
Help cover tita Dina's medical bills
Donation protected
My 63-year old aunt, Merlina (Dina) Bayongan, is currently recovering at home from a broken hip, and the costs for surgery and medical treatment have become more than our family can afford on our own. Currently, the hospital has informed us that the bill is $20,000 CAD and likely to increase. My family and I are incredibly grateful for your assistance in paying for the costs of treatment so we can ensure her quality of life.
My aunt is a resident of the Philippines, who has been visiting my family for the last few weeks here in Canada. She broke her hip on November 28, after falling during a dizzy spell most likely due to a fever she had at the time. Being a tourist with no insurance, medical care is not covered under Canadian insurance policies. We ended up calling for an ambulance to take her to the hospital after we also realised she had developed an infection on her foot during her fever. This turned out to be a necessary call - during the ambulance ride, the paramedics became increasingly worried about the state of her hip, and X-Rays at the hospital confirmed that she had broken it in the fall.
My aunt stayed overnight at the hospital, where they informed us that her stay would cost $3000 per night out of pocket for the duration of her stay, and told us she needed to go into surgery the next day. Thankfully, the surgery has gone without any hitches, and she is recovering well, a fact that my family and I are eternally grateful for. They kept her a few days longer before she was able to come home. Despite everything, we are relieved that her injury occurred here in Canada, rather than back home in the Philippines, because the healthcare options for her are much better than what's available back home.
She is currently recovering at home, and has been improving in strength. We've been taking her for daily walks outside the apartment hallways, with the help of a walker lent by the hospital. We have a few other equipment on loan including a pushchair, and things to make our bathroom a bit more accessible, but we'll have to start covering the rental fees once the month ends.
She came to visit Canada after retiring back home in the Philippines as she wanted to experience snow for the first time, so we are really hoping she recovers well enough that we can at least take her outside to experience Canadian snow, and hopefully return home to her family and grandchildren back in the Philippines. The holidays will be rough for my family and hopefully with your help, we can make all this trouble worth it by getting our aunt back on her feet.
Co-organizers (1)
SARA G
Organizer
Scarborough, ON
Paolo Guira
Co-organizer