Premature baby diagnosed with heart problem

Allyssa Courtney

Angela Garcia was on her seventh month of pregnancy when she gave birth to daughter Allyssa Courtney.

“I gave birth at 31 weeks. My husband Benedict and I just went for a random ultrasound on Nov. 4 at a mall,” Garcia, a corporate finance assistant at the Inquirer Group of Companies, said.

After the test, her OB-gynecologist instructed her to immediately go to the nearest hospital which happened to be Asian Hospital Medical Center.

“We had no clue why I was asked to go to the hospital’s birthing room. We thought all along that I was just being monitored as I had been diagnosed with pregnancy-induced hypertension. After a while, my doctor arrived and told us that I needed to undergo an emergency caesarian section because I was already suffering from internal bleeding due to 70 percent placental abruption,” she said.

A month later, Baby Allysa was transferred to Philippine Heart Center where her pulmonary artery is being closely monitored at the pediatric intensive care unit. Earlier, she underwent patent ductus arteriosus ligation surgery to normalize blood flow through her body.

“Doctors are having a difficult time detecting the cause or where the infection in her intestines and the complication in her kidneys are coming from,” said Garcia.

She and husband Benedict are appealing to Inquirer readers for help. When she left Asian Hospital, her medical bill as of Nov. 28 stood at P1.1 million. As of Dec. 1, she and her family also owe P210,000 to Philippine Heart Center.

“All these people who lent us their hard-earned money, we also ask them for prayers so we can bring home our firstborn. We miss her already,” Garcia said.

Angela Garcia can be reached at 09177229510. Her bank account with PSBank is #133-111-02204-0.