A fundraising event to benefit the Indigent and Disabled children in the Philippines.

EPISODE #007 – Sheryn Lysa
DIAGNOSIS: Mixed Malignant Germ Cell Tumor Stage IV

BACKGROUND:
Sheryn was born on September 3, 2016 in Balanga Bataan. She is a member of the GAAF KIDS Birthday Club, and she will receive a P1,000 cash gift from GAAF on her birthday.

In August 2017, nearing her first birthday, she was diagnosed with Mixed Malignant Germ Cell Tumor Stage IV at Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC). The tumor was located on the tailbone. A series of tests including a CT scan and MRI showed that the cancer had already spread in the lungs. She was due for surgery and then chemotherapy but when a neurosurgeon was consulted, he advised not to operate on the tumor for risk of damaging the spine. Immediately, aggressive chemotherapy was then administered the next month.

Unfortunately, in 2018, after a year of treatment, the doctor concluded that the chemotherapy was not working and Sheryn was sent home with palliative care. She was determined terminally ill and was estimated to have 3 to 5 months to live.  Sheryn was born a fighter. Her tolerance for pain is high even as a baby. She was able to handle the IV Chemotherapy and all the painful tests at the hospital.  She can tolerate most pains except when her swollen abdomen is in severe pain.  Her mom would place an ice pack, but it would still make her cry which would last up to 5 hours.

Sheryn’s mom was also a fighter and would not give up on her. When Sheryn was sent home to palliative care, she started researching on how to beat cancer naturally. She believes that a change of lifestyle would make a big impact on Sheryn’s healing. She also watches videos online about herbal healing. She stopped giving unhealthy fast food to Sheryn and instead served all green leafy vegetables and fruits. Sheryn’s favorite meal is alukbati with fish & tomato.  She eats one green apple every day, which keeps the doctor away, as the saying goes.

Luckily, after a year of lifestyle changes, Sheryn’s condition dramatically improved. The tumor had shrunk and she now miraculously moves around as if she did not have cancer at all. She just continues her oral chemo of Etoposide once a day for a 21-day cycle.   

Since the Covid breakout in 2020, all check-ups at PCMC were done through teleconsultation every 3 months. This saved Sheryn and Mom a lot of time from traveling 3 hours from Bataan to PCMC in Quezon City, and they avoided standing in line as early as 3:00 am in order to be seen by the doctor. 

During the recent July teleconsultation with the PCMC doctor, they were not able to get an appointment for a CT scan and MRI to confirm if Sheryn is completely free from cancer. Nevertheless, they are hoping that at the next appointment in November 2023, they will successfully get those tests.  

Sheryn gets financial aid of P5,000 every 3 months from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). And yet, just the oral chemo vials alone cost P7,119 every month. This is when the family struggles with how to sustain the medical needs of Sheryn plus how to make both ends meet for their 3 other children. 

Her mom started a home business selling snacks & other food products online to help financially. She makes assorted peanuts, peanut butter, banana chips, fish chips & Sampaloc candies. Her dad works as a security guard and makes only P14,000 a month. Fortunately, Sheryn received a one-time P7,000 Guarantee Letter from a politician which was a tremendous help. This involves a tedious process where medical abstracts and other records are submitted to the office of the politician for approval for aid. The Guarantee Letter can be used to redeem medicines, medical supplies,
laboratory tests, MRI, and milk at PCMC.
 
With an uplifted spirit, Sheryn is excited to enter Grade 2 as she returns to school on August 29th.

EPISODE #006 – Raiven
DIAGNOSIS: Eye Cancer – Retinoblastoma Bilateral Stage IV

BACKGROUND:
Raiven is turning 8 years old on Aug. 7, 2023. He is a member of the GAAF KIDS Birthday Club (GKBC) and is excited to have his birthday cake. Raiven is the second youngest of eight siblings – six boys and two girls. He will receive a Cash Gift of P1,000 on his birthday from the sponsors of GKBC. 

