Help Kirsten win her fight to live (Trisomy 18)

Kirsten was born a fighter. She has been fighting for her life since day one. She was born with Trisomy 18, also known as Edwards Syndrome. This is a medical condition wherein there is an extra chromosome resulted from an error in cell division. This is associated with multiple medical conditions which are life-threatening. Life expectancy is really low, but Kirsten continuously fought even when everyone said she won’t live.

She was born on June 28, 2016 in weighing only 2.26 kg. She was not breathing and had poor vital signs. She stayed in the incubator for around 2 months. Due to her condition, she underwent various tests (including chromosomal test) which confirmed she indeed has Edwards Syndrome/Trisomy 18. She was found to have three holes in her heart (PDA, ASD, VSD). This also led to lung complication. Since she was born in Fujairah, UAE, they have certain policies on handling specific types of syndromes for newborns, including Edwards syndrome. They can only provide medical maintenance and nothing more. Her parents/family did whatever they can to find ways to seek further medical help from different hospitals in UAE, but they were declined due to their policies on Edwards Syndrome. Her condition got worse due to pneumonia and lung infection. Hospital bills continues to rise up just for medical maintenance Their running bill in Fujairah, UAE is around 323,000 AED (equivalent to approximately 4.36M pesos). Their only hope is to fly Kirsten here in the Philippines for heart surgery. Her parents are regular employees in Fujairah and do not have enough fund/savings to cover all the hospital bills and operations. Grace, her mother has been working for a plastic manufacturing company in Fujairah for 17 years; whereas Johann, the father has been working for the same company for 14 years. Grace started as a Receptionist and is now an HR in-charge while Johann started as a Technician and is now an I.T. Senior Support Engineer. They also have 2 other daughters - Kishane and Keira.

Due to lack of sufficient funds, loans made it possible for them to take Kirsten to the Philippines to undergo the needed heart operation. She was admitted in the Philippine Heart Center on November 30, and underwent Open Heart VSD PDA ASD Closure on December 2.

She is currently in the Surgical ICU. Although her heart was treated, she is still not out of danger due to lung complication/infection. Their running hospital balance (PHC only) is around 440,000 pesos. No matter how difficult her condition is, Kirsten has shown strength, hope and eagerness to live. She keeps on fighting even after doctors have already said to prepare for the worst. She was said to only live for 2 weeks, but she still fought and is now 5 months old. This little warrior princess is not giving up, and her family is not giving up either, no matter what.

Let us help this strong little girl survive and win her battle for life. Please pray for her health and recovery and provision. Just as prayers, is also her need for financial assistance to cover her hospital bills and medical expenses. Let us also not give up on her fight. Help her by donating for her medical fund. Fight this battle with her by providing financial support for her medical expenses.

***You may also send your donations to the below BPI bank account:

Account name: Mary Grace G Claridades

Account number: 0486 4060 85

Please send me a message or email me at [email protected] including your name and donation amount so we can accurately track all the donations.

Thank you so much!