Anonymous donor gives kidney patient new lease on life

By Ramon Dacawi

A fund support of P5,000 dialysis patient Martina Pacatiw Macario received last week will not stop her from sleeping –when she can – on a pew of the chapel of the Baguio General Hospital where she had found sanctuary in a determined move to save on costs and sustain her life-saving blood cleansing sessions she has to undergo for a life-time.

The amount coming from an unidentified Korean woman who coursed it through courier at the public market in La Trinidad, Benguet last Monday, is too precious to be used for transport fare and other needs outside dialysis.

The support triggers a retelling of Macario’s story – so she can thank the donor and for other would-be Samaritans to follow the anonymous donor’s act.  

Martina, a 50-year old native of Tadayan, Pudong, Kapangan, Benguet, is now on her third year of twice-a-week hemodialysis. In May, 2013, she was rushed to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center where doctors told her her kidneys had totally failed.

Three years earlier, on May 29, 2010, she was released after serving 20 years and one week in prison.

She was sentenced after she was caught trying to sell marijuana in a vain effort to improve the living condition of her family.

“While client (was) serving her sentence, she made effort to send money to her children who (were) in the custody of her parentws in Kapangan,.” Noted social worker Charity Mabini in a report she made to help Martina look for support to her life-time dialysis.

“(Her) children have their own families already (and) can not extend their (sustained) support anymore to Martina since their income is not even enough (for) the needs ofthier families” Mabini added.

Martina eventually found alife-time partner from Tayug, Pangasinan where she goes home to when she could after her dialysis sessions here. She is hooked to the dialysis machine from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Mondays and from 11 a.m. on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

The prohibitive costs of dialysis (P2,200 per session), forced her to sleep Monday and Tuesday evenings to save on travel costs while waiting for her treatment on Wednesdays.

Chances are Martina’s story would be told again, after another Samaritan reaches out to her and she asks if the support can be acknowledged through the local papers. She can be contacted through cellphone number 09994699940.

Also in financial distress, another woman-patient requested last week that her condition be also told, hoping Samaritans out there would also help her sustain her life-time dialysis.

Sixty two-year old Remedios Bagsao of Paoay, Atok, Benguet could hardly sustain her twice-a-week dialysis at the Benguet General Hospital in La Trinidad, Benguet.

The patient began her dialysis in June, 2013 and has exhausted the resources of her three children the past three years. The family’s financial condition took another blow when her husband died two years ago.

“It leaves me with no recourse but to seek help through your publication,” she said.

Samaritans may ring up her cellphone number 09395684672.