Pinoy couple in UAE seeks help for premature baby’s treatment

A Filipino couple in the United Arab Emirates is seeking help for the treatment of their daughter, who was prematurely born last April, a UAE news site reported Thursday.

Nijel Dela Cruz, 29, and wife Josie, 32, said their combined monthly earnings of Dh8,000 (P95,971) cannot cover daughter Mikaela Luciana's medical expenses, Gulf News reported.

“Our backs are against the wall. She is our little angel, our first born,” said Cruz, a worker at a fashion outlet in Dubai.

He added the hospital has asked them to deposit at least Dh20,000, as well as blank checks and original passports to continue treatment.

Mikaela Luciana, originally due in August, was born last April 16 at Belhoul Hospital. She was considered “extreme pre-term” and was rushed to Zulekha Hospital.

Weighing just 650 grams at birth, the infant suffered from respiratory distress syndrome, neonatal sepsis, apnea and anemia of prematurity.

She is now on a ventilator and is suffering from conditions including deranged renal function, anemia, jaundice and even a “grade I” hemorrhage of the germinal matrix.

For her part, Josie said they had approached several charities, “but [we] are yet to get any help.”

The new parents also noted an insurance company refused to pay for costs over and above Dh250,000, the amount specified in the infant’s policy. —Joel Locsin/KBK, GMA News

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