Raiven’s eye problem started when he was only one month old. He was excessively crying when the mother discovered that his right eye had a white pupil instead of the normal black one. He was rushed to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) and was diagnosed with Retinoblastoma Bilateral Stage IV (Eye Cancer in both eyes). Due to the enlarged tumor & loss of vision in the right eye, Raiven, at three months old, was immediately operated on to remove the right eye. Then, he underwent a series of treatments such as chemotherapy, cryotherapy & Laser therapy to save the left eye. Frequent follow-up appointments were scheduled to check how the treatment is going and whether it has spread outside the eye into surrounding tissues, or to other parts of the body.  

Raiven does have a family history of this disease through his father’s side. His grandfather’s brother had Bilateral Retinoblastoma diagnosed as a baby and was left untreated and thereby lived without sight until his 30s.

Unfortunately, in 2017, two years after the surgery, the cancer came back. This time, more aggressive treatment was administered. A series of tests such as MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), (EUA) Examination Under Anesthesia, X-ray for Bone Scan, CBC & LDH were done to monitor the size of the tumor and check if it has begun to spread into the other parts of his body. Sadly, it had spread to the lungs but was successfully treated with chemotherapy. 

In some cases, these series of checks ups had forced the mother and son to stay and sleep outside the hospital vicinity, sometimes for a week, to save transportation expenses going to and from the hospital. They just shower and change clothes at the hospital. This way, they were able to save about P500 for food and transportation each time they travel from their residence in Norzagaray Bulacan to PCMC in Quezon City. It takes three rides: a tricycle, a jeepney, and a bus to get to the hospital.   

In 2019, when Raiven was 4 years old, new tumors had been found in Raven’s left eye again. This is when the mother was told by the eye specialists from different hospitals that there is a newer technique that they want to perform on Raiven in order to save his left eye. It is called Intra-Arterial Chemotherapy which was injecting chemotherapy into the eye. She was told that this is the first time in the Philippines it will be administered to a patient. If this fails, Raven’s left eye will also have to be removed. This was a very painful process for Raiven and when the general anesthesia was gone, he would cry in pain and could not open his eyes for one day. 

In 2020, during the pandemic lockdown, Raven was assisted by the Norzagaray Municipality which provided an ambulance to take him to the hospital for his continuous chemotherapy treatments. 

Luckily, at this point in time, Raiven’s left eye is clear of cancer. They were able to save his left eye and vision. He just needs to wear eyeglasses for clearer vision in his left eye to help him at school. A regular MRI and EUA & other tests are necessary to see if a new tumor has grown. 

Every check-up at the hospital is a struggle for money. Raiven does not receive any disability money from the Philippine government. His mom goes to the City Hall to ask for help. Sometimes, she is given P500 but most of the time she is asked to wait and come back. There are months when she is not given any help at all. Raiven’s father lost his job as a construction worker during the 2020 pandemic and never got back to working again. He became an alcoholic and started gambling despite being unemployed. He got into trouble and went to prison for a year. Upon returning home, he began to abuse his wife and children.  According to Raiven’s mother, this may have contributed to why three of the eight kids are now suffering from depression and two of them are currently confined in the hospital. She said that she herself is feeling depressed but had to be strong for the sake of the children especially Raiven who is experiencing a serious illness.

To survive, Raiven’s mother is running a small sari-sari store selling turon, banana Q, drinks, and other snacks & food products. However, her capital is from a Bombay usurer who comes and collects P500 every day for her installment. She barely makes income after paying the monthly store rent and the daily installments to the Bombay usurer.  The big challenge is when she closes the store to bring Raiven to the hospital.  

She also scavenges in the market trash for food that is nearly expired. Some vendors who know her already set aside the expired food for her instead of throwing them in the trash. This helps in times when all the money goes to the usurer and there is no food to serve on the table for the family. 

