A letter from the pain clinic

"Dear Jedi Tedi

Shana and Jed, you have done such amazing work with Jedi Tedi and with raising awareness for Red Cross War Memorial Children’s hospital Pain unit.

We are continuously stopped by our medical professors and other disciplines all saying “well done, did you see the article in the newspaper” or and “you were on the radio, do you know, did you hear?”

Thank you! We never expected to be placed on a national platform in the manner you have achieved. We acknowledge you and Jed for all your exceptional work and we are humbled.

We are in reach of one of our goals that has eluded us for 5 years if not more: our goal to collaborate with the world renowned pain management clinic in London.

We were invited to attend an Observer Placement at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) in London for 2 weeks. GOSH is one of the leading paediatric hospitals in a first world country managing chronic and acute pain. This is an amazing opportunity for us to hone our skills to benefit our South African Population. While there, we will spend all our time in the pain and rheumatology unit. This is an extraordinary opportunity for us to compare first world insight and access to resources to our situation, and gain knowledge to guide policy and guideline development.

We currently provide services to acute and chronic pain patients to the best of our ability, of which CRPS is the most complex. We feel that we still have lots to share, but also lots to learn. Our primary goal will always be to enhance and improve our skill so that we may render a better, more effective and efficient service to our patients.

Unfortunately this all comes at a cost. We are currently struggling to access funds to support the trip. We estimate that it will cost us each approximately R40 000 for travel and accommodation for the 2 weeks.

We are humbly asking for your assistance to help us source funds to enable us to go."