GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO GAVE: HELP DOC SOC LIVE

Dr. Socrates (AKA “Soc”) Soltura is a semi-retired Ear-Nose-Throat Head & Neck surgeon who practices in Los Baños. He is a dedicated and committed doctor who helps mostly underprivileged patients. He even goes out of his way to help patients who cannot afford his services (e.g. buying them medicine, giving them transportation money, subsidizing the cost of a necessary operation, lowering his doctor’s fees, etc.).

Alongside his medical practice, Dr. Soc is passionate about teaching the Word of God.

During the pandemic, Dr. Soc was among the few of those who did not stop working and was at the forefront of providing services. He helped patients get well from COVID-19, gave free on-line consultations, and educated others on how to prevent it. However, because of his work and exposure, he and the rest of his family (i.e., his wife, son, daughter, son-in-law, and 2 grandchildren) became infected with COVID-19. Among them, Dr. Soc, his wife, his son, and son-in-law were struck more severely and required hospitalization. Though the rest of the family were discharged earlier, Dr. Soc’s confinement lasted 2 months.

He was on the way to recovery, but barely a month after his discharge, he was rushed to the hospital due to uncontrolled hypertension and seizures that required him to be confined in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for a couple of days. After 20 days in the hospital, 2 cranial scans, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and a lung scan, the doctors have several possible diagnoses – abscess, infarcts (compromised brain tissue affected by low blood supply), cysts or possibly tuberculomas (coming from tuberculosis), or a tumor coming from different parts of the body (metastatic cancer). There has been prolonged discussion to determine what the next step would be. It was decided that Dr. Soc will be undergoing brain surgery on January 3, 2022 for tissue biopsy and possible excision.

Because of the prior COVID-19 hospitalizations, current confinement, and Dr. Soc’s continued desire to assist the less fortunate members of his community, it has come to a point that the family’s savings has been depleted. Because of this, Dr. Soc had to be moved to the Philippine General Hospital, a government and teaching hospital, for more treatment options and affordable services.

In addition to Dr. Soc’s own health challenges, his beloved wife is still at home recuperating with oxygen requirements due to irreversible pulmonary fibrosis (scarring of the lungs). On top of this, one of his grandchildren was also hospitalized for dengue (a viral infection that causes low blood platelet count and internal hemorrhaging).

With the rising cost of Dr. Soc’s medical and healthcare needs, he and his family is now in need of your prayers and financial support. His recovery will enable him to help more patients get medical care, as well as, help him pursue his passion of sharing God’s Word.

This Go Fund Me is being set up to be able to raise resources to cover the expenses for his surgery and for his rehabilitation afterwards.