Donations to Provide Funding for Biliary Atresia Surgery for Infant [SUCCESS]

[infofront]

Amount Needed: ₱500,000 (~US$10,500)

Amount Donated So Far: ₿0.24767643 + ₱27,000 + €100 - (€4 + ₱1389 fees)

Total Transferred to Family: ₱624,000 + €100 - (€4 + ₱1429 fees)



The father of this baby is the cousin of a girlfriend-fiance of an OG Bitcoiner who posted in this forum from 2013 to 2018. He has asked me to post this for him. He wrote this entire OP which I am merely posting. Empathy for the plight of the child takes precedence in my decision to post this. I have posted some pictures from the linked GoFundMe page at the bottom of this post.

Also, please see the old, unsuccessful GoGetFunding page: https://gogetfunding.com/help-me-survive-with-biliary-atresia/

Michelle informs me that the baby of her cousin who needs biliary atresia surgery to have any chance of survival. You may remember the photos and the link to their old, unsuccessful GoGetFunding page (https://gogetfunding.com/help-me-survive-with-biliary-atresia/) which I had shared in May. The baby is 11 months old and the longer they delay then the less chance of success (https://www.forerunnershealthcare.com/little-gabriella-of-mexico-gets-her-successful-biliary-atresia-surgery-in-india.html).

The baby is prescreened and passports are ready. The surgery cost is ₱1.6million but a grant will cover ₱1.1million if the parents can provide ₱500,000, which is approximately $11,000.

Can we help her? @infofront could you post a request for donation on Bitcointalk.org with photos and explanation and we will help her put a BTC donation address? I would personally donate $1000+.

Prognosis for the baby may not be good because he is already 11 months old, but it is better to try than to not. Imagine the pain that infant is in. We should at least try to help him.

Readers may track the donations to the Bitcoin address below on the linked block explorer. This OP will be updated occasionally. Any excess donations will compensate for exchange fees, any potential crash in the Bitcoin price before it can be cashed out,* for the parents’ miscellaneous expenses and for ongoing medical care of the baby when he returns from India.

Screen captures of the Coins.ph account they have created have been attached. The sister of the father is managing the Coins.ph account because she can fulfill the KYC requirements.

Parents have promised to provide a followup screen capture of their Coins.ph Bitcoin receiving address after their ID verification has completed. Parents have promised to provide follow-up proof that the funds were deployed for the surgery, including follow-up photos and documentary evidence. These will be posted to this thread at that time, probably in the edited OP also with a thread bump.

Please feel free to post to this thread about your donation if you wish to be acknowledged. God bless you.

Liaison** donation address:  ̶1̶D̶j̶c̶7̶9̶B̶b̶Y̶m̶1̶h̶K̶M̶W̶N̶b̶c̶a̶Y̶5̶A̶N̶3̶Z̶t̶c̶S̶J̶S̶5̶q̶v̶G̶   No more donations requested. Thank you

 (https://www.blockchain.com/btc/address/1Djc79BbYm1hKMWNbcaY5AN3ZtcSJS5qvG) Failed to find an applicable crowdfunding site that accepts ₿.

* Some posit a correction is incoming soon.

** The funds will be forwarded to the Coins.ph Bitcoin address of the parents in tranches to make sure they can cash it out without any hitches. Their new account is currently in the first day of 3 day ID verification process. Caution applied because the parents have no prior experience managing a Bitcoin address.

UPDATE:

@info_front I think we should update the donations thread with a clarification. Also note there were new donations and I transferred another P72,000 to Cherry Ann’s account on this bounce in the BTC price. So P275,000 has been transferred already, of the P500,000 goal. I would like for us to at least donate P400,000. Maybe the family can borrow the remaining P100,000 plus the other P50,000 they will need for miscellaneous expenses.

Here was a recent reply from Cherry Ann clarifying to me the timeline up to now and what will happen when they have the money they need.