With this family situation, there is clearly no support at all for Raiven’s medical needs. Raiven said that he is tired of being bullied at school.  He looks forward to continuing his studies for a better future if his health improves through nutritional food.

EPISODE #005 – Cedrick
DIAGNOSIS: Congenital Heart Disease, PVA Intact Interventricular Septum, PNA, ASD, PFO Dysplastic IV

BACKGROUND:
Cedrick was born on February 5, 2022, when Covid 19 epidemic was still widespread. Thus, going in and out of the hospital was difficult during pregnancy check-ups and delivery of Cedrick. Hospitals were very strict and did not want to compromise the safety of hospital staff and patients who are confined. All adults were required to have full vaccination before they were allowed to go inside the hospital.  

Cedrick is the youngest of the 4 siblings. Their ages are 7, 5, 3, and 2-year-old Cedrick.  They are being raised by Irene, a 29-year-old single mother. In November 2022, when Cedrick was only 9 months old, his father was on his way to work as a garbage collector when he was hit by a truck that did not stop to help him. The hit and run occurred at 3am, unwitnessed, with no clear video surveillance available to catch the perpetrator. He went into a coma and died the next day. The case is still unsolved and sadly Irene and the 4 children are left with no father and no money.  

When Irene was 8 months pregnant, she was confined at Naga City Hospital for severe stomach pain. She thought she would have an unexpected delivery at that time. She was extensively monitored for four days. This is when she was told that the ultrasound showed that the baby has a slow heartbeat.

At 9 months, her delivery was normal and the baby was normal though his lips were blackened. So, they were sent home as normally done by the hospital. Two days later, Cedrick had difficulty breathing, problems swallowing (nabibilaukan), was unable to sleep flat on the bed, and looked very weak. He was rushed to Bicol Medical Center where several procedures were ordered by the doctor such as an EKG, 2D Echo, X-rays, and blood tests. The 2D Echo was not covered by Phil Health so they had to raise money for it.  The result was alarming and Cedrick was ordered to be brought to Philippine Heart Center (PHC) right away for a heart operation to repair a PDA (Patent Ductus Arteriosus). 

Despite the urgency, it still took 2 weeks before they were able to find a politician sponsor who paved the way in getting the required ambulance to bring Cedrick from Naga City to Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City.  

At one-month-old, this tiny baby had a balloon PDA surgery already. He stayed in the ICU for one week. Irene was not allowed to see him as PHC required Irene to be fully vaccinated and she was not. At night, Irene and her mom would just sleep outside the hospital on the floor with just a carton to sleep on during the time when Cedric was in surgery and later recovering in the ICU. Every morning at 5am, they would be awakened by the security guard to clear the area and the entrance to the hospital.  

When Cedrick was moved to the ward, Irene had been fully vaccinated already and was allowed to stay with her baby. However, she was not allowed to go in and out of the hospital as she would be required to get an antigen test each time. This made it challenging to care for her kids at home.

On December 28, 2022, Baby Cedrick was confined at Bicol Medical Center for pneumonia and therefore ended up celebrating New Year’s Day at the hospital. Because baby Cedrick is considered indigent, the first heart operation cost of P500,000 was taken care of by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) per Irene.  These costs were directly remitted to Philippine Heart Center. However, the cost of transportation, food, medicines, and various supplies, which are not covered by Phil Health, are the sole responsibility of Irene and her family. 

When baby Cedrick contracted E. coli, he was confined at the hospital for one month. Irene then stayed with him for one month eating only the hospital ration food and taking a shower there. It was Irene’s mom who stayed outside the hospital and ran errands for her to buy medicines and whatever supplies are needed for the baby. 

Baby Cedrick is scheduled for a check-up on June 20th in preparation for his second open-heart surgery.

EPISODE #004 – Ayarah
DIAGNOSIS: Down Syndrome, Perineal Abscess, Congenital Heart Disease, Upper Moristral Infection, Pulmonary Infection.

