Fund for Mama’s Hospital Bill

I am writing this and knocking on your good hearts because currently our family is in financial difficulty in settling our hospital bills for Mama. She's confined for three months and six days as of writing (March 5, 2019). She's been a dialysis a patient since 2008.

This will be a very long story. I would like to thank you in advance for sparing some time on reading our story. Here's what happened

Last November, We're about to celebrate our father's birthday. We scheduled it a day earlier because we have to go to work the following day. We informed him that he can invite his friends to celebrate with us. I remember how he got excited when I told him. That night, He still managed to drive our motorcycle for 30-40 minutes to fetch my brother. The next day, my mother woke us up and asked us to prepare because we need to rush Tatay to the hospital. As we travelled I was still confused on what was happening. And then I saw Tatay's face. Its very pale and weak. I can feel his pain.

When we got to the E.R., the nurses started their procedure and asked my mother about the details. They let Tatay to lay on the bed. During this time he kept insisting if he could go to the bathroom and pee. At that time I touched his feet and I noticed that it keeps on rattling. I told him to stop it, but he can't control it. So we immediately called a doctor to check whats happening. At first we thought that he was only feeling cold so we turned off the A.C. Still the rattling didn't stop. At the same time he was still insisting that he wants to go to the bathroom and when we tried to assist him. he can’t move his feet, we kept on trying but he said he really can't. So we decided to just lay him back again. In just a span of seconds, he started to have a seizure attack. I can’t forget the face of my mother while she was shouting and crying, "Anong Nangyayare??" ( WHAT’s happening to him? What’s happening? ) . When the doctor arrived, he explained that he suffered mild stroke. When he woke up, we thank God because he can still move like nothing happened. Though he didn't remember whatever happened in ER.

We celebrated his 56th birthday in the hospital, thankful and blessed. Far from the celebration that we planned but still we're very thankful that Tatay was fine. He had a scheduled Brain CT Scan that day, when we got the results, the Doctor said that he has an infarction in his brain.

The following day, (November 27) was his scheduled discharged from the hospital. So I decided to travel 8PM going back to Manila for my work the following day. I ask the Nurse-On-Duty of my father to look after them, thankfully she’s a previous colleague of mine and a friend.

On my way back to Manila, I remember that was around 11pm. I received several missed calls from my mother. so when I tried to call her back she just said, “Nak tawagan kita mamaya nahihirapan lang akong huminga.” (I’ll call you later, I’m having a hard time to breath). Then my father called me and said our mama and uncle are on their way to the hospital because she needs to undergo an emergency dialysis. By 12 midnight, our uncle called and ask if I can travel back to Tarlac because our mother was in the ICU. My phone couldn’t stop ringing and receiving calls and messages but I can’t go home at that time. The next day my two brothers went straight to the hospital to where our mother was confined. but we don’t really have any information what happened to her. Our father was still confined that time so I went straight to him to process his discharged. Then I met our uncle and he told me that our mother had a cardiac arrest but was revive and she’s in Comatose stage. We decided not to tell our father about the real situation of our mother because we’re afraid of what it may cause him. No one wants to go to his room because we're all afraid to answer his question, “Nasan si mama? Apat na oras lang yung dialysis nya ah! (where’s mama? Her dialysis is only 4 hours, why she’s not here now?)

I only told him that she needs to stay there because of her high blood pressure. I ask him if we could just stay at Tarlac City, to our brother’s house so that we can visit mama but it took us 2 days before telling him what really happened. When I ask if he wants to visit mama, I saw light from his sad face and I feel like he’s really waiting for us to ask him. When we’re on our way to the ICU, i hold his hand and said, please relax and be calm, mama is in the ICU. He got mad at me because we didn’t tell him immediately. That was the first time I saw mama’s situation, comatose stage, with so much apparatus on her body. It’s so depressing. That was also the time when we saw the smiling face of tatay, turned into a heartache, you’ll feel the tears from his heart. But we still need to be positive, to trust God. We need to be strong for both of them. The doctor said it would only be a miracle if she wakes up.