VERY IMPORTANT: apparently baby Ethan will receive a liver transplant in India in addition to fixing the blocked biliary ducts. Everything is done simultaneously. So he will not need another liver transplant later in life unless the one he receives deteriorates.

My nephew Nathaniel Sabuero was born September 21 2020 and was born normal with no signs of any possible diseases. Until he reached 3-4weeks when symptoms of BILLARY ATRESIA was slowly appearing. These symptoms includes jaundice or the yellowing of skin and whites of the eyes. A white clay like colored poop was also evident during those weeks. At first we thought it was just normal and will slowly go back to its normal as time goes by. Yet we were alarmed when those didn't change. And so we rushed him to the hospital when he was almost 4 months old. He was diagnosed with Billary Atresia.  A disease in the liver specifically in the bile duct which was not fully developed that won't allow bile to past through that affects the function of it. During those times, the Dr. suggested to cut him open to make sure how severe the condition of his liver and so exploratory surgery and liver transplant was conducted. It was detected that he needs to undergo liver transplant which will serve aa the only cure to make his liver function its normal. Complications will continue to arise if liver transplant won't be done the soonest. Since liver transplant is very expensive and it cost millions which our family couldn't afford, we don't have any choice but to wait until such time we will be able to produce 5hk which is our fiirst step to the liver transplant. Our bill reached almost 3hk the first time he was admitted and so after the first surgery we have decided to discharge him since we can't afford the cost if we continue to stay in the hospital. His medication and maintenance continued at home. Which reached more or less 50k. Until he was admitted the 2nd time because his stomach and testacles keeps on getting bigger due to the liwuid that were accumulated since his liver doesn't function well anymore. And so he undergone another surgery. Hospital bill reached more or less 2hk. He was discharged now with continues medication and maintenance which is quite expensive.  His mother coordinated with parents here in the Philippines who have children with same case. They have a group chat in facebook and that is where she found out the details as to how others was able to go to India and undergone liver transplant. As of the moment, the only amount we are needing is the 500k which will serve as our first step to go to India. Because once we reach India  there will be other sponsors for the actual surgery which may cost more or less 1.5M. On top of the 500k pocket money, we still need to prepare money for our test labs before we go to Manila. Which may cost more or less 20-50k. We did all the best means that we can to produce such amount. We are greatful to all the people who lended a hand despite of these trying times that is happening not just in the Philippines but to the entire world.

[1715205132]

1715205132

[1715205132]

1715205132

[Sthlmbynight]

I hope this works out well. Will the surgery make the baby healthy or are there other problems that might come up?

Anyway, Im new to BTC so no big profits in my pocket just yet. I will revisit this thread when/if BTC makes a huge run.

God bless.

[infofront]

I hope this works out well. Will the surgery make the baby healthy or are there other problems that might come up?

Anyway, Im new to BTC so no big profits in my pocket just yet. I will revisit this thread when/if BTC makes a huge run.

God bless.

Answer from Anonymous Bitcoin OG:

RESPONSE: The statistical prognosis is apparently not as good as it would have been had he undergone the surgery at age 4 months. I read that the prognosis depends on the extent of accumulated liver damage. Each case presumably depends on the individual and the surgeon to some degree. Baby boy looks like a champ to me! 🙏 The reason for going to India is because ostensibly that’s the world’s experts, as evidenced by the referral and the linked Mexican story. My stance is it’s better for him to get some relief even he ends up needing a follow-up liver transplant some years on, which is why I made the initial 0.024 ₿ donation. I can’t standby while he withers away presumably in pain. If the child can enjoy even one year of his childhood then it’s worth it to me.

Data regarding outcome from centers worldwide widely vary. The initial success rate of Kasai portoenterostomy (for achieving bile flow) is 60-80%. Clearly, the most critical determinant of outcome remains age at the time of operation. Although individual centers have reported favorable surgical results in some infants older than 3 months, patients are significantly less likely to require early liver transplantation if the portoenterostomy is performed when they are younger than 10 weeks.

