Help fund Joseph’s treatment of Necrotizing Fasciitis

Hello everyone, I’m Wella Javellana and I would like to talk to you about my brother, Joseph. He’s 39 years old and bowling is his life. Whether it be competing in tournaments as a professional bowler or selling bowling equipment, his passion truly lies in the sport. More importantly though, he’s taken it upon himself to be the designated driver of the family, especially of our mom, who is a widow.

Last March 10, my brother had, what we thought was, a normal flu. However, when the fever subsided a couple of days after, his ankles started to hurt, and his feet and legs started to swell. Pain relievers and anti-inflammatory medicines didn’t seem to make his situation better. With his condition not improving, we decided to rush him to the emergency room on March 17 and was immediately transferred to the ICU a day after for close monitoring. To our surprise, initial tests showed that he is diabetic with severe infection affecting his liver and kidneys. More tests revealed more conditions - gallstones, and hyperthyroidism, to name a few. In a nutshell, he was in Septic Shock, and had ACUTE RENAL FAILURE and NECROTIZING FASCITIS. He had to undergo 3 rounds of hemodialysis to get his kidneys to work again. The swelling in his legs, which we initially thought was gout, turned out to be NECROTIZING FASCITIS. Necrotizing Fasciitis is a rare and serious infection caused by flesh-eating bacteria. To be able to treat this, he had to undergo WOUND DEBRIDEMENT to remove the necrotic tissues on both legs and to find out what bacteria was present so proper antibiotics could be administered. He spent 13 days in the ICU out of his 45-day-confinement at Tri-City Medical Center. In that span of time, he underwent 11 wound debridement sessions, and was pricked and prodded countless of times for different procedures and blood tests. By God’s grace, the results started showing improvements in his condition.

Right now, our focuses are the healing of his wounds in his legs, and regaining his strength and leg function. Part of the prescription for his wound care is Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy or HBOT which he would have to do in a separate hospital and would incur hefty charges for daily ambulance services. That’s why last May 1, we have decided to transfer to the hospital where the HBOT facility is, at the Lung Center in Quezon City. To date, 11 weeks after we rushed my brother to the ER, he still hasn’t been discharged in the hospital.

While we are grateful that he’s already stable and slowly recovering with the help of prayers, and financial and emotional support from friends and family, we’re still far from the finish line. According to his doctors, they’re estimating approximately 30 more HBOT with wound care sessions, and several months of physical therapy in order to restore voluntary movement of his legs.

This is why we are knocking on your generous hearts once more. We had to settle almost PHP 2,000,000.00 in hospital bills in the first hospital which depleted our family’s combined savings. Apart from that, my brother’s medical bill is still piling up due to his continuous hospitalization at the Lung Center.

My brother is given a second chance in life, to take better care of himself. Hopefully, his story can serve as a reminder to us all that we can’t take our health for granted. That we have to listen to our bodies when it’s trying to tell us to take better care of ourselves. Likewise, we hope he can be a living testament to how powerful prayers are, and how God manifests through our family and friends.

Through your help, we’re looking forward to the day when we get the old (but healthier) Joseph back, driving for us, bowling with his teammates, and making people laugh again

My family and I will deeply appreciate any amount you can spare. Thank you so much in advance and may God bless you.

Paypal Account: https://www.paypal.me/wellajavellana

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BDO PESO SAVINGS ACCOUNT

Acct Name: Wella Joy Javellana or Joseph Javellana

Acct No. 001430208250

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BPI PESO CHECKING ACCOUNT

Acct Name: Wella Joy Javellana or Judith Javellana

Acct No. 2345041292