Family of Shona Allie appeals to community for urgent medical support

The family of 71-year-old community worker Shona Allie from Rocklands is urgently appealing for help from the community to assist with medical costs for treatment she desperately needs. 

She has been living with severe pain since falling into a council-maintained drain in September 2023 while on her way to visit inmates at Pollsmoor Prison.

Her daughter, Faiza Allie-Palmer, said: “My mother injured her hip and knee in the fall, and doctors later discovered she also has osteoporosis and a genetic form of osteoarthritis in her lumbar spine.” 

Small bony growths have developed on her vertebrae, pressing on her sciatic nerves, which is preventing her from lying flat. For more than eight months, she has been forced to sleep sitting upright in her wheelchair due to the pain.

Speaking to the Plainsman recently at the Beaconvale Frail Care Centre in Beacon Valley, Ms Allie said the immediate priority is an MRI scan at Melomed Hospital to give a clear diagnosis and determine whether surgery to remove the bony growths is possible.

She has been to five government hospitals across the Western Cape, including Victoria Hospital, Groote Schuur Hospital, False Bay Hospital, and Mitchell’s Plain District Hospital, but has not received a definitive treatment plan, said Ms Palmer.

Samantha Lee-Jacobs, spokesperson for the Western Cape Department of Health and Wellness, said Ms Allie has been treated at several state facilities, most recently at Mitchell’s Plain District Hospital’s orthopaedics clinic on Tuesday, July 1. 

Ms Lee-Jacobs said when hospitals cannot provide specialist care on-site, patients are referred to tertiary facilities. She said further medical details could not be shared without Ms Allie’s consent, but encouraged her to return to her nearest healthcare facility for assistance.

Ms Allie is known for her work in prison rehabilitation, having volunteered for more than 33 years both locally and internationally. She provided spiritual support, counselling, and assistance to inmates and their families, often helping with food, clothing, and other needs.

She also visited correctional facilities in countries such as New Zealand, Brazil, England, and Thailand as part of faith-based rehabilitation initiatives.

Even after retiring at 70, she continued visiting prisons at the request of families, Ms Allie said.

Her family's focus is on getting her the medical help she needs.

“We are asking anyone who can help to please come forward,” Ms Palmer said.

“The MRI is the first step to finding out if there is a way to relieve her pain.”

For more information, contact Ms Palmer at 069 960 4773.