While the Kasai procedure is not a cure for biliary atresia, it is the preferred treatment because it allows a child to grow and remain in good health for several years. A successful Kasai procedure delays the need for a liver transplant until later in childhood or even adulthood […] In general, the long-term outlook for patients with biliary atresia is excellent. Most biliary atresia patients can expect to live into adulthood with either their native liver or a transplanted liver […] Overall survival with a native liver (not transplanted) ranges from 30-55 percent at 5 years of age; and 30-40 percent at 10 years of age. It is thought that approximately 80 percent of patients with biliary atresia will require liver transplantation by the age of 20. But these statistics may change as we learn more about biliary atresia and modify our treatment approaches.

[OutOfMemory]

done. In the end, children (EDIT: and educating them) are the most precious investment into our future.

[infofront]

done. In the end, children (EDIT: and educating them) are the most precious investment into our future.

Thanks for being one of the first two donors! I've updated the total at the top. I'll also be donating some this weekend!

[Arriemoller]

I spend so much of my profits on crap, this will at least, hopefully, do some good. 0.01 sent.

[iTradeChips]

made a small donation thru a local payment processor as the baby is from my country. my prayers for the baby and their family

[infofront]

UPDATE:

Recent photos of the baby Ethan and identification of the cousin (sister of the baby’s father) who will be receiving the funds. We’ve located someone who can encash the donated ₿ to Philippines pesos (₱) depositing it by interbank transfer directly to student-teacher Cherry Ann’s BDO account on Cebu island. She will coordinate with the baby’s mother to deploy the funds. The baby’s family is on Mindanao.

Any follow-up liver surgery (in future years) could be performed in the Philippines which would presumably be affordable to them via their PhilHealth insurance. India specializes in biliary atresia surgery.

The encashment of ₿ donations will commence immediately to minimize the effect of fluctuations in the ₿ price. We will track above the amount encashed in pesos to Cherry Ann’s account

[infofront]

Thanks for you donations ArrieMoller and iTradeChips! 

[analytic.bastard]

God bless you kid

No baby deserves suffering

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/46497b00a25620df92c87fd8b4cded825e828052e58de4632dfdc507d8ef16f7

[Arriemoller]

Thanks for you donations ArrieMoller and iTradeChips! 

You're welcome InfoFront.

[cAPSLOCK]

May God preserve this little life and guide the hands of the surgeons.

(confirmed before I could post. )

https://blockstream.info/tx/9d7887c4377330ef14c51f38946cea6f3fff0288dfbf4398eae44dfb2288d4d6

[infofront]

Those who donated generously may receive gifts from me if I successfully launch an ERC-20 altcoin in 2021. No promises but I do want those who helped know I appreciate their love for the downtrodden. Note we will forward receipts to @infofront for funds that have been transferred to Cherry Ann’s bank account. Maybe he will have time to post them here. Cherry Ann lives in the same household with the baby in Zamboanga City. She was originally teaching in Cebu but returned to Zamboanga to continue her education during the pandemic.

[infofront]

OP updated, reflecting new donations, and amount transferred to the boy's family so far.

[infofront]

Biliary atresia impacts ~1 in 15,000 live births. So ~100 or so in the Philippines annually. But only 10 – 20% would be in such bad condition that they absolutely must have surgery.

So we are talking about maybe 10 – 20 of infants per year from Philippines in baby Ethan’s condition. But many of those families have means via relatives to source the funds for the surgery.

So please keep in mind it’s not like we are being asked to pick one from all the suffering children the world. Suffering due to other reasons such as lack of food can be a temporary situation. Baby Ethan gets no second chance in life if he doesn’t get the surgery pronto.

