Marko’s Brain Surgery & Rehab

Last Friday (Oct 26), Marko, 20, a 4th year student studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Sto. Tomas in the Philippines, got into a car accident along Taft Avenue involving the car he booked via a ride sharing app and another car. The accident resulted in severe traumatic brain injury for Marko—he fractured his skull and his brain was hemorrhaging profusely when he arrived at the hospital. His mom, Belot, had to make the difficult decision on his first day at the ER to put him under the knife for brain surgery to give him a fighting chance at survival. God is good, and the operation was successful, but his brain stem has been damaged severely, and up to this day he remains in critical condition. When he wakes up, he will have to face deficits because of the brain injury, including loss of language comprehension, weakness of the right side of the body (brain damage was on the left side), and more that the doctor cannot even begin to explain.

Marko comes from a small but very, very tight-knit family that consists of his mom, Belot, a humble school teacher, and his younger sister Erika, who is in 8th grade. His family and friends have been storming the heavens with prayers for him to get better, and he’s been soldiering on like a champ, but the bills are continuously piling up. His bill for the first 5 days in the hospital runs at almost P600k, without professional fees from the 10 doctors working with him. His daily ICU care, with machines and medicines, can amount to P60-80k per day. Right now we are looking at a few more weeks to maybe even months at the hospital given his current state. His injury will also incur rehabilitation costs that will have to be paid over a long period of time after he is released from the hospital. 

The battle still isn’t over, and Marko is mustering every ounce of his strength and will to survive everyday. Please help us see Marko through these trying times (the toughest he has had, and might ever have at such a young age) with lots of prayers and donations made through here. All funds received will go to Marko's hospital bills and lifelong care, amount of which is a big unknown.

Marko has such a long, happy, and bright future ahead of him, and he has always had so many dreams for his mom and sister after getting his diploma. Any kind of support will be a huge help in pushing him forward. He is already doing so much and continues to blow everyone’s mind with each passing day as he fights harder and harder, beating the odds of his condition. He just needs a little extra push to keep him going—continuous care at the ICU and the assurance of a complication-free recovery.

Let’s show our support for Marko to help rebuild his second chance at life.

Have a little faith, #StayStrongMarko! ❤️