Shaphan Domingo Needs Your Help!
Shaphan Domingo was only twenty years old when he was shot four times. One of the bullets hit his spine and left him paralyzed and eventually he lost both legs. For the past few years, he has been trying to get help to undergo surgeries for a chronic urinary tract infection as well as for stones. An organization called Global Surgical Expedition has been working in Belize for ten years and has stepped up to cover the cost of his medical procedures. But now, Domingo is need of at least five thousand five hundred dollars to make the trip to the U.S. Today, support group One Struggle and Global Surgical Expedition, told us how you can help Domingo. News Five’s Andrea Polanco reports.
Shaphan Domingo, Paraplegic [File: April 10th, 2018]
“The man take it the other way and the man gone fi ih gun and come back to the yard and just finish yeah. The first shot actually miss my head and after that the man just start to squeeze up the trigger and like four different shots I get—one of them touch the spine and cause the paralysis.”
Andrea Polanco, Reporting
Shaphan Domingo has no legs and is paralyzed from the chest down. He can only get around in his wheelchair. He was shot four times back in 2007 when he was just twenty-years-old. But while he looks happy and healthy sitting behind this desk today, the truth is that his health is rapidly deteriorating and he is in need of urgent surgeries.
Dr. Marcos Rugama
Dr. Marcos Rugama, Urologist, K.H.M.H.
“He is suffering from pain, chronic UTI. Probably the UTI will be difficult to control, but remember he is a patient with paraplegia and they have different problems. And of course, if they don’t remove these and remove the stones, he will die soon. It will finish with renal failure. Really this is a procedure that requires high technology and it is very expensive.”
And those surgeries will cost about twenty thousand U.S. dollars – but thanks to Global Surgical Expedition, it will be free for Shaphan. And now he needs to find six thousand Belize dollars to go to do the surgeries in Richmond, Virginia, where he will stay for about three to four weeks. He must be in the U.S.A by August nineteenth.
Marielli Black, Mission Coordinator, Global Surgical Expedition
Marielli Black
“He will need about basically three different surgeries. Between two to three weeks he will be very busy with surgeries. We are trying to team up with One Struggle. We are trying to collaborate to make this possible. We are trying to work on tickets and visa. His surgery will be free of cost because that was donated by the hospital in Richmond along with other doctors. But we have other expenses which are his tickets, visa and places where he will stay where he will need to stay to recover after those surgeries”
Shaphan is part of a group called One Struggle. It is a grassroots organization working with families and persons affected by gun violence. Victims, like Shaphan, don’t always have the support – so that is why Spokesperson Philip Willoughby made a plea on his behalf.
Philip Willoughby
Philip Willoughby, Spokesperson, One Struggle
“He needs the surgery and his situation is still bigger than that back here. He is a young man living by himself, caring for himself. While he has the One Struggle family, it is still a struggle for Shaphan everyday to get up and lead a normal life. So, if anyone can find it within themselves, please make a donation for Shaphan so that he can go and do this much needed urgent surgery. Why is it so? Shaphan is in the hospital nearly every other week. These young men go through their struggles and challenges and people don’t understand the repercussion of picking up a gun, shooting someone, and leaving them like this – the cost, the pain, that they go through every single day of their life. And for us, it is not every day that the One Struggle family can be there but we try to be there as much as we can.”
And as he made his appeal, Shaphan shared a message to remind others of the consequences of gun violence.
Shaphan Domingo, Paraplegic
Shaphan Domingo
“I just deh yah fi try reach out to the public to get as much assistance to try and get the tickets, visa and to try reach out of the country and get the surgery. Most people already know this is the not the first time I am reaching out to try get assistance to go outside of the country to get my surgery done. It is like two three years ago. Just fi hear the cost of what this surgery cost is between twenty to thirty thousand U.S and I could neva come up with that. If it weren’t for these people here, I don’t know what mi wah happen. Before you fi decide to pick up a gun and shoot somebody – think about the repercussions. The same thing might happen to you and your family and you might end up inna the same situation.”
Andrea Polanco reporting for News Five.
To help Domingo get to the Richmond, Virginia, you can make financial contribution to Marielli Black’s Holy Redeemer Credit Union Account number 6-9-5-1-9.
