Help Our Mom Fight Cancer

PLEASE HELP OUR MOM FIGHT CANCER.

We, Frances and Dea, daughters of Teng and Bin Suselo, are appealing for your financial assistance to help our Mother fight her battle with cancer. 2021 started horribly for our whole family. Even before 2020 ended, our mom was having pain in her left ear. It was bleeding and oozing pus. Doctors first thought it was a recurring cyst infection, but a biopsy revealed it was actually cancer. The official diagnosis is LEFT EAR CARCINOMA. The growth is huge and embedded deep inside her head, which ruled out surgery. Doctor was worried it was eating through her skull already, so either radiation or chemotherapy was recommended. Our mom refused both, as she knew her advanced age and weak state would not be able to cope with the side effects. She insisted on alternative (plant-based) therapy, which we supported.

Both of our parents quickly depleted their savings, as they have no health insurance and are living in a foreign country (Thailand). We, the daughters, have been helping our parents financially ever since they retired by giving them money every month. However, the speed and the amount of hospital bills came in too fast and too big. A few nights' stay in a hospital would balloon out to around 70,000 baht, especially because our mom also has other various ailments, namely diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems. Every single thing, from cotton buds, adult diapers, wound dressing, food, room and board, had to be paid out of our own pockets as our mom has no health insurance.

We frantically looked for cheaper options and luckily found a special nursing home, called "Golden Years", which is also a hospital. We managed to get our mom in, where she gets 24-hr care. However, the bills are still coming. At our present rate of bleeding cash, our whole family is in danger of becoming homeless in a few months.

Our dad has gone back to Indonesia since April 1^st as we are also worried about his health and that he does not have insurance either. As an Indonesian, he will be able to get some health support from the government there. We would not be able to afford it if he has any emergency here in Thailand. Our dad, who also suffers from diabetes, high blood pressure and kidney issues (he previously also underwent bypass of the aorta surgery and a heart attack 5 years ago), could no longer stay in Bangkok, as we were afraid that if he also gets sick, we would be stuck with two huge hospital bills. We had to make the difficult decision to separate our parents. We sent our dad back to Indonesia (where the Indonesian rupiah is much weaker than the Thai baht) to live in a retirement home where he would have constant care.

Our dad will finally buy a smartphone for the first time in his life so we can do video calls! Our parents are separated now and the doctor said she only has 6 months to live, but we are hoping our mom will get better soon and she will be able to reunite with our dad in Indonesia.

We really don't know how else to explain our situation, except to be as frank as possible. Our family's situation is dire, especially due to the financial pressures. Instead of just focusing on the cancer treatment, we also have to contend with medical bills that keep on coming. There were times when we were at the pits of despair, especially when our mom went on an "extended sleep" for 3 days and was unresponsive. Her body stopped absorbing any food and medicines. Doctors thought it was the end, but somehow, she managed to open her eyes and wake up. This gave us some hope that the treatment is having some sort of positive effect (thank you, CBD oil!). Our mom can no longer swallow normal food now, and has both a feeding tube and a catheter, and the left side of her face is lopsided (doctor suspects the cancer is affecting her facial nerves), but she is conscious and can converse. We do not know how much time she has left on this Earth, but if she's still willing to fight, with the help of all of you, we will be giving her 100% support.

We would appreciate whatever help you can extend to our Mother’s care.

On behalf of our parents, we sincerely thank you for your kindness and generosity.