Give Baby Mario a Fighting Chance

Hi everyone, we are Gicelle Medina and Marjo Medina. We want to share our pregnancy journey hoping to inspire others who are having a complicated pregnancy and to humbly ask for help to keep our journey going. // It’s not a secret to our family and close friends that we have struggled with infertility for 3 years. It started with back pain that wouldn’t go away. After seeing a specialist, I was diagnosed with endometriosis and a cyst on my left ovary. It was also found out that I am suffering from a diminished ovarian reserve. Doctors suspect that the endometriosis and inflammation had somehow damaged my ovaries, resulting to a very low number of eggs. This means that even at age 31 at that time, I had the egg count of a 40+ year old woman. It did not end there. I also tested positive for reproductive immune disorders where my immune system turns against me, transforming it from protector to attacker. All of these conditions made it very difficult for me to conceive. // After a year of trying but failing to get pregnant naturally, I had to resign from my job of 10 years to focus on conceiving. Marjo and I decided to act fast and go straight to IVF. Looking for a high success rate and affordable IVF clinic was not easy. We ended up deciding to go to Lee Women's Hospital in Taichung, Taiwan. In the 6 months of treatment, our hopes were high as we went through 5 egg retrievals and 1 embryo transfer. But the cycle failed. And we were heartbroken. We decided to take a break. I told my husband I had to find a new job so we can save up and try again. After finding a new job I had to do the IVF in the Philippines even if it was more expensive. Again, we had to go through the roller coaster of hope, disappointment and insecurities,from the physical effects of treatment and the strain on our finances. But after 7 egg retrievals and 1 embryo transfer in KATO IVF clinic in Makati City, this time in a span of 1 year, we finally had a positive pregnancy on March 2020. This was the happiest day of our lives. But that same month the father of my husband, Capt Mario Medina Jr. died in an airplane explosion at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport which made it also the saddest time of our lives. It’s hard to explain the emotions of happiness and sadness mixed together. Marjo was so sad from the tragic death of his father that he told me if the baby was a boy we should name him Mario. Fast forward a few months and true enough our baby is a boy. // We had hoped that the pregnancy would be easier given the difficulties we had in conceiving a baby. Little did we know that on July 13, a bout of severe back pain would send me to the delivery room at 22 weeks gestation. I was told that I was already experiencing pre-term labor. At this stage, the baby is not yet viable and we found ourselves fighting for our unborn son’s life. Our goal was only to reach 24 weeks to give Mario a chance of survival. There were many days when I would go into active labor and contractions would be at 100% strength occurring every 3-5 minutes. It was a painful endeavor to be in labor multiple times a week. The medications to keep the contractions at bay also had side effects like extreme palpitations, nausea, acid reflux, and body malaise. I would endure most days with all these happening at the same time, on top of the actual labor pains. And because of the pandemic, and being in the high risk unit, I am not allowed any visitors. I have not seen my husband nor any family member for more than 2 months now. // With the help of capable doctors and a strong community praying for us and Baby Mario, we have not only reached 24 weeks but we have surpassed doctor’s expectations. There were many times when we thought we were going to give birth. But God is good and faithful. We have been blessed with many miracles that make us stay strong and keep the pregnancy going. At 26 weeks, my complete placenta previa had moved to just a low lying placenta. This means that despite the strong contractions, we are at less risk of bleeding out. At 29 weeks, I experienced bleeding indicating impending delivery. But it miraculously stopped and we are now going on to 32 weeks gestation! // However, this means that Baby Mario and I have been in the hospital for 65 days, and counting. Our medical bills are mounting, that our savings are almost depleted. My husband’s job in the aviation industry has taken the worst hit due to the pandemic and has impacted our household income. We are still a long way from reaching full term. So we are reaching out to the generous hearts of our family and friends who are willing to donate any amount to help fund our stay in the hospital and give our Little Mario a fighting chance. Your donation, big or small, means the world to us. Please accept our grateful hearts. // For those in the Philippines // BPI 1590027029 // BDO 006500103415 // GCash 09178371485