A lifetime of chronic kidney disease

As of early October the balance of donations and expenses is as follows:

Since then Homer has had another surgical cleaning of his bedsores (new ones also developed.)

He has been confined for several days now because of an episode of hypoglycemia, wherein he lost consciousness and was sweating profusely. They were able to revive him but he has been deteriorating with infections and pneumonia. I doubt that the amount that we currently have now (bolstered hugely by two large donation of 50k each in October) will be sufficient for the expenses of October and this current confinement that looks to be a prolonged one.

Tess is beside herself with sadness, from her Facebook page:

"It is the darkest, deepest place one can travel to alone,

A solo journey filled with struggles and groans.
Every day is a new battle against the same foe,
But the enemy fights back with psychological blows.
It creeps up on you in your most vulnerable state,
Especially when there's no one around who can relate.
Thoughts in your mind begin to swirl and swell,
Which drag you into your own subconscious hell.
Figments and entities from your past
Serve as the pain, which you can't outlast.
Finally sleep always comes as a welcomed friend,
But it the morning the ceaseless battle begins yet again.

By:
Max S.

Am I the only one holding on....
Am I selfish that I don’t want to let you go....???"

We ask again for help, to ease at least her financial worries and this challenge of which we hope will have a joyful resolution.

Thank you once again.

Homer is currently confined for a night because he had to undergo another minor surgery for the cleaning of his bed sore, the same one which just refuses to heal properly.

This update has been late in coming this month for several reasons - Mother Lily (hehehe) has been away on a cruise (luckily it was not on the Titanic, so she returned home safe.) She was visiting her grandchildren, doing her Lola duties and eating too much, kaya ayan, ubo-ubo.

Tess has been very busy with her DepEd projects and had to go on several out of town trips. Of course, all the while worrying about Homer and his bedsores and thrice weekly dialysis.

So here I was, left in Manila, forlorn and neglected. Hahaha (Reyna ng Vicks.)

So here is the balance of donations since we began the campaign in July, to date. And the expenses for July to September, including the fistula surgery and the confinement due to pneumonia and bedsores and other complications.

Because of your generosity, as they say, nakaraos, and we are left with a balance that should see us through October and November, barring no confinements or complications and if Tess is successful in getting PCSO aid this month.

The witches (Lil, Anne, myself, and now, Joanna) will be getting together sometime this month to brainstorm on other ways to raise money for Homer. Of course this is a messy time of year, as Christmas approaches, traffic builds up, and people are beginning to focus on buying presents, planning trips out of town, entertaining balikbayan relatives.

We hope you will set aside a portion of your Christmas to share with Tess and Homer, not for a fancy feast or new clothes, but for the next dialysis session and nappies and medicines.

Because... you know... may the spirit of Christmas be always in our hearts... Let's sing Merry Christmas 🤣

(sorry, I just had to make you sing...) 🎄🌲🎅

Attached is the "public" list of donors, with initials only for you to review. If you feel that you have been missed, please PM me or Lil for clarification. Thank you

I just received notice of a donation of 10k from CC. I won't include his name as it was sent as anonymous, so I respect his privacy. I have no other way to send a Thank you, so I hope you see this.
Thank you so much. Your donation has come just in time as we are beginning to worry, since the current medical bill will wipe out what has been left of the donations! Thank you for your generosity.

Current medical bill:

Homer was confined over the weekend and remains in hospital. He was brought to the ER because of persistent fever and weakening and an inability to eat. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and the doctor wanted to get to the bottom of why his bedsore would not heal. (Aside of course from his being diabetic.) He has two large sores (and I will not post the photos because some may be faint-hearted.) One is on his back and another on his foot. Unfortunately, their househelp did not return after a day off, so it has been hard for Tess to care for him and do all the chores, as well as attend to the thrice weekly dialysis sessions, when of course she has to be at work. When she brought Homer to the ER, she was also running a fever and had flu like symptoms.

Both are better now. Homer had to undergo debridement of the bedsores and is now taking a course of antibiotics. The doctor has required him to stay confined until the antibio treatment is done so the sores can be monitored better and for Homer to regain strength and maybe continue his physical therapy so he becomes mobile again.

Of course all of this costs. Luckily, Anne had the brilliant idea of purchasing a Maxicard ER card that helped defray a large part of the costs of the emergency consultation that would have otherwise eaten into the wellness kitty for dialysis and medications.

Although the amount collected seems comfortable at 250k, 51k of that had been collected before this campaign was started and was already largely spent. Another 54k was spent in the months of July and August for medication and dialysis and the fistula surgery. Of course there are a lot of background daily expenses, such as diapers and special nutrition that must be covered, as well.

We do not have the current running balance of this hospitalization yet, but I am sure that it will take a sizeable chunk out of the remaining 140k reserved for these eventualities.

So we continue to ask for help for Homer, as in the same breath we send out our sincerest thanks to all who have already given of their time, prayers, sacrificing some of their own needs and wants to pull out what they can from their pockets to give Homer and Tess the hope that is keeping them going. Thank you and God bless your generous hearts.

Homer has undergone fistula surgery and his spirits were lifted with that. But unfortunately Homer has taken a turn for the worse. He has an awful back sore that will not heal and must be checked. He also has a very bad cough that requires nebulizing three times a day. That also requires a visit to the doctor. Because of his difficulties he cannot eat a good meal and must survive, for now, on food supplements.

There has been a lull in the flow of donations, and we have to push again and find other means to assist Homer and Tess, whose work is already being affected.

Attached are the expenses they have incurred for July and August. These are the very basic medicines and hospital fees (luckily with assistance for the dialysis from Philhealth.) As you can see the monthly costs are now low. And these are the bare necessities. He also needs diapers, and transport costs to and from the hospital and of course allowances for his caregivers when Tess has to be at work, to name just a few background expenses. We also include a rough list of projected expenses per month

We continue to knock and reach out to you.

What he survives on now.

The most recent photo of Homer

This is the list I have of donations received through this GGF and through direct paypal, via bank deposits, or amounts personally handed to Liliian or Tess. We have kept the list to initials only. If you feel your donation has been overlooked, please email me at [email protected] with the details of your donation so I can double check the source records (paypal, bank, person.)

We would like to personally thank those who have donated that we do not personally know, but paypal does not provide the senders email address and some of the bank deposits remain anonymous, and so we are unable to do so. Please know that although we are unable to acknowledge your kindness, we are very appreciative. God bless you.

Thank you to our donors, today, Homer was able to have his fistula insertion surgery at Metro Antipolo Hospital and Medical Center. After all discounts (Philhealth and PWD) he spent about 19,000 for the surgery. Homer is back home now and cheerful that he was able to undergo this surgery thanks to your kindness.

He was supposed to have a really awful back sore drained but instead the doctor cleaned it and he has been told to put some sort of medicate derma patch, and change it daily until the sore heals. A patch costs (after discounts) 350 pesos a day. Again, he will be able to attend to healing this with your help!

We thank you for the kindness you have shown and the hope and joy that Homer is now feeling because of your open hearts. May you be blessed in many ways!

💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

This is my current accounting of the donations we have received - thru Lil, thru me, or directly into the hands of Tess /bank account of Homer. We have kept to initials to ensure the privacy of the donors. Those marked anonymous are donations we received directly into the bank and were not emailed as to who sent it. If you could be so kind as to inform us (unless you really prefer not to let us know) for our recording purposes. To those we have no contact email, please accept the sincerest gratitude and thanks from Homer and Tess (as well as Lil and myself.) You have no idea how much this has turned around the lack of hope and desperation that Homer was going through. May you be blessed multifold in many ways for this kindness. God bless you all.