BACKGROUND:
Ayarah is a 3-year-old girl with Down syndrome.  She was born on February 15, 2020, during a time when warnings about Covid 19 virus were rapidly spreading all over the world. Her mother, Marites, delivered her at the age of 46 and they live in a small room in Quezon City. Marites accepts laundry jobs to make a living, earning an estimated income of about $40 a month. However, when it is raining or there is a storm, nobody hires her.  She depends on neighbors who give them leftover food. She also scavenges in trash bins on the streets for recycled items to augment her income.

In December 2020, when Ayarah was only ten months old, her father was taken to Cebu by his family due to a mental health condition. He was suffering from depression caused by the loss of his job due to the pandemic lockdown and stress from not being able to feed his family and support the medical care for Ayarah. Thus, Ayarah is now being raised by a single mom.

From the time Ayarah was born, she was already very sickly.  If not cough and cold, it would be nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. She would be sick for three weeks and will get well for a week, then will be sick again for three weeks to a month. It was a vicious cycle. Sometimes, she would wake up in the middle of the night catching her breath. She is a very hyperactive child and displays behavioral and emotional problems.  When crying, she uncontrollably bangs her head on the wall and throws anything she can grab. When in public places, she would grab other kids’ toys & food, and frantically cries and throws herself on the ground when the toys & food are taken away from her.

In 2020, the year when Ayarah was born, hospitals were full of covid patients and did not accept other cases at all. So Ayarah was only being seen in family clinics for medication and antibiotics, but most of the time she was just treated at home by her mom for fear of contracting covid.

In June 2021, when covid cases were slowly going down, she was brought to National Children’s Hospital (NCH) for Pneumonia. 
 
It was only in January 2023, at almost 3 years old when Ayarah was finally diagnosed by a Multi-Specialty Clinic with congenital heart disease. A 2D Echo test was ordered by the doctor but was not done due to a lack of money.  

Sadly, in February 2023, a tumor was found in Ayarah’s perineal area which makes it difficult & painful for her to walk and move around. When in pain, she would relentlessly cry and angrily demonstrate tantrums and head banging until she exhausts herself and falls asleep. 

She finally made it through at Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) where they have to stand in line as early as 3:00 am in order to be seen because the line is always long. They normally get done by 7:00 pm.  The doctor has issued a series of procedures this month of May namely; 2D Echo, Chest X-ray, abdominal ultrasound, rehabilitation, and several blood tests. There are also referrals to specialists for dental services and Ophthalmology for her crossed eyes.

EPISODE #003 – John Eli
DIAGNOSIS:

BACKGROUND:
John Eli is an 8-year-old boy who is the youngest of 3 siblings. His father died of liver cancer when he was only one year old, thus he is being raised by a single mom.

At age 3, his mother noticed that he was still not able to talk and walk yet. So, he was brought to a neurologist in Baguio City for evaluation. Her fear was confirmed. John Eli was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy Spastic Quadriplegic with epilepsy.

Due to limited finances, he was never enrolled in school. At 8 years old, he does not know the alphabet at all but can identify colors, some animals, and numbers from 1 to 10 only. Since he does not talk, he only nods his head when asked if an item is yellow or red, or blue in color. Same if asked if the animal is a dog or a cat.

With his mobility issue, John Eli cannot eat on his own. He is always fed by his mother who stands as a full-time caregiver for him. He has difficulty chewing and swallowing his food, so he is only eating bread dipped in milk most of the time. If it is solid food, it is usually blended. However, his favorite is just bread. Occasionally, he would eat Quaker Oats or rice porridge. He rubs his belly when he is hungry. 

His maintenance meds include Baclofen to treat muscle pain, spasm, and stiffness; Carbamazepine for epilepsy, and Taurine for brain vitamins. Every three months, he gets financial assistance from the Dept of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in two different amounts. Sometimes he gets P3,000 which lasts about 10 days and sometimes P5,000, which is sometimes stretched to a month. Therefore, he is out of meds for more than two months before the next financial assistance comes in. 

