Baby Alodia's Medical Fund

Hello everyone,

I am setting up this page on the behalf of little my sister and her new baby girl Alodia.  My niece was born three weeks early, on January 07 2017, by an emergency Caesarean section in Malolos City, Philippines.  The doctors decided to perform the Caesarean section after they discovered the baby’s heartbeat was irregular.  When Alodia was born, along with the irregular heartbeat, she was not breathing properly.  My niece was immediately transported to a specialized heart center in the capital city of Manila several hours away and placed in the ICU.  My sister remained in the local hospital to begin her recovery from the Caesarean section delivery.

On arrival to the heart center my niece was placed on a respirator because her breathing had deteriorated even further.  Over the next few days in the ICU the doctors ran numerous tests to try and determine the cause of her breathing issues and her irregular heartbeat.  During this process my sister was released from the hospital but, is unable to travel to the Philippine Heart Center in Manila due to her recovery from surgery.  After extensive testing the doctors finally diagnosed the cause of the irregular heartbeat and provided my brother-in-law with the first real update on baby Alodia’s condition.  The irregular heartbeat is due to a small hole in my niece’s heart.  After the initial shock, the doctors explained that this is not an uncommon condition and there is a good possibility that the hole in her heart will close on its own without the need for surgery.  My brother-in-law updated my sister by phone and tried to keep a positive attitude to help my sister cope with the situation.  However, it has been extremely challenging for my sister since she has yet to see her new baby girl.   My sister is now developing postpartum depression making the situation even more difficult.

After receiving somewhat positive news, the next day followed with more bad news.  Baby Alodia was now developing fluid in her lungs and will require a procedure to remove the fluid.  Unfortunately at this point due the emergency Caesarean section, the ongoing testing, and the daily ICU fees my sister and brother-in-law have exhausted their savings account and ran out of money.  Like the majority of the hospitals in the Philippines, the Philippine Heart Center operates on a fee for service basis.  This means that baby Alodia’s care could not continue until my sister and brother-in-law came up with more money.  My husband and I sent as much as we could.  With this money they were able to conduct the procedure to remove the fluid from my niece’s lungs and continue with her care, for the time being. 

After the fluid was removed from baby Alodia’s lungs, her heartbeat improved but, she was still not able to breathe on her own.  My niece was also beginning to develop pneumonia so, the decision was made by the doctors to transfer my niece to yet another hospital that specializes in the respiratory system.  The doctors at the new hospital initially tried taking my niece off of the respirator but, immediately realized she was still having trouble breathing on her own.  Baby Alodia was placed back on the respirator and testing continued to determine the cause of the breathing issues.

The money my husband and I have been sending has now run out as well but, baby Alodia is still in need of constant care in the ICU, continued testing, and medication.   Even necessary items like diapers and formula are not provided by the hospital.  We are now humbly asking for your help.  Any little bit helps and if you cannot donate we just ask for your prayers.   Also, as you have probably noticed from the pictures, my niece has a cleft palate.  While the cleft palate is not life threating the doctor’s state that it is severe enough to interfere with baby Alodia’s eating and possibly cause ear infections.  The money that is generously donated by everyone will go towards baby Alodia’s medical care and hopefully if enough money is raised my niece will be able to get the surgery to repair her cleft palate.  My little sister means the world to me and my heart is already filled with love for my new precious niece, Alodia.  Your donations and prayers are greatly greatly appreciated.  I look forward to hopefully providing a positive update very soon.