Emily Karakatsanis is no ordinary 15-year-old girl. Rather than enjoying her carefree teenage years making memories with friends, she spends every day in pain, unable to get through a whole school day.
Diagnosed with two rare diseases, Behcet’s Disease and Hyper Eosinophilia, in addition to Mast Cell Activation, Emily is facing a whole host of side affects that impact on her daily life.
“She suffers with exhaustion, mouth ulcers, colon ulcers, severe joint pain, breathlessness, dizziness, low blood pressure and migraines with aura,” a close friend of the family’s, Liz Hondrakis, told Neos Kosmos.
“Emily struggles to get through a school day and missed two terms of school last year. She is a remarkable young lady with much courage and strength, always putting on a brave face and never feels sorry for herself.”
However, without treatment Emily’s diseases could be fatal.
Specialists in Australia are yet to determine the best treatment to suppress the diseases and minimise their effects, and so in a desperate search the 15-year-old’s family have taken her to both England and the United States to meet with leading world specialists in an attempt to discover any treatment options available.
Yet such trips have led to large out of pocket expenses and with a mounting debt of ongoing travel and medical bills in both Australia and abroad, Emily’s family are finding it tough to manage.
“I have witnessed their struggles, determination and their will to stop at nothing – to give the best possible care to their daughter. I would like to do the same,” said Ms Hondrakis.
To help assist the family with the costs involved, Ms Hondrakis has organised a fundraising dinner dance at the Oakleigh Grammar School hall, taking place on Saturday 27 June. Cost of entry includes a four course meal and live entertainment throughout the night. For the purpose of the live and silent auctions which will also take place on the night, organisers would greatly appreciate the donation of any items, packages or services.
“One hundred per cent of the proceeds will go to Emily’s family to help support them and their quest for helping Emily,” assures Ms Hondrakis.
To purchase tickets ($69 pp) or to donate an item or service contact Liz on 0408 900 918 or via email lizah2009@hotmail.com If you are unable to donate an item/service, but wish to make a monetary contribution, you can donate directly to a fund set up in Emily’s name:
Account Name: Emily Desiree Boardman Karakatsanis
BSB: 193 879
Account No: 432263584
Bank of Melbourne or by visiting gofund.me/BenefitForEmily