The cane helps overcome the difficulties of walking and climbing stairs. With her, from bar to bar, on nights in the central region of Belo Horizonte, Deborah Mara Diniz Moraes, 63, asks permission and approaches customers, snacking on salty snacks retired from Minas Gerais. “The owner of the establishment has given me permission to be here,” she begins. So, Deborah says she has amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a disease that, along with Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases today.
In the conversation, Débora shows the reports and tests, and talks about the difficulty of obtaining the final amount of R$19,000 needed to pay for the treatment consisting of a stem cell transplant. According to her, this procedure can only be performed in Campinas, a city within São Paulo, and is not covered by the Unified Health System (SUS). The operation is the same one that actress and comedian Claudia Rodrigues, 54, underwent. The artist lives with multiple sclerosis, but she has improved after the surgery.
“I already have a large portion of the R$84,000 I need, but I am short of R$19,000,” she says, still at the bar, competing for customers’ attention with the sound of music and loud conversations. Deborah remembers raising money by working as a salt shop and asking for help at nightlife establishments in the Center, Midlands and South in recent years.
Accumulating the total amount becomes increasingly necessary: without a large intestine (stool is removed through an artificial opening in the abdomen, a procedure called a colostomy), Deborah loses mobility, suffers respiratory complications and eats only liquids. Every day without surgery is a day of suffering, but also a day of hope for the brave and strong older woman.
“I know that the disease has no cure, but surgery will give me a better quality of life,” he told reporters in a bar in the capital.
Anyone who wants and can help Deborah Diniz can make a transfer via Pix by calling (31) 98319-0129 or Contribute to online crowdfunding created by the retiree.
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