Charito.faithweb.com
Who is Charito?
Posted December 1998
Charito "Chat" Arquilla is a batch '89 graduate of St. Stephen High School. Through pain and despair she still lives on, strengthened by her faith in Jesus Christ. She has achieved honors in Philippine Women's University as an HRM student and even won on the Chef's Parade. She has had good offers after graduation but now has difficulty merely getting out of bed. Presently, her living conditions are not that ideal for her recovery, which is very expensive and beyond her means. She is a living testimony of God's faithfulness and serves as an inspiration as well as lesson for us all. Any help you can give to extend her life will be deemed a blood-debt and shall be paid for in full, with interest, by The God Most High.Source: A True and Continuing Story about God, His People, and A Very Sick Woman (Fund raising project newsletter, St. Stephen Parish Church)
Charito's Story
Posted December 1998
I was diagnosed to have end-stage renal disease on November, 1990. The doctors said that both my kidneys were not functioning anymore, and that I had to undergo dialysis for the rest of my life or have a kidney transplant to be well again. All these happened a year after I graduated from high school at St. Stephen's. I had come to think that after graduation everything would be all right with my life. Little did I know that it was going to be the other way around.
For the first five months of my sickness, my family and relatives supported my dialysis and hospitalizations. However, due to financial difficulties, my sister started seeking the help of her classmates as well as the president of Joy Fellowship of St. Stephen's Parish since she was a member of the said fellowship. It was God who did the rest for me. The "story" about me got around the whole church and God used a lot of people to finance my dialysis treatments for the next three years. My prayers were answered on March 1994 as my sister willingly donated one of her kidneys to me. A fund drive was started for the upcoming operation. The cost of the operation was 200,000 Philippine Pesos (PhP 200,000).
Having met the needed amount, the operation took place on May 1994. It was a success. The sister of my grandmother supported my monthly medications for the first 6 months but could not continue because of financial difficulties. I again had to seek financial help from some church members who were so gracious and compassionate. They were the one who supported my monthly medications as well as tuition fees. But I contracted tuberculosis while I was having my practicum. (Because I'm immunocompormised due to the rejection drugs I'm taking, I can easily contract diseases especially those caused by viruses and bacteria.) This infection affected my new kidney and caused it to reject my body in August 1997. I again had to undergo dialysis last May 1998 and still continue to do so.
My monthly expenses, which include dialyses (PhP 10,000 per treatment, twice a week) and medication are more or less PhP 50,000 a month. Church members and different fellowships are the ones continuously supporting my dialysis and other expenses right now.
If it is God's will for me to have another transplant, the approximate cost would be PhP 1,000,000. (This includes: Hospitalization; Professional fees for my doctors; Contribution to my kidney donor; Medicines; Post-operation expenses; Weekly check-ups; and, Treatments for complications.) Once again I am appealing for your help be it in prayers or financial support. And once again I thank God for all the blessings you have been giving me. Rest assured that our Father would repay my debt to you a thousandfold. God bless you.
- Charito Arquilla -
