David James Q. Mendiola

Håfa Adai fåmilia & friends,

My name is April Guerrero, fiance to David Mendiola(DJ). David is currently under the care of his Nephrologist, Dr. Saied Safabakhsh at Pacific Medical Group for Chronic Kidney Disease -- Stage 1, Nephrotic syndrome, and Peripheral Edema. We are currently seeking further medical treatment for him at St. Luke Hospital in Global City, Phillipines.

A day after David's birthday on June 9, 2023. He started to notice swelling on his ankles. He told himself he probably just needed to elevate his feet. Days came by, he started to swell on both ankles & feet. There was no pain to David's swelling. We assumed he was getting sick from elsewhere. I started to notice a change in him through his sleep & just how often he can be tired. David refuse to go to the hospital or to get seen at that moment. His swelling continued to worsen throughout his body, going towards his upper body. David had trouble breathing this one morning. He had woken me up & telling me he can feel swelling in his throat, making it somewhat hard to breathe. I dropped everything & took him to Urgent Care at FHP. The doctor didn't run any test on him. As soon as he saw him, he immediately told him to go straight to the hospital. According to the doctor, that from the looks of David's swelling, shows underlying medical conditions such as heart failure. I took him straight to Guam Regional Medical City. They ran a bunch of tests on David. Blood test, Ekg, CT scan, x-rays, etc. We waited hrs. The Doctor finally came with his results & told David, he is showing all normal signs. We were speechless & confused. I was so angry at that very moment. How can all of this be normal?!!!

I was emotionally dying inside, worried of his life being threatened with everything that is going on in his body...

We are glad to hear positive results, but I just felt that there had to be something wrong. Especially with everything I have noticed from him. He continued to elevate his feet. I also had put David on a healthy diet due to his swelling. I observed him at home & it only became worse as the days were going by. I couldn't bare seeing him go through it. Although there was no pain, he started gaining so much weight in just a week. This one morning he had woken up to one side of his face swollen. I had taken David to Guam Memorial Hospital. They had done the same procedure, running a bunch of tests & had admitted him for about a week. He was diagnosed with heart failure & pneumonia in his lungs. He was monitored through observation watch & was put on a strict cardiac diet. They also determined that David had something going on in his kidneys. He was released & prescribed medication for his swelling. The Doctor at Gmh referred him to see a Kidney Specialist/Nephrologist, who David is currently under the care of. As days gone by, there was not much of a change to his swelling.

On July 15, 2023. David woke up to feeling pain on the sides of his abdomen. He was in so much pain, he could not bare anymore. Ambulance rushed him to the hospital & was again, admitted to Gmh with the same procedures to be done on him. His nephrologist came to visit him at the hospital, ran more tests on David along with an infection specialist. They had decided to do a kidney biopsy on him. He was admitted for a while being monitored daily. David's results from the biopsy came back & his doctor had told him his kidneys are failing. They prescribed him with more medication of higher dosages, monitored his heart through the days with an ultrasound & continued to be put on a cardiac diet. David was also given the option to start the treatment of dialysis. David is only 32 years old & he refuses to go on dialysis with him being so young.

David recently has gone to his follow up appt with his doctor & had been told that his results from the lab had came back abnormal. Dr. Safa is going to refer David to a blood specialist. We finally had spoken to Dr. Safa regarding David seeking medical treatment, basically a second opinion in the PI. Dr. Safa supports him & had told David to try & get seen as soon as possible. David currently has no insurance. He had applied for outside insurance & was denied. We have been paying out of pocket through his visits & prescribed medications. It has been really tough on our end lately. David is not the person to ask any kind of support to fund his medical treatment/trip, but at the end of the day, to defray the cost of uncovered medical expenses, _any donation_ from all our familia & friends, would be greatly appreciated. The fight doesn't stop here for him. David is my rock, my kid's everything! I am praying for God's healing hands over him. For those who know him, he is a humble family man who loves to help others & is all about good vibes. Please keep him in your prayers, keep my family in your prayers through this time.

Thank you once again for your support in helping us reach his goal & most especially, prayers.

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