Medical Fundraising for Paul
Donation protected
Hi everyone, I am Paulina Siongco, daughter of Paul Siongco, the beneficiary of this campaign. I am using my fiancé's Gofundme account. His name is Alex Raymundo.
This account basically is to raise funds for my Dad and his medical needs. Let me tell you about my Dad and his present condition. My Dad has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. This is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named after an American baseball player who was first diagnosed with this kind of disease. It’s a motor neuron disease that slowly paralyzes people because the brain can no longer communicate with the muscles of the body. This will eventually weaken a person’s body. The person will then lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow and unfortunately, even breathe.
Do you remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge a few years ago? It was made to raise awareness and funds for research for this kind of disease. I remember there are a few people I know who participated in that challenge, little did I know, after a few years, I will be writing this in order to raise medical funds for my Dad who’s been suffering already for 3 years because of this disease.
Please read below to know more about my Dad and our family:
My Dad is the most hardworking person I know. He’s the epitome of a great man, a great provider who will do everything for his family. My Dad has worked very hard for us. We may not be a rich family, but he made sure we were able to live a comfortable life. He might not have given us everything we want, but he made sure we have everything we need. We’re a family of four, with me being the youngest of just two siblings. My Dad has always treated me as his princess. He would always bring me to school or wherever I need to be at then he would pick me up. He would always surprise me with my favorite food or we would have Father and Daughter dates just randomly whenever he wants. He’s a very kind and generous person, someone who is also so fun to be with, someone you can trust and rely on. He would never hesitate to give help to others – needed or not. It’s just in his nature to give and be generous.
Growing up, I felt like our life is almost perfect. Come 2015, my Dad has started to feel a little different. The doctors first found a nerve compression on his spine, but then even after his surgery, no signs of recovery were seen when supposedly, according to his Spine Surgeon, he should have recovered with therapy after 6 months to 1 year. Slowly, my Dad has deteriorated over the years; ALS signs have started to show up. He started having difficulty in his everyday movements such as lifting up his arms, stretching his leg, eating, swallowing, driving, walking even with his walker, and his speech had become harder and harder to understand. His Spine Surgeon referred us to a Neurologist because for him, there might be something else. My Dad has been under observation for a couple of years until he was finally diagnosed. He’s now unable to move by himself, he definitely lost a lot of weight. We’re having difficulty in understanding his speech. He needs assistance all the time in everything he does. What happened to my Dad forced him to retire from work a little early than expected. His plans of travelling with my Mom all over the world after his retirement became impossible. Of course, with his present condition, it would be hard for them to travel.
This is by far the hardest trial my family have to face. It's tiring and draining in all aspects - physically, mentally, emotionally, and most of all, financially. This has cost us a lot of money with his retirement funds being spent for his medical needs – his medicines, caregivers, hospital checkups and more. Although ALS has no permanent cure, his doctor said there’s a medicine that can slow down the progression of his disease – we need to buy this in the US and it’s a bit expensive.
I'm doing this fundraising campaign because my brother and I, since we’re the only two working in our family, cannot fully support anymore my Dad’s medical needs. We do miss our usual family activities – hearing Mass on Sundays, eating out (my Dad is a foodie, he loves to try different restaurants), watching movies together etc. It’s hard for us to accept what had happened to my Dad and the sudden change in our lives, but this is our reality now and we need to face it. Part of it is taking our chances, hoping that you could be kind hearted and compassionate to help our Dad in whatever he needs. He definitely do not deserve what he’s going through right now, but if there’s a way to extend his life and lessen his pain and discomfort then I would do whatever it takes just to provide him his needs - the same way that he did everything for us back then.
On behalf of my Mom and my brother, I would like to say that any amount/help would be gladly appreciated and that we are thankful for your generosity. God bless us all!
Paulina
This account basically is to raise funds for my Dad and his medical needs. Let me tell you about my Dad and his present condition. My Dad has been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis or ALS. This is also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, named after an American baseball player who was first diagnosed with this kind of disease. It’s a motor neuron disease that slowly paralyzes people because the brain can no longer communicate with the muscles of the body. This will eventually weaken a person’s body. The person will then lose the ability to walk, talk, eat, swallow and unfortunately, even breathe.
Do you remember the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge a few years ago? It was made to raise awareness and funds for research for this kind of disease. I remember there are a few people I know who participated in that challenge, little did I know, after a few years, I will be writing this in order to raise medical funds for my Dad who’s been suffering already for 3 years because of this disease.
Please read below to know more about my Dad and our family:
My Dad is the most hardworking person I know. He’s the epitome of a great man, a great provider who will do everything for his family. My Dad has worked very hard for us. We may not be a rich family, but he made sure we were able to live a comfortable life. He might not have given us everything we want, but he made sure we have everything we need. We’re a family of four, with me being the youngest of just two siblings. My Dad has always treated me as his princess. He would always bring me to school or wherever I need to be at then he would pick me up. He would always surprise me with my favorite food or we would have Father and Daughter dates just randomly whenever he wants. He’s a very kind and generous person, someone who is also so fun to be with, someone you can trust and rely on. He would never hesitate to give help to others – needed or not. It’s just in his nature to give and be generous.
Growing up, I felt like our life is almost perfect. Come 2015, my Dad has started to feel a little different. The doctors first found a nerve compression on his spine, but then even after his surgery, no signs of recovery were seen when supposedly, according to his Spine Surgeon, he should have recovered with therapy after 6 months to 1 year. Slowly, my Dad has deteriorated over the years; ALS signs have started to show up. He started having difficulty in his everyday movements such as lifting up his arms, stretching his leg, eating, swallowing, driving, walking even with his walker, and his speech had become harder and harder to understand. His Spine Surgeon referred us to a Neurologist because for him, there might be something else. My Dad has been under observation for a couple of years until he was finally diagnosed. He’s now unable to move by himself, he definitely lost a lot of weight. We’re having difficulty in understanding his speech. He needs assistance all the time in everything he does. What happened to my Dad forced him to retire from work a little early than expected. His plans of travelling with my Mom all over the world after his retirement became impossible. Of course, with his present condition, it would be hard for them to travel.
This is by far the hardest trial my family have to face. It's tiring and draining in all aspects - physically, mentally, emotionally, and most of all, financially. This has cost us a lot of money with his retirement funds being spent for his medical needs – his medicines, caregivers, hospital checkups and more. Although ALS has no permanent cure, his doctor said there’s a medicine that can slow down the progression of his disease – we need to buy this in the US and it’s a bit expensive.
I'm doing this fundraising campaign because my brother and I, since we’re the only two working in our family, cannot fully support anymore my Dad’s medical needs. We do miss our usual family activities – hearing Mass on Sundays, eating out (my Dad is a foodie, he loves to try different restaurants), watching movies together etc. It’s hard for us to accept what had happened to my Dad and the sudden change in our lives, but this is our reality now and we need to face it. Part of it is taking our chances, hoping that you could be kind hearted and compassionate to help our Dad in whatever he needs. He definitely do not deserve what he’s going through right now, but if there’s a way to extend his life and lessen his pain and discomfort then I would do whatever it takes just to provide him his needs - the same way that he did everything for us back then.
On behalf of my Mom and my brother, I would like to say that any amount/help would be gladly appreciated and that we are thankful for your generosity. God bless us all!
Paulina
Organizer
Alex Raymundo
Organizer
Vancouver, BC
