22-year-old Alashika sterling is scheduled to undergo a life saving kidney transplant within the next two weeks. We first met the nursing student in November of 2005 desperately trying to save her life. Since then Alashika has been successfully receiving dialysis treatment in Nashville, Tennessee through an arrangement with Derek Aikman and Light of the World Ministries. She is now healthy enough to receive her brother's kidney but there is one more problem. Alashika will need expensive medication so her body won't reject the kidney. What's more is that she needs part of that money before the transplant. Alashika's mother, brother, and her sister work at the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and to assist, hospital staff are sponsoring a fundraising relathon on Saturday. Her mother Marie Flowers today made one more plea for help.
Marie Flowers,
"They want an assurance that when she already gets the surgery, she will have the medication because if she doesn't have the medication they will not do the surgery so I want to ask all those out there if they could just help. We know that they can't help with the medication for all the days of her life but just to help so she can get a start on the medication."
Margaret Arana,
"On Saturday we'll be having a relathon called 'Running for Sterling.' We'll be running from Cayo to Belize City, one lap in Belmopan around the Ring Road. We are appealing to the public to call in and give pledges or to give the donation to a vehicle that will be transporting the runners on that day."
Moral support for Alashika's family is coming from Godfrey Sosa who last year successfully underwent a kidney transplant. You can pledge donations for the relathon at Scotia Bank account number 910-1700. You can also contact telephone numbers: 202-4523, 605-0735, 604-0202, or 601-3170.
