I received a touching letter from a woman in the Philippines the 15th of November. Her name was Geraldin and she had become aunt four days earlier.
Her sister Adelyn had a little girl who only weighed about 1200 grams. Now they appealed for help to this girl so that she could survive. The girl needed to get to a hospital that can provide an incubator.
And so they sent a photo that said a thousand words.
Little Khaterine lies in the hard shine of a lamp and a plastic film is stretched over the worn cot for retaining heat and moisture. The paint is peeling and in the cracks thrives bacteria. But they are doing the best they can with the limited resources they have. Now it’s up to Khaterine.
The following day, I get more pictures that give a glimpse of how little Khaterine and her family have it. It is so incredibly different from the care that we can give our premature babies in other countries like mine. How should she, a tiny baby, survive this?
Tears ran and I felt I just had to help, even if I have to do it yourself. When Nelia and Lilja was born at 23 weeks and weighed only 600 grams each, we received the best possible care that exists. In a country like the Philippines, they would never had a chance.
I asked Geraldin to reply with how much money they needed to be able to move Khaterine to the other hospital and I received this reply:
22 nov ” …ive talked to the doctor and she said we should prepare one hundred to one hundred fifty thousand pesos or about 3,488 u.s. dollar..please hope u help my niece..we can sent u all the receipts of the medicine and hospital bill by the time of her release..and if ur help is more than the expenses ..were gonna give it back to you.. ”
All the amazing care that Nelia and Lilja got was completely free for us. Helicopters, airplanes and ambulances. Medications, surgery and equipment. All this was given to us. All hours watched specialist trained staff and we felt we got the best possible help. Over 300.000 USD it cost the state so that my little twins would survive.
3488 USD is not a large sum for a baby´s survival. But how was I to get this money? And even if I would collect this amount I did not know how they could get there.
26 nov ” we dont have any bank accounts, bank accounts are for those people who have money to save…we live in simple way,,if we work this week,,whatever the amount of our work for a week will be our budget on our basic neccessities by next week..example..food..
but now we cant work because of my niece,, my whole family is busy with my niece….me and my brother,schedule to be at the hospital in the morning…7am to 7pm…then my sister and my brother in law (parents of katherine) 7pm to 7am….because doctor said that we should see katherine 24/7 to check that everything goes well for her…my mother and father left in our house to see my 2 sons and do some chores…my husband is the only one who is working for the whole family…thats why now we always run out of budget for food and always problematic where do we get money for katherines medicine/hospital expenses…but the brighter side…doctor said that katherines survival rate now is higher than before…
before she cry like a kitten..without opening her mouth….but now she cry louder and already can open her mouth…she often smiles now….
thank God! ”” this lil khaterine’s parents…
most recent photo ”
26 nov ” Time to give her medicine for proper breathing…. ”
The images Geraldin sent me etched into my mind. I was thinking about the family throughout the day. I asked for help via my network Premature Birth Awareness Ribbon but did not get many answers. Perhaps they wondered if the money would actually go to the baby in the pictures. Maybe it was all a scam. I also wondered at the beginning, but the more pictures and documents I saw, I could knock aside all doubts.
27 nov ” nurse transfer i.v. from her left ankle to her left hand due of not good flow of dextrose…
my heart beats faster as i heard she cries…. 😦 ”
27 nov ” need to do some blood test….. ”
27 nov ” Khaterine’s father check her temparature….
As nurse said we should check her temperature from time to time… ”
I was looking through my webshop Pytteliten that aims to help families with premature babies and took out things that I thought little Khaterine and her family could have a use for and sent it into a great package to the Philippines. There were some clothes and other things that can be seen in the pictures. I understood that it would take several weeks before it arrived but thought that it could be donated to the hospital if Khaterine’d outgrown it … or, at worst, would not have survived …
28 nov ” This is ward 21 looks like where baby Khaterine admit in. ”
29 nov ” Me, checking her temperature, And keeping my eyes on her as her breathing becomes irregular. May God help her. ”
29 nov ” I try to feed her,
but unfortunately,she doesnt take much milk. ”
29 nov ” Because Khaterine dont take much milk,doctor decided to feed her this way.. ”
After the last photos I became very worried. I understood that little Khaterine become weaker and I was afraid that she had an infection. She weighed 1200 grams when she was born and gone up to 1800 grams, but now she was down to 1300 grams.
