Lockdown disrupts 9-year-old boy’s treatment for epilepsy, ADHD, bipolar disorder

Caesar Antonio Marifosque

MANILA, Philippines — When Caesar Antonio Marifosque was diagnosed in 2014 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with bipolar disorder and epilepsy, his medical expenses and occupational therapy were shouldered by his father.“But when my husband Antonio died five years ago, all the money he had left us was spent on our son’s treatment and medication,” Annabelle Subingsubing, Marifosque’s mother, told the Inquirer.

The 9-year-old boy is her only child with the insurance agent who died of liver cancer. She has four other children from a previous relationship.

Only Marifosque and her eldest daughter, Rachel, live with her in Parañaque City. The rest of her kids are with her brother and sister in the province.

“I cannot provide their daily needs, much less send them to school, so I asked my family for help in raising them,” Subingsubing said.

Before Metro Manila was placed under lockdown in March, Marifosque was taking resperidone (P25 each) and methylphenidate (P155 each) every day to help him sleep and remain calm. He also underwent occupational therapy once a week. Each session costs the family P1,120. His last monthly checkup with a psychiatrist at the UP-Philippine General Hospital was on March 13.

“It has been two months and I am afraid for my son because he has not taken his medicines. He can’t sleep, he’s always restless and hyperactive and he has been having seizures,” Subingsubing said.

She can be contacted at 0908-4134601. Those who want to donate money for her son’s medical needs may deposit any amount in the BPI account of her mother, Teresita Subingsubing, with account no. 008249-2798-47. INQ