Jesse’s Fight against COVID-19

Hi!

I am Joeben V. Gubatanga and I am doing this fundraising for the benefit of my partner-in-life, Jesse J. Pacaña.

He was admitted in the hospital last July 5, 2021 and diagnosed with COVID-19 (classified as Severe Case). He experienced difficulty of breathing, severe dry cough, fever and sad to say, stroke (slurred speech when he talks). He was unable to eat or even drink water because he had difficulty in swallowing.

He faced a terrible situation during his first week of admission because he needed High Flow Nasal Oxygen therapy to provide him respiratory support. Aside from that, a series of medicines were lined up in order to treat the symptoms of COVID-19 infection and stroke like paracetamol, N-acetyl cysteine, steroids, antibacterial drugs, blood thinners among others. He was supposed to be given antiviral drugs (Tocilizumab and Remdisivir). Unfortunately, the hospital won’t allow these drugs to be charged under his bill which means I need to buy in cash. He was not given any of these because we lacked funds to buy. The Tocilizumab costs at around Php 28,000.00 per vial (but given only once) while the Remdisivir costs at around Php 8,000.00 per vial (to be given for around 10 days).

Since he was unable to eat and drink, a Nasal Gatric Tube (NGT) was introduced into him to give him extra calories. Seeing him with a tube inserted through his nose, made me feel uncomfortable. But that was the only way he could eat and drink.

Last 14 July 2021, his health insurance coverage were already maximized after I requested for a temporary hospital bill amounting to Php 304,032.50. All the medicines, IV fluids among others are now to be paid in cash. I sought help from his elder sister, yet we are unable to meet the financial demands of his medical needs and bill after we made all possible means.

On behalf of Jesse’s family, I am knocking unto your hearts for any voluntary contribution you may wish to extend to cover his medical expenses will be of big help to ensure that he obtains the treatment required for his full recovery.

We hope you can be part of helping Jesse to recover from his sickness and continue with his life.

Just a little background about me and Jesse: we were in a domestic partnership for four years already and counting. We were happy living together and we always had each other’s back.