Merry Christmas!

Raising Funds this New Year

It's the season for Christmas and New Year celebration. You may also help Wacky raise his liver transplant funds this season by buying luces (P50/bundle), picollo (P15), pop (P10) and firecracker fountain (P60). To order please send Wacky's mom, Caress, a text message @ (0917) 4515602. Thank you! =)

Wacky @ 8 months old

On November 13, Wacky was examined by Dra. Gregorio from the St Lukes Hospital. He's gained 0.4 kilos from the last check up on October, totaling to 7.2 kilos. All the result of blood tests revealed that his body is still well although the doctor is a bit concern with his protime result (measures clotting of liquid/plasma in blood).Thus dosage of his Vitamin K intake was doubled. His next blood test is scheduled on Dec 10 in San Juan de Dios (where blood test is cheaper); result will be brought to St Lukes the next day for further diagnosis by Dra. Gregorio and for Wacky's monthly check up. Hopefully the increased dosage will improve the condition of his blood.

Wacky needs to weigh 10 kilos for the operation and we are happy that he is continuing to weigh more as the weeks pass. However, the increase in the size of his abdomen is becoming more noticeable. His eyes and skin are becoming more yellow. In four months time,Wacky will be one year old and the family is still far from reaching the 3-4 million target for his liver transplantation.

Please continue helping the family in raising the funds needed. You may also help us by spreading the word toyour family and friends. Thank you and God bless!

correspondence with hospital

Raymond and Caress have made initial coordination with the Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan last October thru email. The hospital gave the following summary of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) in Chang Gung:

1. Total cost that the hospital requires wire-transferred before the patient arrives in Taiwan: NT$ 1.5 million (NT$ 1 = Phil Peso 1.5); that's roughly about Phil. Peso 2 million (depending on current exchange rate). This amount includes both recipient and donor operations. This amount covers operations,
hospitalization (3-in-a-room + ICU), medications, and diagnostic tests. This amount is for uncomplicated cases. If this cost is not consumed, all unused money will be refunded. This amount excludes all travel and living expenses while your family is in Taiwan.

2. The family will stay in Taiwan for around 3 months. There may be a hostel (semi-furnished with kitchen, living room, bedroom, bathroom, telephone, cable TV, refrigerator, hot and cold water) available within the hospital compound. Rent is around NT$ 770/day or NT$20,000/month. Payment for the hostel is not included in the NT$ 1.5 million.

3. Recipient will stay in ICU after the transplant for 2-3 weeks, 2-3 weeks in the ward, then 1 month in the house. The donor can go back to Philippines after 1 month.

4. Donor and Recipient must have same blood type or ABO compatible. Donor must be negative for HBV or HCV. Donor must be within 5th degree of consanguinity with the recipient or the recipient's spouse. Donor must be at least above 20 years of age

oOo

The following tests on Wacky and his father Raymond (as candidate door) need to be submitted for further assessment of the hospital with Wacky’s case:
1. Hepatitis profile: HBsAg, anti-HBs, anti-HBc, anti-HCV
2. Blood chem
    a. For Wacky: CBC, Albumin, AST, ALT, total and direct bilirubin, creatinine, INR/protime, AFP
    b. For Raymond: Albumin, AST, ALT, Total bil, creatinine, INR/protime, AFP
3. Liver ultrasound
4. Liver CT Angiogram

The hospital suggested that Wacky and Raymond go to Dr. Gregorio of Philippines General Hospital for preliminary tests. She will guide them to the relevant examination. They can do first the blood typing and hepatitis profile to screen both recipient and donor before going into the more expensive laboratory and diagnostics. Screening from the Philippines is necessary since if they go directly to Taiwan and if either recipient or donor is found to be unsuitable, it’s a waste of money (travel, laboratory, etc).

Thank You

We would like to thank everyone who joined the Dinner for a Cause last November 6 -- including those who  bought the tickets even if they knew they couldn't come, and those who simply gave the amount without getting the tickets. No words in writing can express our gratitude and so we're posting this video taken during the dinner in the hopes that our gratitude will reach all the people who made the fund raising event a success.



