US-based Pinoy doctor wants to treat girl, 12, suffering from hydrocephalus
TALIBON, BOHOL , Philippines — Doctor Miguel Mancao, a Filipino member of the U.S.-based Association of Philippine Physicians of Florida Panhandle (APPFP), has expressed willingness to help an indigent 12-year-old girl suffering from hydrocephalus.
Mancao told The Freeman that Jenilyn Amora, 12, who has "watery brain," can be treated in the U.S. for free if there are people willing to shoulder the expenses, such as air fares. He added that he can be of help in facilitating the surgical procedures of Jenilyn's ailment free once she is in the U.S.
Jenilyn's mother, Emily, however said it seemed hopeless because they could not afford the costly travel to the US for the treatment of her daughter's ailment.
Jenilyn is lying on scrap boxes, used as a mat, on a concrete sidewalk near the main door of Altura's Mart in this town. Some kind-hearted people passing by her drop coins in a container placed near where she's lying on while her mother and her brother, Jumel, 15, are making money from scrap boxes they rent out as cover for parked motorcycles nearby.
Emily said it is the only way they can earn. They sometimes earn as much as P200 a day, but not always, she added.
She said she has to bring Jenilyn along with them every day because no one would take care of her at home in Barangay Lomangog of Ubay town, where they have been residing.
Jenilyn cannot speak a single word since she was born, Emily said. Worse is that she cannot eat by herself and she has to be fed. Her physical body is getting frailer and in poor health, while her head, as it grows bigger, is getting heavy that she looks burdened when she tries to lift it up while lying on the pavement.
Emily said Jenilyn seriously needs help. She wants her daughter to recover from her ailment and live a normal life.
Hydrocephalus is also known as "water on the brain, according to the Wikipedia. "It is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the ventricles, or cavities, of the brain. This may cause increased intracranial pressure inside the skull and progressive enlargement of the head, convulsion, tunnel vision, and mental disability. Hydrocephalus can also cause death. Although it does occur in older adults, it is more common in infants."
The APPFP, of which Mancao is a member, is one of the prime movers of the 4-day surgical-medical-dental mission from Jan. 27 to 30, at the Garcia Memorial Provincial Hospital in this town, about 115 kilometers north of Tagbilaran City.
The mission was aided by the provincial government with the approval of Gov. Edgar Chatto in providing the venue facilitated by hospital chief Dr. Harold Gallego. (FREEMAN)
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