by
Noemi B. Edaga
Financial constrain, self medication, lack of medical
awareness compounded an anthill problem into a stone: a kidney stone.
Rufo Paitan, who
is fondly called Pong by family and friends, works in a piggery farm as manager.
At age 31, he was at the prime of his health. Robust and athletic.
Everything was well with his work; save that
schistosomiasis is phenomenon in his job site. To shield him from getting the
disease, he buys himself potable water when he goes downtown. For two years, he
survived from schistosomiasis but landed in a hospital diagnosed with infection
and stone in his left kidney.
Heal Thyself for 9
Years
With
medication and therapy administered on Pong, sand-like matters were passed out
trough his urine. After some time, the infection and stone bothered him no
more. He felt fine and forgot about it.
In
year 2000, arthritis inflicted him. He consulted his arthritic friends for
medicine and opted to self- medication. Unsurprisingly, it alleviated his pain
and healed him. Believing in the effectiveness of his friend’s prescription, Pong
continued to self medicate during painful arthritic bouts; until he was 3 days
down with fever.
Creatinine High in
2009
Blood
chemistry and a visit to a nephrologist indicated that his creatinine was high
at 875. Pong bought the prescription, felt good and defied what he called “the
shocking truth of his going into dialysis sessions.”
Barely
seven months after the doctor’s advice for dialysis, the defiant Pong was again
admitted in a hospital, this time with creatinine recorded very high at of
1200.
Family’s Prodding
Concerned
for his well-being, family members had successfully prodded him to submit for a
dialysis, where he met a fellow kidney patient who referred him to Dr. Michael
Abutazil, a nephrologist and team leader of the Western
Mindanao Medical Center (WMMC) Renal Transplant Unit
(RTU).
Dialysis
has become a very costly tri-weekly thing for Pong. He said, his dialysis
expenses range from P10,000 to P12,000.00 a week, covering maintenance and
transportation expenses to and fro Calatunan,
Sindangan, his residence in Zamboanga del Norte
and to Zamboanga City.
“The
procedure, travel, maintenance cost and
the fear of harboring all sorts of infection as my immune system was low
every after dialysis, made me entertain the thought of submitting myself to kidney
transplantation,” Pong articulated in the dialect.
The WMMC and the
Renal Transplant Unit (RTU)
Little did Pong know that he would be part of
WMMC-RTUs history as the kidney
transplantation patient who underwent the
first ever renal transplantation done at WMMC of Zamboanga City with a sounding
success.
Dr. Abutazil, WMMC-RTU Head, highlighted the
national government’s effort to make renal transplantation accessible every
citizen, saying, “the Department of Health, NKTI and partner agencies have
bonded together to make renal patient treatment more accessible in the
Zamboanga Peninsula and the neighboring regions.”
Zamboanga
City Mayor Celso L. Lobregat and Dr. Abutazil were one in saying that the
success of the first ever renal transplantation in WMMC is a milestone in
medical tourism and will help promote Zamboanga City as venue for renal
transplantation in the future.
The WMMC Renal
Transplant Team’s Good Job
On
October 1, 2011, at age 45, Pong prayerfully tendered himself to God and to the
expertise of the WMMC’s Renal Transplant Unit composed
of Doctors Abutazil, John Ahalajal (transplant surgeon), Jayson Sangkula
(transplant surgeon), Paterno Cabrera III (surgeon for the donor), Henry Ratag
(surgeon for the patient), Tatad Kalbit (urologist) and Albert Tan and Neil
Gallenegro (anaesthesiologists), who all did a very good job.
Road to Recovery
Wisdom
After
the tough ordeal, Pong advices friends, family and love ones to practice a
healthy lifestyle and abide by the doctor’s prescription.
To
date, Pong still sees Dr. Abutazil for the monthly check-up. All the time since
he was diagnosed with a kidney disease until now on post-operation; he and his
family is still on a steep financial climb to sustain his fight against
infection and organ rejection.
He
is ever grateful to his friends and family; wife, Lolot; siblings Dodong Tirso
(Dodong), Quirino (Jr.) and Ropisa (Omping) who financially support him
through; more so to his cousin, Virgilio Solito,
who gifted him with his kidney for a lease of new life.
“Get
rid of vices as it would harm our body, abide by the doctor’s prescription
because repentance always comes last,” Pong added in closing.
RTU and PhilHealth Work at Best
Zamboanga’s
RTU continues to serve its purpose. After Pong, two more had successful kidney
transplantation in March and June. Another is scheduled on July 2012.
On the
other hand, Dr. Abutazil said during the recent launch of the PIA Media Forum
in Zamboanga City that the Health
Department and concurrent Philhealth Chair Dr. Enrique T. Ona announced they
will subsidize 70% of the kidney transplantation costs, making it
extremely affordable for patients to undergo renal transplant.