50-year-old engineer battling kidney failure appeals for help

Noel dela Rosa

Taking different types of medication for 15 years to keep his blood pressure normal has taken its toll on 50-year-old Noel dela Rosa’s health.

In September 2017, his doctors told him that he needed to  undergo dialysis regularly as his kidneys, the organs responsible for removing waste products from the blood, were no longer functioning normally.

“I have been taking maintenance medicines for 15 years to regulate my frequent attacks of high blood pressure. Doctors told me that if I was any luckier, my eyes or heart could have been the ones damaged instead of my kidneys,” Dela Rosa told the Inquirer.

When not working on projects as an electrical engineer, Dela Rosa moonlights as a driver-for-hire, transporting his town mates from Bicol to Manila, and vice versa.

“I had just driven a vacationing overseas worker to the airport when upon reaching home, I felt so tired I could not even go up the stairs in our house. The following day, my wife, Nelia, told me I looked pale,” he said.

Tests at Bicol Medical Center (BMC) in Naga City showed extensive damage to his kidneys. His hemoglobin level was 63 compared to the normal level of 110.

Dela Rosa, who has four teenage children, is now undergoing hemodialysis every Monday and Thursday at BMC. Each session costs P3,500.

“I feel happy when I drive people to their destinations. I want to do that again. I appeal to kindhearted Inquirer readers  for financial assistance for my seemingly longer journey to regain my health. May God bless them,” he said.

Noel dela Rosa can be reached at 0915-8099184. Donations may be deposited in his BDO account (#8780110989).