Help for Reyhia in the Philippines

This is Reyhia Eslabon: doting daughter & sister, endearing wife, and loving mother.

She is a Type 2 diabetic who is dependent on insulin and suffered from complications that led to cataracts and retinal detachment in both eyes, which left her legally blind with minimal vision to her right eye, had a stroke at the age of 40 which left her with weakness to her legs, and from the multitude comorbidities she’s had to manage, she is now grappling depression. 

Reyhia lives in the Philippines, a developing country, where the healthcare system is dismal and unable to provide equitable access to treatments and interventions. She is currently hospitalized: the hospital is not equipped with machines to monitor patients’ vital signs so she had to bring in her own blood pressure device and pulse oximeter. She needed multiple blood transfusions but the facility does not have a blood bank, forcing her to travel to a blood bank nearby and purchasing bags of blood herself. If they didn’t have blood that was compatible with her blood type, she would have to find someone herself who would be a matching donor. After an abdominal ultrasound, the doctors found a hard mass in her stomach that is connected to her kidney, suspicious of malignancy. She was diagnosed with abdominal wall endometriosis, concerning for metastasis. And now, Reyhia needs surgery. She is considered a high-risk candidate due to her medical history and will face a long and winding road to recovery.

Reyhia has lived her whole life providing for her family and sick parents with assistance from her sister in the U.S., all the while struggling with her own medical problems. Although her financial burden is lessened with thanks to her sister’s support, she still needs your help.  You may not know Reyhia, but you may know her sister, Reyna. And if you’ve ever met Reyna, you would know that there is nothing she wouldn’t do for her friends and family. Reyna has been a key provider not just for her own family but also for her family in the Philippines. And now that burden has reached its apex. Reyna is not one to ask for help but is always the first to help others. She’s a strong person, but we all need a lift every once in a while. This is our chance to lift Reyna and her family.

Please keep Reyhia and her family in your thoughts & prayers. Any donation will make a world of a difference to her and mean so much to this family. No amount is too small. All donations will go towards Reyhia’s medical expenses & costs for her maintenance medications, which are considerably more costly in the Philippines. Thank you for taking the time to read this and thank you for your support.