- A
- E
- J
WHAT HAPPENED:
Tommy moved to the Phillipines in 2018 to live with his fiancé and Filipino native, Josie, and her two children. With ministry and servanthood being his hearts passion, his goal was to set up an orphanage and feeding program near Josie’s hometown. Around December 2019, he started complaining of headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Being a Vietnam Vet, he went to the VA Hospital (Veterans Affairs) for a check-up. They told him his heart wasn't pumping fully and prescribed him heart medication.
But as of mid-January, things rapidly started declining with no explanation…he was having memory loss and trouble speaking. The beginning of February, he could barely speak at all and the right side of his body was drooped and he was beginning to lose the ability to walk and most motor functions. His family in the Phillipines took him to a clinic where he was mis-diagnosed with having had a stroke due to his heart condition and general "old age". They prescribed him stroke medication.
We, his daughters, living in America, were not notified of his situation until the beginning of February. We couldn't get ahold of him because he could no longer use his phone and we were told no one could sign off on any major hospital procedure besides us. We immediately flew to the Phillipines, which was difficult, given the Coronavirus outbreak was banning most flights to this part of the world. We arrived February 19th to find our dad completely unable to do anything by himself. This happened to be "perfect" timing because the night we arrived, he suffered a terrible fall and hit his head and we rushed him to a public hospital near Taguig. There, they performed a CT-scan to reveal that he had actually never had a stroke...but, in fact, there was a very large mass in the left hemisphere of his brain that was pushing up against the right hemisphere causing the stroke-like symptoms. The doctor at this hospital said it "wasn't urgent," but my sister and I obviously knew better.
The healthcare process in the Phillipines is almost impossible to get anything done urgently. Plus, this is the most densely populated city in the world and traffic is horrible and we didn't have a car. Because time was of the essence, we called Makati Medical, which is a private hospital in Manila, and they told us we needed an appointment and couldn't come in until the next morning. February 21st, we hired a driver and rushed him to the ER at Makati Medical. At this point he was unresponsive and was beginning to vomit. The only reason he was able to be admitted to the ER so quickly was because we had happened to know a friend who knew the top Neurologist at Makati Med who saw how urgent this situation was. He was admitted to ICU and another, more vivid, CT-scan was performed, which revealed what the doctors suspected to be a large Glioblastoma (GBM) which is a malignant Grade IV tumor. The tumor was causing major swelling and pressure and the doctors suggested immediate brain surgery. This was an incredibly high risk procedure and the risk of bleeding and cardiac arrest (sudden death) was ever-present. We didn't know if he would make it. The surgery was performed on the morning of February 23rd and was a miracle because it went PERFECTLY.
We are all amazed at his recovery rate thus far. He is now speaking some full sentences and beginning to regain function and control in the right side of his body. There is still the looming possibility of chemo/radiation or other cancer treatment after we find out the results of the biopsy on March 2nd. (The head pathologist at Makati Med only works on Mondays....) As of right now, he is beginning physical therapy and speech therapy and is starting to eat soft food on his own again. His recovery will be long and hard but we are hopeful and with him every step of the way.
WHY WE NEED HELP:
Since our dad is a Vietnam Veteran with the Marine Corps, he has 100% disability with the VA Hospital. Again, we were unsure what the VA was like here in the Phillipines and because his situation was so urgent we needed to give him the best and fastest treatment possible. However, Makati Medical is not directly associated with the VA at all. We tried to file for reimbursement but, according to the VA, his situation has to be completely service related in order to receive ANY reimbursement whatsoever and the doctor can't 100% verify that it came from exposure from chemicals in Vietnam (even though he has benign Agent Orange tumors all over his body already). The VA already owes billions of dollars to veterans in need and so, from where we are standing, things are looking very bleak in this department.
My dad has also suffered a huge financial loss with his company he spent almost 20 years building from the ground up and had to dissolve it. So, as of right now, his only income for himself, his fiance and her two children come from a small amount he receives from the government for disability and social security. My sister and I are currently paying out of pocket for everything at this point.
WHAT YOUR DONATIONS WILL GO TOWARDS:
- Your donations will help us with our dads running medical bills and recovery treatments.
- Your donations will help with our transportation to and from the hospital and our stay here with him in the Phillipines while we work towards a full recovery. We are currently renting out airbnb's for months at a time.
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
Anyone who has ever met Tommy “Jake” Jester has experienced pure love and happiness…not to mention his larger than life personality! Please help us on our journey to our dad's full recovery so he can continue spreading his love and light with everyone.
WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE,
His daughters - Allison & Bethany Jester
Tommy moved to the Phillipines in 2018 to live with his fiancé and Filipino native, Josie, and her two children. With ministry and servanthood being his hearts passion, his goal was to set up an orphanage and feeding program near Josie’s hometown. Around December 2019, he started complaining of headaches, dizziness and fatigue. Being a Vietnam Vet, he went to the VA Hospital (Veterans Affairs) for a check-up. They told him his heart wasn't pumping fully and prescribed him heart medication.
But as of mid-January, things rapidly started declining with no explanation…he was having memory loss and trouble speaking. The beginning of February, he could barely speak at all and the right side of his body was drooped and he was beginning to lose the ability to walk and most motor functions. His family in the Phillipines took him to a clinic where he was mis-diagnosed with having had a stroke due to his heart condition and general "old age". They prescribed him stroke medication.
We, his daughters, living in America, were not notified of his situation until the beginning of February. We couldn't get ahold of him because he could no longer use his phone and we were told no one could sign off on any major hospital procedure besides us. We immediately flew to the Phillipines, which was difficult, given the Coronavirus outbreak was banning most flights to this part of the world. We arrived February 19th to find our dad completely unable to do anything by himself. This happened to be "perfect" timing because the night we arrived, he suffered a terrible fall and hit his head and we rushed him to a public hospital near Taguig. There, they performed a CT-scan to reveal that he had actually never had a stroke...but, in fact, there was a very large mass in the left hemisphere of his brain that was pushing up against the right hemisphere causing the stroke-like symptoms. The doctor at this hospital said it "wasn't urgent," but my sister and I obviously knew better.
The healthcare process in the Phillipines is almost impossible to get anything done urgently. Plus, this is the most densely populated city in the world and traffic is horrible and we didn't have a car. Because time was of the essence, we called Makati Medical, which is a private hospital in Manila, and they told us we needed an appointment and couldn't come in until the next morning. February 21st, we hired a driver and rushed him to the ER at Makati Medical. At this point he was unresponsive and was beginning to vomit. The only reason he was able to be admitted to the ER so quickly was because we had happened to know a friend who knew the top Neurologist at Makati Med who saw how urgent this situation was. He was admitted to ICU and another, more vivid, CT-scan was performed, which revealed what the doctors suspected to be a large Glioblastoma (GBM) which is a malignant Grade IV tumor. The tumor was causing major swelling and pressure and the doctors suggested immediate brain surgery. This was an incredibly high risk procedure and the risk of bleeding and cardiac arrest (sudden death) was ever-present. We didn't know if he would make it. The surgery was performed on the morning of February 23rd and was a miracle because it went PERFECTLY.
We are all amazed at his recovery rate thus far. He is now speaking some full sentences and beginning to regain function and control in the right side of his body. There is still the looming possibility of chemo/radiation or other cancer treatment after we find out the results of the biopsy on March 2nd. (The head pathologist at Makati Med only works on Mondays....) As of right now, he is beginning physical therapy and speech therapy and is starting to eat soft food on his own again. His recovery will be long and hard but we are hopeful and with him every step of the way.
WHY WE NEED HELP:
Since our dad is a Vietnam Veteran with the Marine Corps, he has 100% disability with the VA Hospital. Again, we were unsure what the VA was like here in the Phillipines and because his situation was so urgent we needed to give him the best and fastest treatment possible. However, Makati Medical is not directly associated with the VA at all. We tried to file for reimbursement but, according to the VA, his situation has to be completely service related in order to receive ANY reimbursement whatsoever and the doctor can't 100% verify that it came from exposure from chemicals in Vietnam (even though he has benign Agent Orange tumors all over his body already). The VA already owes billions of dollars to veterans in need and so, from where we are standing, things are looking very bleak in this department.
My dad has also suffered a huge financial loss with his company he spent almost 20 years building from the ground up and had to dissolve it. So, as of right now, his only income for himself, his fiance and her two children come from a small amount he receives from the government for disability and social security. My sister and I are currently paying out of pocket for everything at this point.
WHAT YOUR DONATIONS WILL GO TOWARDS:
- Your donations will help us with our dads running medical bills and recovery treatments.
- Your donations will help with our transportation to and from the hospital and our stay here with him in the Phillipines while we work towards a full recovery. We are currently renting out airbnb's for months at a time.
<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3<3
Anyone who has ever met Tommy “Jake” Jester has experienced pure love and happiness…not to mention his larger than life personality! Please help us on our journey to our dad's full recovery so he can continue spreading his love and light with everyone.
WITH LOVE AND GRATITUDE,
His daughters - Allison & Bethany Jester