0 Health shelter needs donations

Seven-year-old Ahmad Surya slept soundly in one room at the sheltered accommodation for cancer patients in Denpasar, where he was accompanied by his grandparents. Clothes and other things were seen scattered on the floor of the house, which is provided by the Indonesian Cancer Foundation. Located on Jl. Pulau Aru, around five minutes from Sanglah Hospital and close to the foundation’s office, this house, with its limited facilities, has only been open since late last year. 

There is only one bed in each room. The family, from Sumbawa, East Nusa Tenggara, had to wait for another week before the doctor at Sanglah Hospital could examine the little boy, who is suffering from leukemia. They only found out that he had the disease three months ago when Surya was hospitalized in Mataram. He was referred to Bali due to limited medical facilities for cancer patients there. His grandfather and grandmother have been taking care of him since his mother passed away and his father chose to work in Java. 

“We are living temporarily in this house because we don’t have any relatives in Denpasar. A doctor at the hospital told us about the house, and we’ve been staying here for a week,” said Idilfitri, the grandmother. Each person is charged Rp 5,000 (52 US cents) per day if they stay longer than five days. However, patients with certain conditions could stay for free. For this farmer couple, taking return trips between Denpasar and Sumbawa would be very costly. Fortunately, the hospital fees are covered by a healthcare insurance for poor people. 

“In Sanglah, all the rooms are occupied because most of the patients’ families stay there. It’s good that we can stay in this house,” she said. Ni Putu Sandat, one of the house caretakers, said donations were needed to provide better facilities for those staying there, including sheets, cupboards, kitchen utensils, books and magazines. “We already received beds donated by the alumni of [state high school] SMA 1 Denpasar,” she said. The cancer foundation provided the house to help the increasing number of poor families of cancer patients from outside Bali. 

The increasing number of cancer patients has caused Sanglah Hospital’s rooms to be at over capacity, as the patients’ families also stay there, especially in the area for third class patients. Some of the relatives have to stay in the crowded rooms and corridors for weeks, even months, to take care of their loved ones. Besides the sheltered accommodation, the Indonesian Cancer Foundation also provides pap smears and low-priced medicines for patients undergoing chemotherapy. The foundation is looking for a support group to share their burden. They also need a blood donor network to make it easier to find donors, because blood cancer patients usually need a lot of blood transfusions.

source : bali daily