Nehemiah Jean Abaquita thanks Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III for sponsoring her open heart surgery at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center. (CDN PHOTO/LITO TECSON)
A 22-year-old girl from Lapu-Lapu City was diagnosed with rheumatic heart disease in 2012 and told by her doctors that her life expectancy was greatly diminished.
Nehemiah Jean Abaquita’s doctors advised her to undergo an operation in order to extend her life. But the operation required a large amount of money so she chose to take medicines instead.
Abaquita’s health deteriorated and she decided that she had to leave school in 2013. She was then enrolled at the Cebu Technological University’s Bachelor of Arts in Education program with a major in English.
All her dreams, she said, had to be set aside as she needed to focus on her health condition.
Her aunt, Nerlyn Goles, saw how her niece suffered. Goles said Abaquita was skin and bones and looked ten years older than her actual age at the time.
Goles said Abaquita endured her illness for two years until she decided to turn to Facebook to appeal to national government officials through their accounts.
On Nov. 7, 2015 at 9 a.m. about four hours after she made her appeal, she received good news from one of the Facebook accounts of Sen. Vicente “Tito” Sotto III. She was told to get in touch with their office in Manila. The staff there then referred her to Cebuano lawyer Clarence Paul Oaminal.
“Gisulayan ra to nako ug send ug messages out of desperation. Pagsalig ug pagtuo sa Ginoo ra gyud akong gihuptan nga naay moabot (I sent those messages out of desperation. I just held on to my faith and belief in God that something will come),” she said.
A week after processing their papers, Abaquita was admitted to the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) for an operation on Dec. 5, 2015.
Abaquita underwent open-heart surgery to repair or replace the mitral valve in her heart.
Aside from Senator Sotto, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office extended P200,000 cash assistance to Abaquita, enough to cover the costs of her operation which came to P679,000.
Two months after her operation, Abaquita looks better, Goles said.
“Nanambok na siya (She has already gained weight),” she told Cebu Daily News.
One Thursday morning, Abaquita finally met the man who helped her secure a second lease on life at the VSMMC auditorium.
They had a brief conversation where Sotto told her to carry on with her life and complete her course.
In an interview, Sotto said he just facilitated the surgery. Sotto said from the P50-million discretionary fund he placed at the disposal of the Department of Health (DOH), Abaquita was able to undergo the open-heart surgery.
Sotto said his own money was used to shoulder Abaquita’s expenses for laboratory tests, medicines and other incidentals not covered by the hospital.
Armed with a brighter outlook on the future, Abaquita is planning to return to school next semester to complete her degree and, perhaps, to pay it forward when she becomes a teacher.