BABY REINA NEEDS YOU

It was October 2022 when hubs and I went to Japan to build and start our next chapter. I started working the following month, full time. I felt so so so tired after work, like exhaustion that I’ve never felt before when I was working in Pampanga. Little did we know, that there’s this little one starting to grow, who’s about to change our lives.

I needed to stop working, to focus on my pregnancy. We had so much to adjust, pregnancy hormones tested my relationship with my husband, thankfully, our baby made us closer than ever, we had our own way to settle things and have a better rapport. We came up with a better solution and better way of communicating with each other more than ever.

At 14 weeks, i was having my ultrasound before my flight going back to the Philippines, when they saw ‘fetal ascites’ and ‘mass lesion’ in her left lung. She was diagnosed of having ‘hydrops fetalis’ which is life threatening for a fetus growing. We were transferred from women’s clinic to Tosei General hospital, to do some tests.

At 16 weeks, it was confirmed that her ascites is drastically increasing, and it was seen that her heart is pushed to the right side, and her left lung is not developing due to the mass lesion. We were asked to do a lot of tests the same day. We had to do MRI, chromosome tests, blood tests, etc.

At 18 weeks, previous examinations’ results were out and we were transferred to a higher center — Nagoya University Hospital. We were examined again. They explained that, the mass lesion in her left lung is already bigger than her heart. No way to develop her lung, and her heart is already in the middle of her torso. It was suspected that she is having a ‘Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation’. We were told that IUFD is our main concern during that time.

At 19 weeks, we went back to Tosei General Hospital, bringing the results from NUH. After some discussions, i had to do Amniocentesis, to rule out some suspected diagnosis. Good news that everything from that was normal. But… we were given an option to medically abort her, due to her condition, where they expect her that she wont be able to breathe when she comes out cause of her undeveloped left lung, or keep the baby, and just wait for her heart to stop or hope that she will be able to finish the full term.

Hubs and I were in a very tough spot, especially that he went back to the Philippines 3 months earlier than I did. We were talking thru video call, of our what ifs, hows, and whys. At one point, we were leaning to a decision which we medically abort her, thinking, “papahirapan mo pa ba si baby na magstruggle to breathe paglabas, and dala dala nya oxygen nya wherever she goes, that will ruin her quality of life?”. But we decided to fight for her, since she is fighting very hard while on the inside, based on how she moves during ultrasound. She fights in the inside, we fight on the outside.

At 25 weeks, I went back here in the Philippines, we were checked immediately, having the same diagnosis, fetal ascites, lung mass lesion, compressed heart, and we were told that, “tapusin naten yung term, pero may chance padin na while nasa loob sya, she will die, or paglabas nya, she wont be able to breathe, and will die din, but lets continue to pray.”

At 27 weeks, we were checked, and we had a good news that her fetal ascites is no longer evident (Yay). But it was seen that i have a Myoma, and baby’s head is having an edema. We needed to undergo a lot of tests to confirm and know her final prognosis.

At 28 weeks, we had to do Congenital Anomaly Scan, and it showed that one of the veins in her brain is dilated, that will possibly cause her cerebral aneurysm or down-syndrome. It was also seen that, her right lung is already enlarged, due to doing the work double for her pulmonary since left lung is not functioning. We were also advised that I should take a lot of rest, the risk of giving birth prematurely is high, and we are hoping to push through her atleast 36 weeks.

At 29 weeks, we were transferred to a Perinatologist, and we were told that, after giving birth, baby will stay in the NICU for 10 days to settle down, and will undergo a surgery to remove her lung tumor, and another 1 month in the NICU to help her develop her lungs and hope that her heart will go back to its original position. We were also informed about our possible 7 digit expense for giving birth and surgery of our baby.

While dealing with our baby’s condition, hubs was diagnosed of having a nasal tumor, and needed to undergo a biopsy since it is causing him to nosebleed.

Now that we are in our 30th week, we still have to do a lot examinations and tests. A lot of things that we need to think about, ‘how are we going to accumulate all that needed money in just 6-8 weeks?’, ‘when are we going to start fixing the nursery?’, and of course, ‘can she endure the surgery pain, and is she gonna survive?’.

Our Reina si strong, we know that. We are trying to be strong for her as well.

We are still in the middle of our battle, but a lot of friends, acquaintances, and relatives, are helping us financially, emotionally, and giving us a lot and more more more support already. You guys know who you are. We couldn’t thank you enough. Thank you so much for being with us in this battle.

We had a preterm delivery last May 28 2023. We already know that our daughter will enter NICU when she comes out due to her Congenital Pulmonary Airway Malformation.

Last June 12, Reina underwent thoracotomy and removal of her left lung. The procedure was successful but Reina remains in the NICU for recovery and further monitoring. As of the moment, the medical and hospital bills for Reina were pushed 7 DIGITS (X, XXX, XXX), still excluding professional fees.

We, the parents of Reina, appeal to the kindness and generosity of your hearts. Baby Reina is a fighter and survivor, but she still needs her high-cost medicines. Please help us pay for hospital and medical expenses, that we may aide her through this journey. Any monetary help will be humbly and gratefully accepted. Please also include her in your prayers. Your genuine support would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much!