Dijonay needs loving hands to kick liver disease
Two years ago, 18-year-old Dijonay “DJ” Harris, a Wolmer’s High School for Girls alumnus, was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver — an autoimmune disease — and her life has been uprooted since. Today, Dijonay is in dire need of a liver transplant, which doctors say is her only shot at survival.
Her family has been left to somehow raise US$1 million, and so they have come forward, asking Jamaica for assistance. So far they have accumulated US$16,940 from donations on a GoFundMe account that was created five days ago.
“Since then, our family has been completely fraught with a difficult journey. We have been absolutely distraught and overwhelmed since her doctor’s diagnosis. We are trying everything humanly possible to get her the best of care and assistance. At her tender age of 18 years old, the best chapters of her life have been completely stripped away and replaced with pain and anguish,” Dijonay’s aunty, Stacyann McFarlane Francis told the Jamaica Observer.
“We need all the help we can. My niece has a bright future and has the desire to become a doctor. We appreciate all the donations, thoughts, prayers, and information you all have blessed us with, it means a lot to our family in such a hard time.”
Cirrhosis of the liver is a late-stage liver disease in which the healthy liver tissue is replaced with scar tissue and the liver is permanently damaged. Scar tissue keeps the liver from working properly.
Since September 2020, McFarlane Francis said Dijonay’s cirrhosis has increased rapidly and has now started to slowly deteriorate her body.
“It is heartbreaking to say that it has progressed to its last stages and is impossible for her to recover without a liver transplant. As a family, we are trying to do everything in our powers to keep her alive and to gather as many funds, information, and resources as quickly as possible to shed hope and positivity on our situation.
“We are in the midst of getting DJ an emergency international medical transfer to the United States from Kingston, Jamaica, in which she resides, as they do not have the proper resources to treat her condition, especially at the rapid rate it is progressing.”
McFarlane Francis told the Sunday Observer that the family was told by doctors that the only hope for survival is a liver transplant.
“We have never wanted to ask for financial help, but we now find ourselves with no other option. This GoFundMe campaign has been set up to help support our beloved DJ’s transportation, medical, and personal-care needs as she continues her fight to beat this life-threatening disease and receive a liver transplant,” she said.
McFarlane Francis added: “We would like to thank all of you who have been following DJ’s story thus far. She has been greatly touched by your thoughts and prayers. The outpouring of love on social media, text, and phone calls has brought us all together during these challenging times.”
Anyone wishing to help can make a donation at:
