Baby Athena's Emergency heart Surgery
Donation protected
Athena had a very traumatic entry to this world, she had sepsis due to losing her meconium plug in the womb, a heart condition ASD (atrial septal defect), and as we found out months later Mosaic Downs syndrome and frequent Seizures. Athena has 2 holes in the wall that separates the left and right side of her heart. Her doctor told us that Athena would need to have open-heart surgery before she was a year old or she may not survive.
Just after Thanksgiving Athena’s health has started to decline much faster than we had ever expected. Athena began to get very upset before her bedtime and when she finally fell asleep she did not wake up the next morning. My fiancé tried to wake Athena up but she would not open her eyes. Athena did eventually wake up that day but it was only for a few minutes and only long enough to cry again before she fell asleep again. That evening we were getting extremely worried and in the early morning, Athena was rushed to the emergency room where she was stabilized and released the following day.
We were told that her heart was getting weak and that she was sleeping because her body was starving for oxygen. We got her in to see her cardiologist who told us that her open heart surgery can not be delayed any longer or Athena would not be able to survive for very much longer.
We relocated Athena to Manila where the Philippine Heart Center is located and we got her in for another check-up. The doctor confirmed that she would need to have surgery as soon as possible. We then got the second-worst news in our lives when we were told that the cost of open-heart surgery was estimated at $1million Pesos($21,739.13 USD) and in the Philippines payment in full is required prior to medical care being provided.
Although we have been trying to save money to pay for the surgery since we found out about her heart condition just after she was born, we have not been able to save anything due to Athena’s continuing medical expenses and the need to maintain a household both here in the USA and in the Philippines as COVID has delayed the VISA processing that has kept me from bringing my family to the USA.
I’ve exhausted all options in an effort to come up with the money that I need to save Athena’s life except for begging for help from friends and strangers alike. I am still a long way away from gathering the nearly 22 thousand dollars that we will need to pay for her surgery to be scheduled.
If you have made it this far, my entire family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. I am extremely thankful for your reading about our situation. If you are able to donate anything at all we will be forever thankful, and grateful to you and we will count ourselves blessed by you.
Anything at all will help us more than I can ever put into words.
Thank you and we love you.
Just after Thanksgiving Athena’s health has started to decline much faster than we had ever expected. Athena began to get very upset before her bedtime and when she finally fell asleep she did not wake up the next morning. My fiancé tried to wake Athena up but she would not open her eyes. Athena did eventually wake up that day but it was only for a few minutes and only long enough to cry again before she fell asleep again. That evening we were getting extremely worried and in the early morning, Athena was rushed to the emergency room where she was stabilized and released the following day.
We were told that her heart was getting weak and that she was sleeping because her body was starving for oxygen. We got her in to see her cardiologist who told us that her open heart surgery can not be delayed any longer or Athena would not be able to survive for very much longer.
We relocated Athena to Manila where the Philippine Heart Center is located and we got her in for another check-up. The doctor confirmed that she would need to have surgery as soon as possible. We then got the second-worst news in our lives when we were told that the cost of open-heart surgery was estimated at $1million Pesos($21,739.13 USD) and in the Philippines payment in full is required prior to medical care being provided.
Although we have been trying to save money to pay for the surgery since we found out about her heart condition just after she was born, we have not been able to save anything due to Athena’s continuing medical expenses and the need to maintain a household both here in the USA and in the Philippines as COVID has delayed the VISA processing that has kept me from bringing my family to the USA.
I’ve exhausted all options in an effort to come up with the money that I need to save Athena’s life except for begging for help from friends and strangers alike. I am still a long way away from gathering the nearly 22 thousand dollars that we will need to pay for her surgery to be scheduled.
If you have made it this far, my entire family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts. I am extremely thankful for your reading about our situation. If you are able to donate anything at all we will be forever thankful, and grateful to you and we will count ourselves blessed by you.
Anything at all will help us more than I can ever put into words.
Thank you and we love you.
Organizer
Dimitrio Alonzo
Organizer
Tucson, AZ