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Tasha Appeal reaches crisis point T HE LOCAL COMMUNITY has been supporting the ‘Tasha Appeal’ since the 24 year old was struck down by four separate life threatening conditions. Tasha’s father, Andy Lynch, is desperately trying to raise over €200,000 to get Tasha to the US for specialist treatment for her rare mitochondrial disease. However, the fundraising has become top priority for Andy and Tasha as yet another medical crisis struck down the youngster this week. Tasha’s condition is
deteriorating quickly and if Andy doesn’t raise the money soon, her condition will be too far gone to be reversed. Tasha isn’t eligible for UK benefits as she is not a UK resident. She has applied for help from the Spanish Social Security Department and has been waiting for two years for a definitive answer. While it is hoped her official situation can be resolved, the fundraising must continue. Andy explained, “I don’t have time to wait for someone in an office to decide to stamp a form in a few months’ time – my daughter
could be dead by then. It’s an awful thing to say, but that is the reality.” Last week, Tasha had another attack which ended up in a hospital stay and an operation carried out without anaesthetic (anaesthetic could cause massive problems to Tasha’s other conditions and treatment). The operation saw the medical team at Torrevieja hospital insert a PICC line (a peripherally inserted central catheter) into a main vein in the arm and run it up towards Tasha’s heart. This will stay in place permanently and will provide constant IV
CostaBlancaPeople 28th November - 4th December 2017
access for infusions as once again, Tasha’s veins had given up on her. She found out how dangerous this could be during the summer when she was unable to receive IV antibiotics for an infection and needed to be resuscitated when her heart stopped. Dad Andy had to watch as a crash team worked frantically to save her. No parent should ever go through that and Tasha now needs that treatment and fast. Over the last 2 years Tasha’s life has been devastated by these rare life changing illnesses – the mitochondrial being the primary disease but complicated by other rare secondary illnesses. She has gone from being the life and soul of the community, to fighting the biggest battle anyone of us could ever face – the battle for life. Since her diagnosis the family has discovered information from a research hospital in America about a treatment of specialist tailored medication that could improve quality of life and possibly extend Tasha’s life expectancy. However, due to the treatment being tailor made for the patient, it is very expensive. The disease has struck Tasha in such a devastating way that she is currently paralysed from the waist down, unable to breathe unaided and relies on a ventilator
and tracheotomy, 24 hours a day. She is unable to swallow, and is fed through a tube. Blind in her left eye and light sensitive in her right eye, Tasha is even unable to support her own head unaided. But with Continued on page 3
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