Aspiring baker battles blood disorder

Neli Anne Nuestro

MANILA, Philippines — Neli Anne Nuestro started having blood transfusions as an 8-month-old baby after she was diagnosed with beta thalassemia. The blood disorder has left her severely anemic and has also affected her growth.

“If you see her now as an adult at 22 years old, you would think that she is still a child,” said her mother, Nathalia.

Nuestro is the youngest of her four children with husband Honorio, who works as a utility man at a school. The family lives in Alfonso, Cavite province.

Although she graduated from high school, Nuestro has not gone to college. However, she recently discovered her skill in baking after completing a course offered online by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Every three weeks, her parents bring Nuestro to Philippine Children’s Medical Center where she is given three bags of blood. The procedure takes three days and costs P12,000.

On top of this, she also takes five tablets of Desferal every day to prevent an iron overload in her body due to blood transfusions. Each tablet costs P180.

Those who want to help Nuestro can deposit their donations in her mother’s BDO account (Natalia Nuestro, account no. 7520-1923-82). Natalia can be contacted at 0921-3269123.