A Worcester woman is trying to raise nearly half a million rand to give her dying husband a second chance at life.
Chris Phillips, 39, is suffering from Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA) – a degenerative disease where his nervous system has been damaged so much that it affects his speech and movement to the point of paralysis and even death.
Formerly a reverend at the United Reformed Church in Wolseley, Chris was forced to go into early retirement three years ago, at the age of 37, after he started slurring his speech and experiencing problems walking.
Now, the dad of two can hardly speak or walk, but doctors in China may have a way to help Chris.
His wife, Natasha Phillips, a lecturer at Boland College, says Chris lived for the church.
“Everyone was emotional when he had to retire because he wanted to continue doing the Lord’s work, but the disease was holding him back,” she says.
Natasha, who knew about her husband’s condition before they got married as Chris' father had the disease, did her own research and found a treatment centre in Beijing, that could improve the quality of life for Chris.
The advanced stem cell surgery will see doctors implanting new nerve stem cells into Chris’ spine to replace the dead nerves.
The groundbreaking surgery will be performed at the Wu Medical Centre in Beijing and would be led by Chief Neurologist Like Wu and one other doctor.
The life-changing surgery will cost $20 000, and with travelling and accommodation costs for two weeks, the family’s bill would come to a whopping R400 000.
Speaking from Beijing, Dr Like says Chris is a good candidate for this surgery as nerve function was still present.
“The surgery will last 20 minutes each time, and we will perform three surgeries before the treatment is done,” he explains.
He says Chris’ speech and muscle movement would start improving two weeks after the surgery.
And although it wouldn’t cure him of SCA, it would improve Chris’ speech and movement by a massive 80 percent.
The family has created a Facebook page called #LetsHelpChris and thus far have held a benefit concert to raise funds for the campaign.
The operation has been scheduled for May and so far the family has raised R120 000.
Natasha says: “We are overwhelmed by all the support and donations we have been getting, and we have just been so blessed.”