His normal day is mostly just watching Ryan’s World on YouTube on his mom’s cell phone for many hours as they do not have a television at home. He is just a homebody boy who does not go out of the house at all. He just watches the kids from the window but easily gets frustrated as he could not play with them.

EPISODE #002 – Mariella
DIAGNOSIS: Wilm’s Tumor Stage IV

BACKGROUND:
Mariella is the only girl in the family of 5 siblings.  She is a quiet and homebody teenager who likes to draw. She goes to Pasay City North High School -Tramo Campus. 

Mariella was in grade 7 when she got sick.  She continued online schooling until grade 10 while undergoing treatment.

It was March 2021, at 14 yrs. old, when she constantly felt sick like there is gas in her stomach (kabag in Tagalog). So, the mother was just putting manzanilla as what parents would usually apply on the stomach of their children, usually cholic newborn babies when they have gas. Soon, she started to feel pain around her hips and started to have a fever.  Her hemoglobin suddenly dropped and she needed a blood transfusion immediately.

She was later diagnosed with a Stage 4 Wilm’s Tumor on the left kidney. She then had surgery on June 4 th,  2021 to remove the left kidney. Her chemo started right away and lasted for 6 mos.  

Unfortunately, in Jan. 2022 while monitoring her progress, a CT scan showed that a new tumor had developed in the same location where the left kidney was removed. Another set of chemotherapy was ordered but did not seem to help.  As a result, a 2nd surgery was performed on Aug. 2022 to remove the tumor. A more aggressive chemo was then ordered for her. This is when the chemo took a toll on her health. She drastically lost weight and started to have seizures 4x a day.  

By Dec. 2022, Mariella was diagnosed with Cortical Visual Impairment. She is now blind in both eyes as a result of the salvage chemo.

She has been confined at the National Children’s Hospital in Quezon City since Dec. 13th, 2022 up to the time of this video. She does not have an appetite to eat. She only eats one spoon of food and would stop eating.  She weighs only about 70 lbs. now. She just likes to sleep to escape from pain and body numbness.  She is given sleeping pills every 8hrs. but sometimes it does not work and she just cries & endures the pain.

EPISODE #001 – Princess
DIAGNOSIS: Hydrocephalus and Epilepsy

BACKGROUND:
Princess was born in Oriental Mindoro Philippines on July 2016. At six years old, she only weighs 12 lbs., which is that of a 3-month-old baby. She is already blind and cannot talk. She could barely hear and barely move to respond.  She can only eat blended food as she can no longer chew solid food. They are so poor that if there is no food available on the table, her mother blends cooked rice with water and just adds sugar for a better taste. 

Her parents started to notice that her head was growing big at three months old. Since they live in a remote place, they did not know that there is an available treatment for their baby. The baby’s head continued to grow big until she was two years old. That is when they learned that they could get help if she is brought to Manila, where big hospitals are. However, her skull has grown bigger already at this stage.
 
In November 2018, with little savings, Princess who was two years old already was finally brought to Manila & got operated on at Jose R. Reyes Memorial Medical Center. The parents just slept outside of the hospital building during Princess's check-ups & surgery as they do not have any relatives in Manila and could not afford a place or hotel to rent.
 
Unfortunately, after 4 years had passed, Princess developed a tumor on her left ear where the shunt tube was located that caused an infection that reached the brain. The shunt had to be removed in Feb. 2022.  She was supposed to get a new shunt after two months but they were not able to go back to the hospital anymore due to lack of money.

A small group of Filipino-Americans in the US have made a difference and brought hope to a little over 1,000 victims of typhoon Ulysses in the Philippines on Thanksgiving Holiday 2020. The Guardian Angels of America Foundation (GAAF), its volunteers, donors and supporters have joined efforts in providing Tapsilog meals to 355 typhoon victims in Marikina and 350 meals to Rizal residents. GAAF also extended 300 meals to homeless families affected by Anonas fire that happened a few days before the typhoon, near the Sta. Mesa Compound of the Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP). The feeding was done in collaboration with the PUP Lingap Komunidad.