December 1, Saturday, It was my brother’s birthday. After Tatay’s visit to mama, he complains his head aches. Since we’re already in hospital we decided to bring him to the Emergency Room. The doctor's said he's experiencing high blood pressure. So the doctors ask him to rest. While laying on the bed he suddenly begin to have seizure attack. His 2nd time. So they immediately requested for brain CT Scan, I remember that moment while we’re transferring him, I was crying. The test result was the infract from his previous stroke became bigger, and Doctor advice us to put him in the ICU. They’re both confined at the ICU. Two days after, they also requested for MRI test. The result was they saw something on his brain other than the infract, it was a brain tumor. Tatay was confined for a week. There are times when he feels he is strong enough, He kept asking us if we can go home. Also there's a time when he ask the nurse if he can visit mama because he haven’t seen her for a week. There is so much joy in his face the moment he saw mama again. Thankfully, after almost 2 weeks of waiting, she was able to open her eyes, it was a miracle from God.

‪Tatay was confined to a different hospital after a week from his last confinement, we can’t afford to put him the same hospital Mama was confined, we stayed there for a week. It was tiring, really tiring because we need to switch from one hospital to another just to see and check both of them always.

December 23, 2018 we’re about to transfer him to Philippine General Hospital but he insisted that he wants to spend christmas with mama, with us. I got mad at him because it seems like he always find ways to delay our plan knowing that his station situation should be addressed immediately. We all celebrated christmas together, we’re complete. Mama was transferred to a regular room although she can’ still move and talk. We we’re able to see Tatay smile, again.

‬‪December 31, 2018 our sister, the youngest one had a scheduled flight back to Italy where she was working and 2 days before her flight our Auntie’s, siblings of Tatay decided to brought him back to Italy together with our sister to continue the treatment, tests and medication he needed. It was 2 hours before their flight, he suddenly got fever and he is having hard time to walk so we all decided to cancel his flight. We’re not able to welcome 2019 together because we need to go home for him rest.

January 2, 2019 around 3 in the morning he was again confined at the ICU, this time he was complaining that he’s having a hard time to breath and we found out that his oxygen in his body drop down. It was friday, December 4 2018, I receive a call from my friend (she’s in the hospital looking after our Mother) and the first word she says was, “Bez, wag kang mabibigla ah, nag cardiac arrest si mama mo, pero na-revive na sya.” (Please don’t be shock, your mother had cardiac arrest again, but she was revived). They need to transfer her back to ICU because she was again, in a comatose stage. We’re already preparing that she will be staying in ICU for another week, or month like what happened from her first arrest but we saw God’s grace because she was able to woke up the following day. We all witness how she fight for her life, how strong she is.‬ ‪

After a week of Tatay’s confinent , we decided to go home because he can no longer talk or move his body, according to his Doctor, a Pulmonologist, his lungs can’t do the brain surgery needed to check the tumor on his brain. Also, there’s no guarantee he would be healed if we accept the risk and continue the surgery. ‬ ‪At 12:00 midnight of January 9, 2019, we still able to feed him milk and surprisingly saw him smile again, his oxygen and heart rate was normal. The following day, at exactly 9:25 in the morning, oxygen form his body suddenly drop from 99-45, we immediately called the doctor residing near our home to check on him, she does CPR two times but our father didn’t make it.

Our father died and buried without our mother’s knowledge. She didn’t know until this very moment that Tatay was gone, that she will not be able to hug him, kiss him and talk to him. It’s so heartbreaking but we don’t have any courage to tell her anything that had happened. She’s in pain, although she can’t tell or say anything, we feel her pain. We’re so thankful because she remains strong, and we’re getting stronger as we see her fight for her life.

At first I don’t to admit this but at one point I questioned God, “Why? Why us? Why both of them at the same time?” But I want to believe and stick to what God wants to tell us, that this all happens for a reason, and maybe the reason is these trials will soon be replaced by a testimony of how Great Is He, how great God’s work on our life.

Again, thank you for reading. Thank you for listening. May we all take good care of our health, our family and most especially our parents. May GOD continue to bless your good heart. Let me share you our last family picture, and their last photo together.

BDO

Account #: 005740020973

Account Name: Edhelson L. Corpuz

CHINABANK CORP

Account #: 100302113836

Account Name: Eloisa Mae L. Corpuz