Help Angela get medical care-Swallowing Disorder

Hello, my name is Angela Amuzu. I am currently training to be a Salesforce System Administrator to help businesses use technology to improve productivity and customer experiences. This builds on my previous role as an administrator for a school where young people are given practical training in catering and empowered to start their own businesses, and my passion to help businesses grow.

I have struggled to swallow food since I was 15 years old and was diagnosed with Achalasia at 24, after years of several failed treatments and uncertainty. Achalasia is a rare swallowing disorder that makes it difficult for food and liquid to pass through the esophagus (or gullet) into the stomach. The esophagus is a muscular tube which connects the throat to the stomach. In Achalasia, muscles of the lower esophagus fail to relax to allow the food to pass into the stomach. If Achalasia is left untreated, the esophagus may stop working and there is a high risk of esophageal cancer. I had surgery in Ghana in 2014. This surgery involved cutting into the muscles preventing the passage of food from the oesophagus into the stomach. It greatly improved my condition.

Unfortunately, for about three years now, all my symptoms before the 2014 surgery have recurred and gotten worse. Now, at 32, I often vomit or regurgitate food, have heartburns, experience painful swallowing, and have severe chest pains. These pains can last the whole day and when they occur at night, I cannot sleep at all. My food is limited to liquids and semi-liquids because of the difficulty in swallowing; even with a liquid diet, it takes a long time for food to go down. I have lost a lot of weight. I have written about my experience living with Achalasia here (https://myblogpay.com/author/AngelKafui) to create awareness and hopefully help others also manage the disease.

There is a need for further investigations and treatment options, which are currently not available in Ghana. I have obtained specialist medical consultation with a medical care plan and cost estimate from Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, Canada. In total, I need CAD 60,000 to cover hospital (additional consultations, tests, new surgery), travel, living, and accommodation (when not on admission at the hospital) costs. Together with my family, we have raised CAD 10,000 so far. My family has always supported me, but we cannot cover all these costs by ourselves. I am therefore asking for donations to help me get important medical care. We greatly appreciate all your support and donations.