Mary Jonathan De Vera Beltran, a mother of two, was recently confined in a hospital in Dagupan after contracting demyelinating disease, a form of ailment where the protective covering of nerve fibers are damaged, leading to paralysis and blindness. Photo courtesy of Ray Soberano
MANILA, Philippines — A 35-year-old mother of two from Dagupan, Pangasinan is appealing for help as she contracted Demyelinating Disease, an ailment where the covering of nerve fibers are damaged, leading to paralysis and blindness.
According to Mary Jonathan De Vera Beltran, she woke up sometime in July 2022 to a severe headache, later finding out that she was not able to move one of her feet. A month after that, Beltran narrated that her body shook violently forcing her to throw up, forcing her relatives to have her confined at the Region 1 Medical Center in Dagupan.
She then said that she failed to move her entire body in the next few days. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test revealed that she had Demyelinating Disease, a condition where the myelin sheath, which covers the nerve fibers in a person’s brain and those leading to organs like the eyes and the spinal cord, are damaged.
This condition leads to impulses slowing down, to a patient eventually getting paralyzed and blind.
As of now, Beltran cannot move her limbs and her eyesight also deteriorated.
“Parang gumuho po ang mundo ko. Naapektuhan po lahat ng sakit ko lalo na ang aking pagiging ina at asawa,” Beltran said.
(My world crumbled down. My condition has already affected even my role as a mother and a wife.)
“Imbes na ako po yung nag-aalaga sa mga anak ko, ako po ang inaalagaan nila. Sobrang masakit na makita ko po silang napapagod sa pag-alaga sa akin. Parang nawalan ako ng silbi at naging pahirap ako sa kanila,” she added.
(Instead of me taking care of my children, they are now looking after me. It is so painful to see them getting tired doing that. I seemed to have lost my purpose and instead became a burden to them.)
As of now, his husband Harvey Beltran, an occasional van driver, and her two children Hana, 14; and Lee, 7, take turns in taking care of her.
Her ailment also meant that she had to leave her job as a sales promotion assistant at an appliance store in Lingayen, affecting her family’s finances as she needed medical attention.
Beltran appeals for any form of financial support or contribution so that she can get better and try to resume working for her family, especially since her husband’s earnings are not enough to sustain their needs.
“Nanawagan po ako sa mga may magandang kalooban na sana’y mabigyan po muli ako ng pagkakataon na gumaling at maalagaan at mapalaki ko nang maayos ang aking mga anak,” she said.
(I am calling on kind-hearted people to help me, give me a chance to recover so that I could take care of my children and raise them well.)
Interested parties can send contributions through GCash (Mary Jonathan Beltran, 09957788527) or bank transfers (RCBC Lingayen Branch Savings Account 9035776198).
You may also contact Jona or her husband Harvey at 0995 778 8527.
While there appears to be no cure yet for several forms of Demyelinating Disease, there are ways to slow down the progression of the ailment, which would make the patient functional through the years.
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