponce had convulsions on July 23 and has been hospitalized in Australia since then.

And she explained worriedly: “Our family is asking for a contribution because the treatment is very expensive: it is 4 thousand Australian dollars a day in intensive care and 2,500 for each person who spends in intermediate care. We are talking about an approximate sum of 160 thousand dollars in total. We have contacted the Australian embassy, ​​but we still do not know how to meet this financial burden.”

For this reason, her entourage started a collection to gather a sum of money to help cover the expenses. In this sense, the young woman added: “We are raising funds on GoFundMe and I always share the link on my Instagram stories. I also publish my account alias in pesos for those who want to collaborate but cannot do so on the page.” “Every contribution counts,” highlights the flyer that they distribute to make the solidarity campaign visible.