My thoughts were constantly on the other side of the globe, and I had lost hope of getting any great help in collecting the money. A preemiemum had actually sent me 30 USD and I had sold maybe 30 Premature Birth Awareness Ribbons but it was not nearly enough. I added as much as I could spare and sent 450 USD to the family. I was ashamed that it was not more, at the same time we bought things and arranged in the kids room.
30 nov
” Now she is having apnea… Her heart rate is with in normal rate… but her breathing…… sometimes it stop for awhile… ”” I went here at the hospital yesterday 7am with my brother and now its 7am here…i havent sleep yet…Khaterines parent are on their way here… me and my brother will recieve ur help and give to khaterines dad…
And finally i can go home to do some chores and to take care of my 2 sons….
My eldest is 3 and my youngest will turn 2 on dec.31.. ”” I already recieve ur help…
Ill send u a photo of the claim reciept…
i rush to the hospital after a few minutes that i got home..
my sister texted me that khaterines nail turn into color violet and realy scare of apnea… ”
1 dec ” this is the reciever reciept… i recieve…19,722 Php…
thank u so much… ”
I myself remember how alone I felt when we stayed at the hospital with the twins. I thought about how other people lived on as if nothing had happened. How they cared about things that do not really mean anything in the whole while my kids were fighting for their lives.
While Khaterine and her family struggled through this difficult time, I sat on Christmas-gala and ate good Christmas food and watched the entertainment. But Khaterines family were not alone in their bubble. Even though I was thousands of miles from them, I was there in my thoughts. I hope they felt it.
1 dec ” We decided to have our khaterine to undergo new born screening…i couldnt able to get some photos because the nurse brought her in the laboratory room .. ”
1 dec ” Its around 1 am here,
But i went to this breastfeeding mother of twin babies,try to ask some milk for our khaterine…
Adelyn (Khaterine’s mother) is running out of her own milk. ”
Donor milk, formula and diapers … Not even that one can take for granted.
2 dec ” This is where ur help goes…
Doctor advice it,.,so we bought Adelyn..this anmum a milk for lactating moms and as well as vitamins for lactating…and diaper for Khaterine…
Thank u!!! ”
Even less medical help.
3 dec ” This where ur help goes….thank you!!!
The nurse said..Baby Khaterine has a problem with her hemoglobin and hematocrit…
so she need blood transfusion.. ”
3 dec ” Nurse checking her heart beat..and said it was ok…
But she still having apne..God bless our Khaterine. ”
3 dec ” This is where your help goes…. thank you!!!
Here are some of the receipts of the medicines my sister bought for Khaterine.. ”
3 dec ” This is where your help goes. …thank you!!!
Doctor said this medicine prevent khaterine to have seizure due to her jaundice (her skin becomes yellowish) ”
Getting a premature baby is often described as a roller coaster. The journey home is often long and full of sorrow and setbacks but also of small bright spots.
4 dec ”Good news….
No more feeding tube….
She’s on feeding bottle… and can able to take 10cc per hour…
She can even do thumb sucking…..Thank God!!!!!
😀 ”” And no more apnea… 😀 ”
4 dec ” I.V. from her left arm to her right and to her left hand…
Next???? ”
4 dec ” This is where your help goes…. thank you!!!!!
Antibiotic and neoflon for i.v. insertion…. ”
4 dec ” I.V. insertion now on her right feet… ”
So small … but soo loved!
5 dec ” This is where your help goes…. thank you…. ”
” Antibiotic… ”
5 dec ” I. V. From her right feet to her right hand.. ”
And then came the pictures that made me cry with joy. I wished that I could be there and see her with my own eyes. A smile that brings so much hope.