[OutOfMemory]

This thread seems to hibernate a little, according to the blockexplorer stats.
*BUMP*

[infofront]

This thread seems to hibernate a little, according to the blockexplorer stats.
*BUMP*

I'm happy to provide an update that the family has now received more than half of the needed money. Exact figures are in the OP. I will also be posting proof, and some more information, later today.

[infofront]

BUMP

Added several items to the OP: transaction screenshots for proof that the pesos were sent, some recent pictures of baby Ethan, added a link to the new Go Get Funding Page, added a significant amount of information to the bottom of the OP (including the fact that a liver transplant will also be performed!), from the boys aunt, and added images of a couple medical reports

[jcojci]

Send a bit to that address.

https://www.blockchain.com/btc/tx/9cac324a9541869c061c354071e2a071ca2d705b3e46078c4699664790fbc84c

I will send it again next time. I hope it can help.

[vokain]

Bump

[jcojci]

I am helping Bump this thread for visibility.

[infofront]

Bump: Updated the donation amounts in the OP.

At current, but ever fluctuating, exchange rates we're getting close to 3/4 of the goal!

[infofront]

Bump: More donations have come in. Totals in the OP have been updated.

[infofront]

OP updated to reflect new donations, and transaction fees, for full transparency.

[El duderino_]

@Infofront, I wanna pledge these perfect condition Kialara hydra's containing a set, meaning 2 pieces both numbered 129 and no single pieces...

Infofront, I would suggest contacting minerjones or krogotmanhattan or MoparMiningLLC or Lesbiancow or someone in collectibles
I'm sure they will help making a thread and getting some traction for those fine pieces (which will contribute a good amount)
Auction or something.

You now i'm good for sending the pieces after the winner paid to your adress

Cheers and hope the goods deliver a nice amount of BTC and maybe a it more with these circumstances

[Mejeet]

Sent

Hope it can help

[infofront]

@Infofront, I wanna pledge these perfect condition Kialara hydra's containing a set, meaning 2 pieces both numbered 129 and no single pieces...

Infofront, I would suggest contacting minerjones or krogotmanhattan or MoparMiningLLC or Lesbiancow or someone in collectibles
I'm sure they will help making a thread and getting some traction for those fine pieces (which will contribute a good amount)
Auction or something.

You now i'm good for sending the pieces after the winner paid to your adress

Cheers and hope the goods deliver a nice amount of BTC and maybe a it more with these circumstances

Wow, thanks! I'll try to get the ball rolling on that

[El duderino_]

Perfect

Maybe send a pm to minerjones he’s willing to help

Cheers

[El duderino_]

@infofront

Send me a pm if you need something….

Cheers

[Arriemoller]

Bumping, and also, Infofront, could you please give us the total amount raised i pesos, it's a pain having to convert the euros to pesos and adding it all up to see the total.
It's kind of cluttered there in the beginning.

[Poker Player]

I have two weeks left to get paid from the bitvest.io sig campaign I was in. I have sent him the equivalent of one week's payment. It is 0.0015 BTC. I know it's not much compared to some of you but I don't own large amounts of Bitcoin.

Keep us updated with how he evolves.

[Poker Player]

Bump for visibility.

It would be nice if Infofront could give us an update. He is not very active on the forum lately but has logged in recently. I guess if he doesn't say anything, he has nothing relevant to comment on. Although I have seen that another transaction of 0.02955214 BTC was sent to the family, so in principle they have received the money they needed.

Let's hope the boy can recover.

[infofront]

I have an update from the boy's aunt:

As of the moment we are processing all the needed documents for the lab test of the mother of Aethan who will be his liver donor. Maybe next week will be the start of her lab test. Then we will wait for the lab results to see if the mother is compatible as a liver donor. Then we will forward all the results along with the needed documents the foundation is asking for via snail mail to manila. Then we will wait for their feedback and see from there.

We are hoping that the mother is compatible after all the lab test the mother will gone through. We hope and pray that the process will be smooth.

