My Uncle’s Heart Condition

I know for a fact that there are good samaritans out there. I have encountered these people throughout the years, from when my brother got sick with leukemia to when my mom battled a rare kidney disease.

I would like to appeal to this very same people who have some to spare for someone who badly needs it.

My uncle has a heart condition wherein the veins/arteries leading to his heart are already blocked. A couple of months ago, he came back from a work contract abroad with nothing because he was confined there due to his heart problem. The doctors didn’t tell him how bad his condition was. He came home thinking of spending a few months here for vacation and then going back abroad.

You see, my uncle has 4 kids. The eldest is in 3rd year high school (a junior high) and the youngest in 5th grade in elementary. My aunt, his wife, is a stay at home mom who does odd jobs to augment the family’s income.

He’s been noticing a steady decline in his health for the past month alone. He attributed it to working under the sun, he freelances for car repair shops and he thought that it’s the reason for his shortness of breath. You know, the heat and all. He would go home with no income some days. Some days he would earn as much as 500 pesos a day (roughly US$12). 500pesos a day in this country is just enough for food for a family of 6 and some spare change for the kids’ school allowance for a day. Not enough to even pay the bills and the rent.

What we do in our family is we help them financially. But as families go, we also have lots of bills to pay and my brother still goes to college.

My uncle is in bad need of many laboratory tests and a possible bypass operation. If the doctors will see that it is the only way for him to get well, then it would have to be done right away. The first test that will be done to him is to determine how many arteries/veins are already blocked. It will cost 50,000 pesos (roughly US$1,200). That’s just the first lab test that will be done on him. I don’t know exactly what it’s called but according to my uncle, a device will be inserted in his groin that will lead to his heart. It is a camera-like device that will enable the doctors to see his heart and the arteries/veins around it. The bypass operation, which is close to 90% sure to be done on him, will cost around half a million pesos (500,000 pesos or roughly US$12,000)!

Can you imagine how costly this is? My uncle has no savings account to speak of. He’s just starting to save for his kids’ schooling but all of it got spent already during this past few months that he’s out of work. Our whole clan is mostly composed of working professionals but we are the people who live from paycheck to paycheck. We are pooling our resources now but it will never be enough to cover all of my uncle’s medical expenses.

That’s why I am appealing to your kind hearts. If for some reason, out of the kindness of your hearts, you feel like helping my uncle out, just drop me an email or leave a comment here and I will email you myself. My uncle has 4 young kids. They need him to live longer and see them grow up. My uncle’s doctors told him that as soon as his heart has had enough, he’ll suffer a cardiac arrest and that’s it for him. His stomach is full of fluid due to the fact that his liver is also being affected already. He can’t walk three steps without the need to stop and catch his breath. He is still working under the heat of the sun because he needs to feed his family. He is putting up a brave front for the sake of his kids.

Please help my uncle! For those of you who have something to spare, you can help him prolong his life. His name is Walter Reyes. You can also include him in your prayers and intentions.

Thank you.

P.S. I wouldn’t have posted this entry if I don’t really see the need to. I hope you all understand. Thanks again.