ALEJANDRO
TO PREVENT her children from worrying about her, Gemma Alejandro kept to herself the pain she was experiencing due to myasthenia gravis, a neuromuscular disease that leads to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatigue.
“I knew something was wrong with her. She has been hiding it from us because she did not want us to worry about having to bring her to the hospital. She thought that the expenses from taking her to the hospital would be a big burden on us,” said Ariel Alejandro, Gemma’s eldest in a brood of five who works as a security guard in Manila.
At age 63, Gemma is being cared for by her other children in their home in Dao, Capiz province. Her husband is still recovering from a stroke.
Gemma, however, could no longer keep her condition a secret on Feb. 5 when she had difficulty breathing, eating or drinking.
“She was first brought to the Capiz Doctors’ Hospital in Roxas City but the doctor we needed was not available. My youngest sibling Mary Ann then brought her to the West Visayas State University Medical Center in Iloilo City,” Ariel said.
It turned out that Gemma’s symptoms were due to a cyst near her heart. It was removed in a six-hour operation done on Mar. 5.
“While we thank all those responsible for the successful operation, we were left with a P150,000 hospital bill. We want to appeal to your readers to help us,” Ariel said.
Ariel can be reached at 0918-2469370 and 0942-6490687. Those who want to help his mother, Gemma, may deposit their donations in his wife’s PSBank account (account name Jane Alejandro, account #180-11102396-0).