Extend Our Mommy Rose’s Life

We are an extended family seeking help for our Mommy Rustica "Rose" Miranda, daughter of Jovito Valerio Sr., who is suffering from acute myeloid leukemia, a type of cancer of the blood that occurs when a person’s bone marrow begins to produce “blasts” or cells that do not mature into normal blood cells (RBC, WBC, platelets).

Common symptoms include nausea, weakness, and fatigue. The disease brings down the number of white blood cells which serve as the body’s protection against foreign bodies that often cause illnesses, leaving the patient unable to ward off infections. Because of the low blood cell count, the patient may also suffer severe bruising even with little or no impact stimuli.

A couple of months ago, Mommy Rose suddenly experienced these symptoms. But since they are not uncommon, we did not think it was something of note. That was our biggest mistake.

Our Mommy started needing frequent monitoring of medical experts. She had been in and out of the hospital, constantly needing blood transfusion. While we have been receiving much support from people close to us particularly in giving their blood, we are now faced with a bigger problem—one that involves every man’s headache: money.

While the blood donors voluntarily share their blood with our Mommy Rose without asking for anything in return, we have been having difficulty in funding the testing and screening of the blood before it is transfused to her as well as the hospital expenses that include medicines, several doctors’ professional fees, and her stay in the medical facility.

After realizing how grave her illness is, Mommy Rose consulted us on whether she should continue aggressive treatment which includes radiotherapy and chemotherapy. While many cancer patients opt to go through this, Mommy Rose believes her body won’t allow it. You see, she is already in her late 60s so the doctor did not recommend the aggressive types of treatment despite the severity of her condition. She was offered a less aggressive chemotherapy but even with that, the rate of her recovery is still very low which is at 26% at best in the next 5 years.

Still, we wanted to fight the cancer with her and encouraged that she undergo treatment even if it isn’t chemotherapy. Since we’re running out of options, we looked for other ways to make her healthier and stumbled upon a local hospital that offers alternative medicine. This particular medical facility has plenty of patients with cancer and similar illnesses—some of which are terminal—who appear to be getting better as they continue their treatment. Because of that, we decided to try this particular treatment.

After undergoing the alternative treatment for two weeks, Mommy Rose started to look healthier. She was able to stay out of the hospital or more than six weeks whereas before this, she had been admitted at least twice in single month. Unfortunately, we are running out of funds to support this kind of treatment because it is more expensive than chemotherapy.

We are not a wealthy family but we are rich with love because of our mother. Mommy Rose has spent half of her life caring for her children and grandchildren but we are still fighting very hard to keep her in our lives. Call it selfish, but we are not giving up. We want her to be able to marvel at our happiness and support us in our pain for more years to come.

She is—and has always been—the light that guides our path, the mother and friend who always stands by our side no matter what, an angel who always tries her best to keep us away from harm. With that said, we are hoping that you may find in your heart to help us make Mommy Rose’s life a bit longer through donations.