We would also like to share this video built by Ms Maureen Hernandez, a co-worker of Raymond from MVC, and was shown during the dinner. It gave information about biliary atresia and the status of Wacky's fund raising. We hope this will also raise the awareness about biliary atresia on newborn babies.

Dinner for a Cause

 

The family is holding a Dinner-for-a-Cause activity to raise funds for Wacky on November 6, Saturday @ 7:00-9:00PM in Hacienda Ohio, Bacao, Gen. Trias Cavite. Ticket price ranges from P300, P500 to P1000. For inquiries please call or text Caress @ 0917-451-5602 or 0922-828-4457.

Thank you for the continued support! =) 

Wacky @ six months old

Wacky now undergoes monthly check up with Dr. Martinez of San Juan de Dios. Per his first check up last July 31, the results are good. We're still waiting for the result from his 2nd checkup last Sep 4.

As advised by the doctor, he's regularly taking alfare powder with his regular milk and his diet includes virgin coconut oil -- these with MCT (Medium-chain triglycerides) content. His intake of MCT is necessary as supplement nutrition to his body so that he'll  gain the ideal weight of 10 kilos (he's 6.4 as of last weighing)  in preparation for the liver transplant operation once we've raised the needed amount.

For the past few weeks we have been actively promoting signature campaign among friends and officemates, writing to relatives abroad and still looking out at all possible options so that we could raise the needed fund for his operation.

Again, we'd like to ask for your help, any amount you contribute will go a long way. You may donate by making deposits to Wacky's bank account or through PAYPAL (as indicated in the right section of this page). Though the amount seems enormous, through our collective effort and God's grace, we are hoping that Wacky will get his liver transplant.

You can also help us by spreading the word to your friends and other groups so that we could reach more kind-hearted individuals.

Thank you and may God bless you all!

Updates on Wacky

raymond and i talked to one of the foundations helping out family's undergoing the same problems like ours. she told us that we should raise the money as soon as possible while joaquin's health is still in good condition so that we could avoid organ failures and other serious problems during and after the transplant. i would like to seek help from you in any way that you could give us. we really need to raise the money as soon as possible. aside from the 4 million pesos transplant expenses, joaquin would need a 40 thousand pesos worth of medicines monthly for the rest of his life to sustain the liver after the transplant. i know i'm asking a lot and i'm sorry but we cannot get through all of these on our own.. please help us raise funds for our little angel.. god will bless all of us.. thank you..-- CARESS

Wacky's Medical Abstract

An Open Letter for Help

We are Mr. and Mrs. Raymundo Pascual Jr., from Tanza, Cavite.   We write to you on behalf of our 5-month old son, Joaquin Christopher – who has been diagnosed to have Biliary Atresia, a rare sickness in the liver which necessitates operation before he turns 1 year old.    The doctors who diagnosed his sickness have advised us to raise 3 – 4 million pesos for his liver transplant operation.   We were likewise told by the doctors that such procedure is not yet available in the Philippines and that the cheapest place to have the operation is in Taiwan.  As we are simply employees working to raise a good family, our modest income would not be enough to raise the amount we need for our son…

It is in this regard that we come, in humility, to you to seek for financial assistance as we race against time to raise the funds we needed for our son’s operation.   As parents to this child, we are committed to do anything to save the life of our dear son – and see him grow well and become a good Christian and citizen.   

We shall forever be grateful for your kindness and generosity – as we shall perpetually be indebted to people like you who would be part in saving and seeing our child grow healthy and in good condition.

My wife has opened a peso bank account for donations related to the medication of Joaquin.   Any assistance in relation to our drive to raise the needed funds for his operation would be sincerely appreciated.    We respectfully request that for any assistance you may grant us, the same may be deposited to our son’s bank account or if given the opportunity to receive the amount personally, we shall greatly be honored.

Banco de Oro Bank Account Number :  4780429296
                 Account Name: Joaquin Christopher V. Pascual

Thank you very much and may God bless you in countless ways!

Respectfully yours,
Mr. and Mrs. Raymundo Pascual, Jr.
Address : B7, L9 & 11 – Villa Monteverde Sudb., Mulawin, Tanza, Cavite
Contact Numbers : 0915-7828875 0917-451-5602