Funding Request: $2,553.52 CAD
Critical Need: CNIMK0724
Arockia Arthi is nineteen years old and she’s in her second year of a B.A. in English literature. She and her younger sister, Esther, live in their grandmother’s house. Her uncle Maragatham supports the family financially, and Esther has a Chalice sponsor through the Madurai site. Esther’s sponsor supports them with their education and food.
In April 2024, Arockia Arthi started feeling pain in her right arm. It would get worse whenever she wrote her papers for school. Sometimes she felt tingling and numbness in her fingers.
So, her uncle took her to the hospital for a consultation. An X-ray didn’t reveal any abnormality, and the doctor supposed it was a pulled muscle. He gave her pain medication, but the symptoms did not abate.
She tried a second hospital, where again, pain medication didn’t help. Finally, she went to a third hospital. There the doctor ran a CT scan and she saw an orthopedic specialist, who saw that Arockia Arthi had a cervical rib on her right side. A cervical rib is an extra growth the base of her neck just above her collarbone; she would have been born with it.
The extra growth was blocking the blood flow in the vein, causing the pain and tingling in her arm. He advised surgery to remove the cervical rib.
Arockia Arthi underwent the surgery and post-op smoothly. Now she’s no longer having pain or other symptoms. Fifteen days after the surgery, she attended a follow-up visit to the hospital for a few tests. All were clear.
But Arockia Arthi’s unexpected medical challenge – and her diagnostic hurdles – generate out-of-pocket bills of $2,553.52 CAD. Maragatham faces fees and charges for his niece’s operation, consultations, nursing care, medicine, and diagnostic work.
Arockia Arthi went to the parents in Esther’s Chalice family circle and requested help. The Madurai site staff reviewed the situation and have requested to cover Arockia Arthi’s medical expenses.
Please note that any donations that exceed the request will be used to fund other critical need emergencies that may arise.
