Beth's Heart Journey

Hello everyone! My name is Judith and I am from Rouse Hill, NSW. I am raising funds for my mother Beth Ilagan to help cover her hospital admission cost and rehabilitation cost. My mum is an overseas visitor and was unable to go back to our country of origin due to the lockdown. As per her visa condition, she has maintained standard health insurance while here in Australia.

On the 23rd of August, my mum had her 2nd dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and I took the liberty to consult the GP and see if I can get a referral for an ECG for my mum since she's having some chest pain. Luckily the GP can already perform the ECG and seeing some irregularities Doctor decided to do a blood test and also referred us to a Cardiologist. Late that night, the doctor called us to go back to repeat the blood test (which made me suspect something is wrong). Instead of the GP repeating the blood test, the doctor recommended that we go to the ER to be sure. We immediately took my mom to the ER. After several hours, the doctor confirmed that mum is having an acute heart attack.

Due to the lockdown, I initially brought my mum to the nearest hospital which is a private one. Learning about my mums' condition, the Doctor advised that my mum needs to be admitted and they had to perform an Angiogram to test further however I am required to provide a $30,000 deposit even though my mum has overseas health insurance. Because of the financial constraints, my mum had to be transferred to a public hospital. She was then transported to Blacktown hospital where she had to stay in the ER while waiting for her bed. Unfortunately, while in the ER my mum was exposed to someone who has COVID-19. Because of this, she was deemed as close contact and had to be isolated. The COVID-19 exposure put my mum at risk as well delayed all the tests and procedures.

After the angiogram, I was told that my mum needs to go through triple bypass surgery which can only be done in Westmead hospital. But because of the COVID-19 exposure, she will have to complete the 14-day isolation. She stayed in Blacktown for more than a week and had to be transferred to Westmead public hospital as she is experiencing chest pains again. While she was already told and have been prepared for the bypass operation, the doctors made a last-minute decision not to progress and instead finish the 14-day isolation. A day after the 14-day isolation my mum was transferred to Westmead Private Hospital to have her surgery performed there.

Because my mum is an overseas visitor, her health insurance has restricted coverage for heart and vascular medical claims. I was told that the surgery itself will be covered but the admission costs will not be covered and will be the gap. I was given a quote of our potential expenditure and panic washed over me. At a bare minimum, we had to pay for the 14 days required isolation ($2500/per day), 3-4 days in ICU ($6500/per day), and another 4 days at post-op ($2500/per day). I tried to ignore this and focused on my mum's health first.

While in isolation my mum was given medications to prevent her from having a heart attack and this resulted in some complications after the surgery. After hearing the doctor say it's a successful surgery, the following morning the doctor called to say they have to bring my mum again to the theatre to perform another surgery to drain the blood clots. This lead to my mum staying in the ICU for 4 days. I thought this is the end of her suffering but I was wrong.

Her left leg where they took the veins as part of the surgery had complications as well. There is still some residue of clots after the second surgery and it became swollen up to the point that she can't move it. As per the doctor’s recommendation, mum will need to take some blood thinners more likely for 3 months to help with the clot and go through cardio rehab so she can hopefully walk again. Again because of her restricted coverage, the rehabilitation cost will also not be covered by the private health insurance.

I am asking everyone for donations if you can to help our family pay for some of the medical bills that are headed our way. We have a long road ahead of us, but with faith, God, and support we will get thru this! Thank you to everyone who donates and supports her, it is appreciated more than anyone could imagine!