Support Minda’s Battle Against Rare Blood Disorder TTP

Hello everyone,

My name is Jordan and I’m here writing this with my siblings on behalf of our mother, Minda.

If you know our mom you may come to know her love for travel, finding beauty in life and making connections with the people around her and all around the world. What some of you may not have known is behind her extroverted personality and every day smiles she also carries a heavy burden of a debilitating health condition.

This onset of health concerns came about in 2023 immediately after arriving back to Canada from an overseas trip where she became unresponsive and rapidly deteriorated from an unknown illness that had different doctors and specialists examining her condition. Our mom was in a coma for weeks in ICU and without diagnoses or cures our family feared the worst.

After rounds of trial-and-error treatment and a wide range of tests, she awoke from a near vegetative state and then diagnosed with a condition called Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, or TTP, for short. TTP is an extremely rare blood disorder that affects 4 in 1,000,000 people.

Once diagnosed Minda underwent aggressive treatment to prevent returning to a comatose state. A major part of treating her TTP requires plasma transfusion, which our mother endured for hours each day, performed twice a day, during her months long stay in hospital.

Once her body had replenished enough from treatment and she could breathe, walk, talk and function as she once did, she was discharged with her prayers answered to be able to return home before Christmas that year. Something we were told was low probability of happening! But Minda held on and her endurance to survive brought her back to us.

Her health battle however, is ongoing, with doctors previously indicating a return to treatment, alongside her medication, in the case of relapse. Without treatment the mortality rate is 90% for those affected by the deadly disease so it has now become crucial as her numbers have again shown decline.

Since recently relapsing, she has been back to ongoing treatments and tests which have greatly disrupted daily life and work. Minda has kept her upbeat attitude and still putting on her best smile to manage a strong front for our dad and the kids; but between out-of-pocket medical bills, the rising costs of living, and on top of it all providing in-home care for her own mother (our 95yo Lola)we see our parents quietly enduring day-to-day just to make ends meet and doing the best they can with what they have.

We want to exhaust every option to help support our mom during this heavy time, so we have decided to open this Gofundme account to offload some of the invisible weight we know our parents are carrying. If you are able to donate, we would be so incredibly grateful. We grew up seeing the amazing community and friendships our parents have, so even the impact of a little could truly go a long way. If you aren’t able to donate, consider sharing this with anyone who may be able to help.

Thank you for taking the time to read through our family's story and for your thoughts, prayers, love and support sent.

Marameng salamat sa lahat,

Aja, Jared, and Jordan