Lesil Eseque-Artista, 34, still remembers how happy she and her husband Edgar had been when their third and only daughter Maria Luiza, nicknamed "Louie," was born one year ago last week.
"My first two kids are both boys so we were really happy when we learned that the third would be a girl. Even my sons were excited. They wanted to pinch Louie like a toy," she said.
To celebrate Louie’s first birthday, the family prepared pancit and attended Mass early in the morning to pray for the girl’s health.
Louie, according to her parents, already had a yellow cast to her skin at birth but otherwise appeared healthy. They were told to expose her to sunlight in the morning to improve her color.
But on her fifth week, Louie’s jaundice progressed, prompting her parents to bring her to doctors.
"When we were in the hospital, her jaundice was highlighted by the white-painted walls. She was really yellowish. I did not notice it that much when she was in our house. I got so scared. I realized that something was terribly wrong," she recalled.
It turned out that Louie was suffering from biliary atresia, a congenital condition characterized by obstruction of the bile ducts that carry bile, a digestive juice, from the liver to the gallbladder.
Because of this obstruction, bile accumulates in the liver, causing cirrhosis or liver damage.
To address her condition, Louie underwent a Kasai procedure last March in which the damaged bile ducts outside the liver were surgically removed and replaced with a length of the baby’s intestine to create new ducts — a process similar to heart bypass surgery.
But despite the operation, Louie’s doctors deemed it necessary for her to undergo a liver transplant because her liver had already been damaged.
Louie’s condition seemed to be deteriorating at a faster rate compared to other children with similar ailments, her parents said.
The liver disorder has also weakened her immunity. She developed pneumonia last May and was recently diagnosed with primary complex.
Doctors also found traces of blood in Louie’s stool and are worried that she might soon develop "portal hypertension."
"We were advised to prepare for a liver transplant by the middle of this year. Her condition is getting worse. We are racing against time," Lesil said.
Louie’s parents both offered to donate part of their liver. Both passed blood and tissue compatibility tests, but Lesil asked her husband that she be the one to make the donation.
"I gave birth to my three children through cesarean operations. At least I already experienced being operated on, compared to my husband. And besides, I want to do this for my baby. I want to be part of her surgery," she said.
During the procedure, one-third of the Lesil’s liver will be cut off and transplanted into Louie. Eventually, the livers of both mother and daughter will regenerate.
But although Louie’s parents are both engineers, they cannot afford the P6.7 million needed for the transplant, which will be performed at the Queen Mary Hospital in Hong Kong by Dr. Vanessa de Villa. There is still no facility for such a procedure in the Philippines.
The amount does not include her post-operation medication and the travel and living expenses in Hong Kong. Louie is also being seen regularly by Dr. Hermana Gregorio at the St. Luke’s Medical Center.
The family is currently spending around P800 daily for Louie’s medication and vitamins.
"We are financially incapable (of supporting) such treatments. We humbly ask for your moral and financial support to help Louie experience what this life has to offer," Lesil said.
Those who want to make donations may contact the Artista family at cell phone number 0921-3716467 or at 52 Iraq and India streets, Better Living Subdivision in Parañaque City; deposit their donations to peso savings account no. 6253157028 at BPI Family Bank under the account name Lesil Artista; or contact The STAR Operation Damayan coordinator Melita Dioso at 527-7901 to 15, local 129.