The pandemic around the world has changed a lot of things in an unprecedented way, but the essence of giving and being thankful on Thanksgiving are manifested in the hearts of Filipino Christians. They have expressed their gratitude and shared their blessings to people who are already fighting to survive Covid19 and now struggle the destruction of typhoon Ulysses that struck the Philippines on 11/11/2020. Stay-at-home directives and the lockdown have given all of us time to pause and reflect on the many blessings that we enjoy around us here in America. In our humble way, we answer to the call for help from our fellow kababayan.

On behalf of the GAAF board of directors, we would like to thank the GAAF Philippine Chapter Team for successfully carrying out the Thanksgiving Feeding Project. They woke up as early as 3:00 am to prepare & pack the food, load the water in the truck and head out to reach the destination in time for lunch. They went out there knowing the risk of getting infected by Covid19 but did not hesitate to deliver the food to typhoon victims, some of whom are not properly protected with face masks and not following social distancing. Their commitment to serve our kababayans are worthy of respect. May the Lord guard them against Covid19 and continue to bless them with good health:

GAAF TEAM:
1. Lito Jeremillo (Chapter Leader)
2. Rosa Jeremillo (Chapter Leader)
3. Joel Jeremillo (Chef-Tapsi 2.0)
4. Jonathan Jeremillo
5. Johanna Jeremillo
6. Jan Arnold Juta
7. Joella Panlaque
8. Kim Banyaga
9. Fielh Hermedia
10. George Manlulu
11. Maybelle Mendoza
12. Miggy Nicole
13. Roland Bien Malanay
14. Mikaela Tradio
15. Andrei John Calpio

SPONSORS:
Naturally, this feeding program wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our donors who expressed their compassion and care for others this Thanksgiving Day. May God send forth HIS love and faithfulness to you all. Hereunder is the complete list:
1) Abigail Bernardo
2) Alexis Torres
3) Arcie Herrera
4) Bambi Celiz
5) Becky Lingad
6) Books En More (Edith)
7) Carmelita O’Neil
8) Clarissa Azarcon-Uhl
9) Danny Villamidez
10) Dr. Maria Cecilia Aluning
11) Dr. Marisse & Dr. Kevin Oei
12) Edith Andres
13) Eileen Ted
14) Elizabeth Ocampo Macalino
15) Fe & Jun Lalatad
16) Gene Santos
17) Jaime Pagsuyuin
18) Jazmin Serrano
19) JC Rances
20) Jessie Madrigal-Advento
21) Josie Dauz
22) Lai Valenzuela
23) Linda Cruz Santos
24) Linda Reyes-Nono
25) Loi Herrera
26) Ludy Mendoza
27) Lyn & Dan Abalos
28) Lynne & Con
29) Maricel Ramos
30) Marilou Carrasco
31) Marilou Mendoza
32) Mel Arban
33) Melanie Serrano Lacson & Boyet Lacson
34) Melissa-Julius Bacinillo
35) Melody Serrano Quirit & Michael Quirit
36) Mennie & Bernie Hernandez
37) Michelle & Michael Urbano
38) Milagros Serrano
39) Noemi & Alan Hamoy
40) Ren & Jean Carague
41) Rotary Club of Manila San Miguel c/o Linda Cristobal
42) Sheryl & Vance Nguyen
43) Suzan Rosal

See you back in less than 30 days for GAAF’s Christmas Feeding Program. Best wishes and God bless everyone!

First Thessalonians 5:16–18 says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”

For photos and videos, please click here.

Delve into Budapest, Vienna & Prague – the Imperial Cities of Central Europe, and experience traditional entertainment and the epic Oberammergau Passion Play.

 
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***Postpone to 2021 due to Covid-19 Pandemic***