5 dec ” Happy moments!!!! 😀
It’s like she’s saying
….don’t worry everything is gonna be OK…”
But then aunt Geraldin ill and could not be with her niece in a few days.
7 dec ” I got fever so can’t watch my niece either my sons… ”
10 dec ” I feel better now….
I can go to the hospital tomorrow to take care of khaterine… ”10 dec ” this is where you’re. help goes…
thank you….this are what adelyn bought for khaterine…
when I got sick…diapers..
enfalac…formulated milk for premature babies… (in case adelyn runs out of her own milk )
absolute… pure. distilled drinkin water
nutrilin..multivitamins for khaterine.
and heplock… ”
10 dec ” this is where your help goes… thank you!!!!
my sister bought this for khaterine,this medicine is for good vowel movement… ”
I am happy to see small Khaterine growing and getting stronger but then I get reminded that our children have such different conditions.
10 dec ” You know what My sister told me. That there is another Preemie on the next room but unfortunately the baby didn’t make it…. I think because the Preemie should be place in incubator but Hence the hospital didn’t have it.. instead she was place in the room were patients who have dengue are with in..
As well as Khaterine.. ”
But one small baby, Khaterine have been given the chance to grow up and delighting her family.
11 dec ” Today is exactly Khaterine 1st month when she was born…
On more dextrose… just heplock on her left hand…
we can already dress her…
Her jaundice is gone..and no more photo therapy…
no more oxygen…
And her eye protection has been remove…Thank God!!! ”
11 dec ” So happy to see everything goes well for her,, 😀
maybe we can go home today or by tomorrow…. that’s. what doctor said… ”
Then came a letter submitted from someone of you who wanted to help this family, thank you so much!
12 dec ” I received this this 12 in the afternoon…
I just want to say thank you to someone who send this cute clothes to our little khaterine…;-) ”
12 dec ” And our little Khaterine finally got home…..
Thank you for everything!!!!! 😉
Finally, the family got little Khaterine home and I know what a great pleasure it is to come home with your baby after such a long and difficult hospitalization time. It is something we share even though we live in different countries and cultures. We’ve got a bond between us that is stronger than friendship.
12 dec ” This where your help goes… thank you!!!!
This our hospital bill…. our bill is suppose to be much higher.. but we have a discount for we should have weekly check up for Khaterine..
And they give us big discount.. after they know about Khaterine’s situation..
12 dec ” This is where your help goes… thank you!!!!
Some medicines /medical receipts…
We bought khaterine 2 more feeding bottles….
Mosquito net…
Pillows….
And some clothes… ”
12 dec ” Doctor made list of Do’s (things we should do /monitor) when we got home. ”
12 dec ” And also doctor list the test Khaterine should undergo… ROP..eye test and hearing test…and weekly check ups until she reached 6 months old… ”
12 dec ” Me and my whole family want to say Thank You from the bottom of our hearts…
Thanks to Emmy for finding a way to help us….
thanks for those people who bought the ribbon to help us..
Thanks to those people who prayed for khaterine..
Thanks for those people who have lovely comments…
And most of all Thank God!!!For those parents who have preemie and still on their fight….just keep the candle of hope burning…
your not alone we,people who have been through the same situation wherein you are right now… we’re behind your back…God bless us all
😉 !!!!!!! ”
I will continue to keep in touch with the family and see if there is anything more I can do for them.
Geraldin has mentioned that she would like to become an ambassador for preemies in the Philippines and maybe we can do something big together.
I gratefully accept your help. Together we can save and help children just like Khaterine.
My dream is to one day go to the family in San Jose del Monte, Philippines. I want to visit the hospital where Khaterine survived their first time and give them all the equipment I can manage to summon up so that they can better help premature babies and newborn sick children. But I need help to get there. Each coin can make a difference to a child’s life.
You can donate by clicking the ”Donate”-button.
Email me at the same time if you want to leave a message for the family.
info@prematurebirthawarenessribbon.com
Thank you!
Mirakeltvillingar 