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Paul's battle with Meningitis

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To the people reading this, my name is Nikoleta, myself and my partner John are fundraising to pay for my future brother-in-law's (Paul) medical expenses who lives in the Philippines. Earlier this year at only the age of 27 Paul suffered a stroke. Medical expenses including all the scans, check up's and medication needed had been difficult on my partner here and his family overseas, however Paul recovered fully.

Sadly, on the 1st of December Paul fell ill and was taken to the emergency department. They discovered his blood sugar had skyrocketed which was of concern as he is not a diabetic, he was also losing sodium. It was believed he may have suffered another stroke. Paul underwent various tests, ultrasounds and MRI's however each test kept coming back negative.

On the 7th of December his eyes began to cross and his sodium was still low. He was suffering with painful headaches, losing weight and increasingly becoming weak and lethargic. With persistent symptoms but no diagnosis the doctor decided to perform a lumbar puncture to test his spinal fluid. This procedure required a 50,000-peso (almost $1,500) down payment before the procedure could be done, meaning there would still be more to pay. The hospital said that a 25,000-peso down payment could be made to go forward however the rest would still need to be paid.

Just being able to come up with the money and going through the rest of Paul's and his family's savings the procedure was performed. We were all hopeful we would get something from the results and be able to treat it.

Through all this waiting and procedures medical bills begin to pile. The costs include the room, the blood tests, scans, MRI's, IV fluids/medications, appointments with doctors, pharmacy, infection specialists, neurologists, nephrologists, ophthalmologists and so on. The first of more bills to come came back at 260,000 pesos which is almost $7,500.

Today, on the 12th of December the results showed a diagnosis of Meningitis. Paul was immediately taken to the Intensive Care Unit.

Paul is being looked after in hospital by his younger brother, auntie, uncle and cousins. Unfortunately, his father is overseas and cannot be there. He currently has a feeding tube and urinary catheter inserted. His sensory is poor and he is minimally responsive. The doctors tried stimulating him with only a reaction from his hands.

Myself and my partner have gone through our own savings to book a flight to the Philippines and are still concerned on how ourselves or the family could come up with this money considering Paul is still in hospital with a poor condition. Even a little donation would help as medication must be paid for upfront. Fundraising will go to Paul’s current and future medical costs. We hope to see him well enough to enjoy Christmas and New Years with his family and friends and all future celebrations.

I would like to thank everyone who does share and/or donate, even if it's just $1 we are so grateful.

Love from our Filipino/Australian family.

Organizer

Nikoleta Vavitis
Organizer
Devon Meadows VIC

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