40-year-old man battling leukemia asks for help

Christopher Bataller

MANILA, Philippines–When he was diagnosed with acute leukemia last month, 40-year-old Christopher Bataller had to sell his means of livelihood, a secondhand tricycle, so that he would have money for treatment.

“It is a harsh reality that some people face today. One day you wake up and you realize that the money generated from the sale is good only for two bags of blood. And the tricycle is gone forever,” his aunt Merle Sacil told the Inquirer.

The two have been together since Bataller was a small boy growing up in Albay. They are now staying in BF Homes, Parañaque City, with Bataller’s wife, Yolanda, who is working as a janitress, and the couple’s three children.

Sacil said that although her nephew’s parents are still alive, she has practically taken over their roles in his life as they are busy working as farmers in Bicol region.

Doctors have recommended that Bataller undergo four chemotherapy sessions, each one costing P85,000.

He must also undergo a procedure to pinpoint the exact location of an infection inside his body. For this, he will need P11,500.

“I am appealing to those with kind hearts. I need your help so that I can undergo chemotherapy,” Bataller said in a letter.

Merle Sacil can be reached at 0919-3669076. Donations can be deposited in the BDO account of her son Gherwine B. Sacil with account number 000681088567.