Down to the last cent: Father saves coins to pay for baby’s liver transplant
A picture of a father counting coins in a hospital went viral after netizens were inspired by the reason behind it.
https://www.facebook.com/jenny.d.mohamad/posts/2023159304367163
Jeric Trestre, the man counting coins on the floor in the viral photograph, is dad to 11-month-old Zhianna Erza, fondly called Esang, who suffers from biliary atresia.
Image: Facebook/@zhianna26trestre
The condition is a rare chronic disease in the liver and bile ducts, where the bile ducts are blocked and can lead to liver damage. Symptoms include jaundice, light-colored stools and a distended abdomen.
According to Stanford Children’s Health, the condition affects one in 18,000 births and occurs more in girls than boys. It is irreversible and in the event of liver failure, requires a liver transplant. Without treatment, the disease is fatal.
Recently, the family spent two weeks in the hospital as Esang came down with the flu. Trestre said on his Facebook page that his daughter still has hard coughs but that she is finally laughing again.
Article continues after this advertisementAnother post from a medical staff on duty that night notes that several of the coins were centavos.
Article continues after this advertisementhttps://www.facebook.com/rabi.yamat/posts/10215328900597774
Esang’s parents have also opened a Facebook page to document her condition. They announced in a Jan. 31 post that PCSO can only shoulder P1.5 million while a local operation costs P4 million.
The operation is targeted to be done in New Delhi, India, where the surgery supposedly costs P1.6 million in Apollo Hospital.
Around 70 percent of those who undergo a liver transplant live for at least five years, according to Mayo Clinic. If the liver transplant is successful, the patient will need medications for the rest of his/her life.
The family is accepting donations via the following BDO account under their daughter’s name: Zhianna Erza R. Trestre, 008640130545. The parents can be reached through the following phone numbers 09058732860 or 09212805261. JB
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