Mum pleads for help to save her 2-month-old baby fighting for life

Nothing hurts more for a mom than the fear of losing her child.

Donna Ayaen said that if only she could swap positions with her 2-month-old son, whose heart is surrounded with water and now fighting for his life, she would do that.

Donna’s 2-month-old son, Dawson, is currently confined at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit of the Divine Mercy due to the water in his heart with his platelet and blood count unstable.

Dawson has yet to undergo several procedures to diagnose his condition.

“‘Yung 2 months old na ‘yun dapat nasa bahay, natutulog, nagdedede, nagpapalaki. ‘Yung 2 months na buhay niya, 2 months pa lang, andami na niyang nadaanang masasakit … bakit hindi na lang sa akin, bakit sa anak ko?” Donna, who turned emotional, shared in an interview with Guru Press.

Dawson’s condition

Donna gave birth to Dawson, her 4th and premature baby, on May 28. However, the joy of having a newborn in the house shifted into worry on July 20 when they noticed a gurgling sound in his throat.

Donna brought her newborn the following morning to the clinic. However, after 6 days, she noticed that her son was not getting better and that he was struggling to breathe.

With this, they went to another hospital where Dawson was immediately confined and that he has a low platelet count and red blood cells. Right then, the doctor ordered for blood transfusion.

On July 29, they were referred to Divine Mercy where it was then discovered that the reason behind Dawson’s struggle to breathe with his heart rate ranging from 200 to 300 is the water surrounding his heart. When the baby was referred to a cardiovascular surgeon, the original plan was to work out his blood count before his surgery.

However, an emergency surgery had to be done on August 2 when Dawson suddenly cried and turned black as if he was being drowned. With his high heart rate, the surgeon feared his heart might stop that was why the surgery had to be done to put a tube in it to drain the water.

What is heartbreaking, Donna recalled, is when they didn’t give them any assurance because the doctors didn’t want to give them false hope in Dawson’s state.

“‘Yung feeling na papasok siyang OR, hindi mo alam kung lalabas pa siya, ‘yun ‘yung pinaka, pinaka, pinaka [masakit],” she said in a quavering voice.

After the surgery

After the operation, Dawson is still at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Donna informed that a lot of tests and procedures are yet to be done and the surgery is just the first step to diagnosing Dawson’s condition.

With their current trial, Donna, on those nights she couldn’t sleep, would go to the chapel next to the pedia ward and cried out to God, asking herself where she fell short as a parent or if she had done terrible things. If she did, she said, she should be the one suffering and not her son.

She added that the visiting hours are 10:30 – 11:00 in the morning and 6:30 – 7:00 in the evening.

“‘Yung matutulog ka ng gabi, hindi mo alam kung bukas mabibisita mo pa siya,” she softly cried.

Hospital bill

In their few days in the hospital, as of August 4, their hospital bill reached around P145,000, excluding the P60K that they already paid. She said that her husband is working at KAELCO and that they have an apartment for rent where they get other income for the family.

Though they had a source of income and had sought the help of their family members, it is not enough to finance their running hospital bill, given that a lot of procedures are yet to be performed and that they have three children back home, two of them aged 3 & 2 years old. Additionally, they weren't prepared for the incident.

“Kasi di ba kung mother ka or parent ka, gawin mo lahat,” she stressed.

Meantime, to those who wish to help Donna and her family, you can send through these accounts: Metrobank: 9603792610324, Donna Denise D. Ayaen or through this GCash number: 09663796766.

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