Fundraising required for young boy requiring brain scan

Any Donations, ideas and services gratefully received

The Larnaca Parents Network (LPN) are requesting assistance in fundraising for a young boy requiring a private brain scan.

The child – who appears to be suffering from multiple issues – comes from a single-parent family who receive no state assistance and have no family in Cyprus, and very little family back in the UK.

Due to the child's age, the window for diagnosis is limited and it may take up to a year and half to obtain the brain scan through the national health service, therefore having a private scan is the only option at this time, but one that the family cannot afford.

The initial scan would cost in the region of €600, and if a further scan is required, the cost for this would be around €1000.

At present, the boy attends school and is in a class for children with issues, but the school and mother are both struggling to cope as the issues accelerate and a diagnosis becomes imperative.

Sharon McKinley – founder of the LPN says: "The boy is not suffering from a terminal disease, but none-the-less, the situation is critical and time is of the essence is diagnosing him and then receiving the correct therapy or treatment. The mother is an active, working mother of the community who offers her time and services willingly whenever we have fundraising events, and now it is our turn to assist her in her hour of need."

A former teacher of the child explained that whilst the boy receives counselling sessions through the recommendation of the school, these have so far been very sporadic with many months in between appointments and zero progress made. She added that the boy appears to be stuck in the system with no one taking the issue as seriously as it is, or offering any real help.

A friend of the family also says that this situation needs urgent attention: "The mother struggles alone to not only deal with the challenges the boy poses, but to also keep the family afloat with what work she can get. She is not comfortable with asking others for help but is in desperate need of it. This is a child genuinely in need of treatment - who is being drastically failed by the system - and who, without a correct diagnosis, cannot start the healing process. A brain scan can quickly and unequivocally offer a diagnosis or at least rule out certain conditions."

Sharon says that whilst donations are most welcome, she knows that times are tough for everyone: "We would love to receive monetary donations, but I know that people are stretched to their limit, therefore, we are also open to ideas for fundraising events, as well as donations of products, services and time to make this happen. The mother is keen for people to get something in return for their donation, which is why she would like to arrange an event whereby donators enjoy a day out in exchange for their help. Alternatively, it would be fantastic if any doctors were willing to offer their services to the family as a community service. I urge anyone who can help to get in touch with us so that we can help a family that is genuinely suffering and needs the support and kindness of the community."

If you can assist in any way, please email the LPN on: info@larnacaparentsnetwork.com.

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly 26/09/14

Going places… - Paula Manoli-Gray

One of the complaints I hear regularly from ex-pats is that Cyprus doesn't have much to do in comparison with the UK. They cite the wonderful theatres, museums and theme parks and bemoan the perceived lack of educational and cultural activities for children on the island.

I do agree in part – who wouldn't want to be able to take their children to London's Natural History Museum or catch a West End musical? We haven't made it back to the UK since having the kids, but I am really looking forward to the day that I can show them places such as Madame Tussauds, the planetarium, Buckingham Palace, and even Pepa Pig World!

But I do not accept that there is nothing going on here. Every week in my capacity as a journalist I hear of a large and varied number of events taking place in Larnaca. Added to that are the list of permanent places of interest we have from museums and monuments to workshops and themed parks.

So it's not a lack of things to see and do that is our problem, I believe that the problem is simply a lack of awareness. I know that I myself wouldn't be aware of half the events taking place if I wasn't a journalist writing about them, and there are many more still that don't even make it on a journalist's radar and that I pick up from Facebook. Where are we going wrong?

As I do not watch Cypriot television I might be missing advertising there, but I do listen to local radio and the events they promote are mainly of the clubbing variety. Even some of the bigger events are not that extensively plugged, and on many an occasion, the final programme is not ready until a mere few days before the event (a reason that I often cannot promote some events, as they are not ready before my editorial deadline).

The other issue is that many events are promoted on a micro-level, ie, only amongst those involved, their families and friends and the particular industry they are affiliated to, so many events are very insular. But we have so many of them! Off the top of my head I could give you numerous suggestions of things to do and see any day of the week across the island, and I believe it would take me years to see everything Cyprus has to offer.

Through a Facebook page 'Kids Fun in Cyprus', we found a number of museums that we had not known about and have so far taken the kids to three; two in Nicosia and one in Limassol. At all three museums, I was asked where on earth a Larnaca family had heard of their little museum, as all three were surprised that word was getting out. The museums are small in size – nothing on the scale of other European cities – but we are small scale as an island, so it stands to reason. Personally, I found them to be just the right size for my young children's concentration levels. All three were enjoyable, well presented, inexpensive and educational, but no one I know had heard of them either. And therein lies the problem.

