Life-Saving Heart Surgery For Esther Faith Bateo!

Hi all, this is Lawson Bates and  I, along with my family, close friends and church members, and medical missions members of MEDIC Corps, would like to introduce you to a precious little girl from Leyte, Philippines, who is desperately in need of a life-saving heart surgery to repair a congenital heart defect called Tetrology Of Fallot, a problem with the heart’s structure that changes the normal blood flow through the heart. Left untreated, this defect causes heart failure, and ultimately,  death! The  surgery to repair this defect is usually performed before a patient is two years old, but because this operation was not available for Esther when she was younger, her heart condition has deteriorated and her situation becomes more critical each day!


I first met Esther and became aware of her medical condition while on a disaster relief trip in Tacloban, Philippines, with the U.S. Medical Missions group, MEDIC Corps. But during this past November of 2019, Esther’s condition took a turn for the worse and she was admitted to ICU in Tacloban, Philippines.


I was heartbroken to hear that this constantly joyful, bubbling little girl who has beat so many odds by surviving this defect for ten years was now fighting even harder for her life!


I traveled to the Philippines in November of 2019, along with a U.S. MEDIC Corps pediatric ICU nurse, in order to expedite Esther’s passports and paperwork, and to arrange all necessary steps for Esther and her mother to travel to the USA for Esther to receive the life-saving operation that she urgently needs.


As soon as Esther was stabilized and discharged from her regional hospital in Tacloban, she was brought to the Capital City of Manila where she was admitted to the Philippine Heart Center on Christmas Day of 2019 for more tests and procedures which have confirmed the urgent need for this operation. Unfortunately, because of a number of critical factors with her case (including her extremely low ejection fraction/cardiac output), this surgery is not at all possible for her in her own home country, so we have presented her full medical file to a number of the top pediatric cardiology hospitals in the U.S. that DO have the ability to perform this necessary, life-saving operation and can administer the needed advanced level of post-operative care for her recovery.


Esther Faith’s case has now been fully reviewed by a top-rated surgical team in the U.S. and she has been accepted for surgery! As soon as she arrives in the United States she will be admitted for an in-person echocardiograph and prepped for the pediatric open-heart surgery.


The estimated total cost for this operation and recovery is $164,000, but negotiations have been made on Esther’s behalf to drastically reduce the costs through self-pay discounts and charitable contributions.


Time is not Esther's friend, and we’re doing our very best to make sure she gets the life-saving care she critically needs!


Please JOIN US in making a difference for this precious little girl!


1) PRAY FOR ESTHER. As you can imagine, Esther and her family have faced a huge number of difficulties throughout her life, but she’s been consistently positive through it all, always smiling and bringing joy to everyone who meets her.


2) GIVE TO HELP. If you would like to directly support Esther Faith’s life-saving heart surgical operation for total repair of TOF and her recovery, you can do that by donating HERE.


3) ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO HELP AND PRAY. Share this page with your family, friends, on socials (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook), and with anyone you know with a kind heart wanting to make a difference for someone who can’t.


100% of ALL funds donated through this page will be used for Esther’s medical operation, and other coinciding incurred expenses.

How that will look:


- A direct transfer for the cost of operation and postoperative care will be made to the medical facility that has accepted Esther’s case.


- Esther and her mother’s travel, lodging, and expense during their stay away from their home in Tacloban, Philippines will be covered. The estimated operation and recovery time for Esther is eight weeks total. Esther and her mother will be flown back to the Philippines to be reunited with the rest of her loving family and friends once operation and recovery are completed.


- If any excess funds remain, they will be given to Esther’s mother and designated for Esther’s future follow-up medical expense in her home country of The Philippines.


Updates will consistently be posted here on this page throughout Esther’s journey, so please continue to check back!


THANK YOU again, for your kind support of this precious little girl.


⁃Lawson Bates


Also, a huge and grateful “thank you” to the team Stateside who’ve worked tirelessly on Esther’s behalf, coordinating her medical reviews, paperwork, travel itineraries, etc to make sure the process goes smoothly and swiftly as possible for her to receive this life-saving care.