The mother of the baby just started her work ups earlier today hopefully by next week everything is complete the papers and they will email that in Manila and wait for the feed back when are they gonna go to Manila.

Also, the anonymous bitcoin OG recently sold another chunk of the BTC he was holding, for pesos, and transferred it to the family. We're now at 424,000 of the 500,000 needed. I'm going to get the ball rolling on the auction for El Duderino's donated coins as well.

[lienfaye]

Sent a small donation thru coins.ph (baby's aunt account). I have a baby boy as well and it breaks my heart seeing a baby with an illness. Im hoping for his fast recovery. I will donate again soon.

[El duderino_]

https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5365147.0

Hope this will bring some to the table

Cheers

[infofront]

Bump

El Duderino's coins are being auctioned here: https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5365147.0

Based on the bidding so far, I think this may push us to the finish line!

[jcojci]

I am helping Bump this thread for visibility.

[OutOfMemory]

So are we through, yet?

[El duderino_]

I hope you made it

And again, nice to see how the BTC community roles ….

Glad I could help (of course I cannot do good for everyone on this ugly world) though I feel good knowing we helped this one out.
All the best @infofront cheers

[infofront]

We made it! Thanks to everyone who helped!

I updated the OP, but we ended up with around P624,000, which was more than the P500,000 requested. That excess $2,000 or so will be very useful to help with travel expenses and the various follow-up medical care. Also, I will continue to update this thread as I get more information.

We achieved the goal. Thanks to everyone who donated! I am confident baby Ethan will remember you as he gets older and is aware of who helped him.

[vokain]

GJ, hope the doctors can take it from here

[El duderino_]

We made it! Thanks to everyone who helped!

I updated the OP, but we ended up with around P624,000, which was more than the P500,000 requested. That excess $2,000 or so will be very useful to help with travel expenses and the various follow-up medical care. Also, I will continue to update this thread as I get more information.

We achieved the goal. Thanks to everyone who donated! I am confident baby Ethan will remember you as he gets older and is aware of who helped him.

Thx for the update also best of luck, its out of our hands now.

[Arriemoller]

Feels good to know that we made it, let's hope all ends well.

[Poker Player]

We made it! Thanks to everyone who helped!

I updated the OP, but we ended up with around P624,000, which was more than the P500,000 requested. That excess $2,000 or so will be very useful to help with travel expenses and the various follow-up medical care. Also, I will continue to update this thread as I get more information.

We achieved the goal. Thanks to everyone who donated! I am confident baby Ethan will remember you as he gets older and is aware of who helped him.

Hey, very happy to hear that. Now we just have to keep our fingers crossed that everything goes well. If anyone prays, please pray for the child.

[OutOfMemory]

We made it! Thanks to everyone who helped!

I updated the OP, but we ended up with around P624,000, which was more than the P500,000 requested. That excess $2,000 or so will be very useful to help with travel expenses and the various follow-up medical care. Also, I will continue to update this thread as I get more information.

We achieved the goal. Thanks to everyone who donated! I am confident baby Ethan will remember you as he gets older and is aware of who helped him.

Anon Bitcoin OG could snapshot this thread as local, static html version and save it somewhere for later display.
I'm glad it worked, what a fine community. For my part, i was thinking how much bitcoin did for me, so it was easy to give back a little.
Have a good time!

[infofront]

Minor update: I was given screenshots of the recent ₱200,000 transfers:

[iTradeChips]

Update on baby Ethan from the Philippines:

[12:13 AM, 1/13/2022] Michelle Carpio: Nathan is ok now with continues medications. To maintain his health to make it ready for the operations. As what I have mentioned before, there are a couple of foundations that are collaborating to make his LT possible. And as of the moment, we are still waiting for the update of the Bil foundation to signal us on what to do next. With regards the initial funds that you provided it is still complete here. No need to worry about it because it is safe and will be used once we are ready to fly to India. Then, next in line is our Visa processing.