On another note, I am still deeply feeling the loss of Larnaca's greatest annual event ever – the West End musical brought directly from London every July 1 and 2. The event was stopped as a result of the financial crisis and was something I looked forward to all year round, as I am sure many others did too. Time to bring it back I think…

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 26/09/14

 

LPN Third Thursday with Author Penelope Magoulianiti -Women, Motherhood & Independence.

When:Thursday 16th October 2014

Time: 8pm - 9.30pm

Where: Apothikos Larnaca

An Evening with Penelope Magoulianiti dedicated mother of two, an inspirational speaker lifestyle coach and Author of Women, Motherhood & Independence.

We all want to live a full life as attractive women, loving mothers and wives, as well as respected professionals at the same time, but we just need a bit of inspiration occasionally on how to carry on.

Women in Larnaca will have the opportunity to learn some useful tips and strategies at the next Larnaca Parents Network’s monthly event from Penelope Magoulianiti, author and speaker, who uses her personal experiences as a roadmap for helping women and mothers – not only in Cyprus but internationally too – in finding their strengths and pursuing their dreams, while devoting time to their families.

Read full Interview here LINK

This is a Sponsored Event brought to you by Larnaca Parents Network

Caring for our Community

For further information please contact 96585496.

Музыкальный спектакль для детей "Про Данилу и Ненилу"

Московский музыкальный театр для детей и юношества «На Басманной» в рамках гастрольного турне по Кипру представит музыкальный спектакль для детей «Про Данилу и Ненилу».

Юных зрителей ждут захватывающие приключения и самые удивительные превращения, которые когда-либо случались с теми, кто любил… 
Спектакль расскажет ребятам о том, что истинная красота человека в его добром сердце и благородстве души.

Место и время проведения:
1 октября – Ларнака – театра Скала (17.00)
3 октября – Пафос – театр Маркидео (18.30)
4 октября – Лимассол – театр Агиос Афанасиос (18.00)

Продолжительность: 55 минут без антракта.

Возраст: 4+

Стоимость билетов: €12

Дополнительная информация по телефону: 96 30 2770
и на сайте: www.magictheatre.ru

Two sides to every coin - Paula Manoli-Gray

Saturday's screening on a documentary on natural birth versus c-section is a step in the right direction for an island that tops the lists for the highest number of c-section births, and I am strong advocate of natural birth. But despite my deepest wishes to give birth naturally, I unfortunately had to give birth by c-section both times I had my two children.

It was never in my plans; I did hypnotherapy, bought a TENS unit and drank raspberry leaf tea in the final month, all to prepare me for natural birth, and I was really looking forward to the experience.

But in my eighth month, I contracted a double-strain infection from my daily swimming pool sessions that is notoriously difficult to treat and requires very strong antibiotics, which I couldn't take during pregnancy. Giving birth naturally carried risks of stillbirth, pneumonia or meningitis for the infant.

The final month of pregnancy was awful for me and was spent in and out of the Dr's office having repeated swabs and tests in the hope that the infection would shift. My Dr, hubby and I kept the hope of a natural birth alive until the very last week when I had to face the realisation that it wasn't to be. Although the risk of my unborn child contracting the infection was small, any risk was a risk not worth taking.

The reaction from people was anger that once again someone was being forced to have a c-section, and some tried to insist that the risk was a fabricated one before finally accepting that it didn't matter how I gave birth, as long as the baby and I were safe and healthy.

So, I had my son by c-section (a horrible experience), breastfed for a week, stopped for two weeks to take the strong antibiotics (all the while pumping and discarding my milk, which was heartbreaking), then resumed giving him breast milk after the antibiotics were out of my system. When I was due to give birth to my daughter two years later, I had a c-section again to avoid tearing the stitches – the policy of my particular doctor – although I know some women do give birth naturally after a c-section.

My sister had a c-section too for her first child at the beginning of this year due to her placenta maturing too quickly, the baby being breach and the umbilical cord being wrapped around the baby's neck three times.

So, whilst I applaud all efforts to reduce the rate of c-sections on the island, and don't doubt that in some cases it can be avoided, we are also lucky to have this option for the cases where medically, a natural birth could be dangerous for mother and/or child. If my sister and I lived in the 'olden days' or in a country with an overworked state health system, we may not have given birth safely.

And whilst it is true our rate of c-sections is high and should be reduced, we also have to look at the infant mortality rate of Cyprus, which is very low. Yes, our private doctors here are overcautious and perform c-sections because they cannot risk their reputation, out of greed for money and also for the convenience of their schedules, but at the other end of the spectrum, you have state medical care in other countries that does the opposite and is willing to take risks for the sake of saving money and as a result of being understaffed.

I don't agree with opting for c-sections so readily, but at the end of the day, there are always two sides to every coin…

First appeared in The Cyprus Weekly, 19/09/14