Eduardo Mari Medical Fund

My grandfather, Eduardo Mari, needs your help. He is in the intensive care unit of Las Pinas Doctors Hospital since May 17. This is his second time in the hospital in one month. At first the doctors said it was pneumonia, but now they don't exactly know what he is ill with. It could be TB. It could be a bad infection. But it could also be cancer.

The hardest part of all of this is not knowing how long he has to stay in the hospital, what his diagnosis actually is, what treatment he should actually be doing. And each day, as our family fumbles in the dark, his medical bills continue to rise.

In the short term, our family needs to raise Php150,000 to cover his current medical bills. As we look at more days at the hospital to determine this disease, we're looking at a total bill of Php250,000 at least.

Each day that he spends in the hospital, as doctors try and figure this out, weakens him. His heartbeat is erratic and the many antibiotics and medicines he is on seem to have an adverse effect. He also has several chronic and long term kidney issues as well as diabetes, which complicates his case further. Because of this, the doctors have ruled out a biopsy, as they are not confident his body would react well to the anesthesia.

But my grandfather is a fighter. He hopes and prays to get better, pushes himself to eat, to get some rest, as my mother and my aunts (who take turns caring for him at the hospital) deal with the tests and orders.

We need your help and support as we gather around my grandfather. Dedet, as he is fondly known, is a devout Catholic, the hardest worker I'd ever known, a loving father and grandfather. We, his family, yearn for our wise, funny and gentle abuelo.

Any amount you could spare to help with his medical bills would be a huge help to our family, and your kind thoughts and prayers for clarity as to his case would be appreciated as well. Thank you all.