[12:13 AM, 1/13/2022] Michelle Carpio: That's my cousin's message

My reply:

Disappointing. Can you ask her for what they are doing to contact the foundation and to find out what the problem is?

[6:30 AM, 1/13/2022] Michelle Carpio: The mother of the baby said that foundation will be reopening this month that's what they are waiting .. and after that they will process the visa and what's the next step for them to do.

[6:37 AM, 1/13/2022] Michelle Carpio: They contacted it through messenger, they have group chat .. also the other foundation they're applying already approved and will ready to donate an amount of 500k in Apollo hospital in India.

[iTradeChips]

UPDATE :

Baby Ethan is scheduled to fly to India within approximately two weeks. Also Erwin Tulfo donated P1 million to the cause, but it’s not clear if this was exclusively for baby Ethan or for all infants in the Philippines affected by this ailment.

We will follow-up with results and evidence of the outcome for baby Ethan.

[iTradeChips]

UPDATE :
 
They are in the plane on the way to India.

[iTradeChips]

UPDATE :

Baby Ethan has arrived in India

https://youtu.be/vzcD43hTyOY

[infofront]

UPDATE:

Ethan received his liver transplant. They ended up using half of his mother's liver. They're both apparently doing well.

[xhomerx10]

UPDATE:

Ethan received his liver transplant. They ended up using part of his mother's liver. They're both apparently doing well.

Thanks for the update.
 That is amazing!  I had no idea a partial liver transplant could be done and apparently, the donor's liver will regrow and work normally in 6 to 8 weeks.

[THX 1138]

UPDATE.

A photo forwarded of baby Ethan's diseased liver:

[Poker Player]

-snip

Hey, that's so cool! Thank you for taking the initiative to help them.

[El duderino_]

Thx for the update, very glad I made part of helping out …

Best of luck

[THX 1138]

Further baby Ethan update, this time showing a forwarded pic of the other side of his diseased liver.



***

These are not my words, I’m just passing it along…

Infofront was too much of a fag to post these liver photos. Conspicuously didn’t upvote the prior one. Hope he enjoys his irrelevant circlejerk of (mostly) fractions of a single BTC hodlers.

[THX 1138]

Latest baby Ethan update. Now looking much better in the video linked to below.

https://imgur.com/a/rgxHtdG

Another relayed message:

"Thank you again to everyone who donated. You saved him from a life of misery and early death."

[THX 1138]

A further update of baby Ethan's progress; now looking healthier and more animated - also starting to talk.

Link to video: https://imgur.com/a/YPe9aW2

"Tita" means "auntie".

It feels very good that we succeeded.  Utmost gratitude to everyone who donated. Thanks to @infofront for posting this donations thread. Baby Ethan will look back at this discussion thread when he is older. We archived it and printed it out for posterity.

[iTradeChips]

update on baby Ethan :

the crypto OG who initiated this effort has made some suggestions on dietary improvements for baby Ethan.

1. The starchy carbohydrates such as rice, potato, casava are actually making the liver fat. Much better to eat green Saba banana that has been boiled, as the green banana has more fiber and digests more slowly.

2. The low-fat milk and all the cows milk is not really that healthy. It will also cause fat on the liver. He probably needs some milk for the nutrients, but you can also sometime put fresh coconut milk mixed in his food, which will provide many of the healthy nutrients. Actually coconut milk is very healthy for the liver, because the medium-chain fatty acids detoxify the liver. Actually natural coconut is the most healthy fat Ethan can eat. Even more healthy than olive oil. Actually olive oil is not that healthy in my experience, it makes my liver more fat.

3. Green leafy vegetables actually remove fat from the liver and cure the liver. The more green leafy vegetables he eats, the more healthy he will be.


baby Ethan looks healthy now playing in this vid https://youtu.be/8rFIdsaPkiM

thanks to all who supported