By
Daisy CL Mandap
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| Michelle stayed at Eastern Hospital for 2 days, during which she underwent all sorts of tests |
When 27-year-old Michelle C. Casogoc arrived in Hong Kong
on April 21 this year, she, like thousands of other Filipina migrant workers
before her, had only one thing in mind: to provide for a better future for her family.
Little did she know that less than four months after
she would be diagnosed with infectious mononucleosis, a viral
infection with symptoms that usually last for only two weeks, but in her case,
dragged on for more than two months that she was forced to return home on Aug.
27.
Now, she is stuck at home with the little money she had
brought with her all used up for doctor’s consultation and related expenses, but remains sick.
She had thought that because she lives in Pampanga she
could easily get into the OFW Hospital there and be treated for free, but was
told she needed to make an appointment to be seen – and because of the long
queue, the earliest she could schedule a consultation is next month.
Before leaving Hong Kong, Michelle said she went to
the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration office but was only assured of
someone picking her up at the airport in Manila, and taking her home.
In going to the Hong Kong International Airport, she would
have been on her own, if it were not for some kind-hearted fellow domestic
workers from the group, Social Justice for Migrant Workers, who took her there.
Thanks to the group, as well as Social Welfare Attache
Rem Marcelino, she managed to go home with $1,000 in her pocket. This was soon
gone, though, as she sought to follow up on whatever medical assistance could be given
her by the government when she got back home.
Apart from having her escorted to her home in Pampanga
from the Manila airport, she said all that OWWA Hong Kong told her was “to
reach out to OWWA Region 3 for medical and financial assistance" despite her saying that she could no longer work, and needed to get treated immediately.
But to her extreme disappointment and frustration, Michelle
said she was told by the OWWA regional office that she needed to undergo
another round of medical tests she had to pay for herself, so she could be issued a medical certificate by
a Philippines-based doctor.
“Nagpa check-up
naman ako ako pero ang sabi ang kailangan ko ay infectious disease specialist
at baka I biopsy po ako. E kaya nga ako nanghihingi ng medical assistance dito
dahil hindi ko kayang magbayad sa specialist, pati mga lab tests, pero yun ang
gusto nilang mangyari,” she said in a message.
(I did go for a medical check-up but I was told (by
OWWA) that I need a referral from an infectious disease specialist who might
carry out a biopsy test. But that’s precisely why I am seeking medical
assistance. I don’t have the means to pay a specialist, or for lab tests, but
that’s what they want me to do.”)
Last Monday, she tried her luck again, and appealed to
the regional OWWA staff to get her seen by a specialist doctor, but was told
that she needed to spend her own money to get the referral that they needed.
“Ang dami nilang
pinapagawang test, hindi ko na alam kung saan ako kukuha ng panggastos para
dito,” said Michelle, in utter frustration. (They want me to undergo so many tests when I don’t
even know where to get the money for it).
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| The first of many tests OWWA wants her to undergo in the Philippines, for which she paid P1,300 |
“Galing na naman
po ako ng doctor, nire-refer na naman ako sa neurologist dahil sa tagal daw ng
sakit ko e either na mild stroke ako o naapektuhan na ang spinal cord ko. I- CT
scan daw ako ulit pero wala na akong pambayad. Wala na ba talagang magagawa ang
OWWA? Bakit ganito kahirap makakuha ng medical assistance?”
(I just went to see a doctor again, and I was again referred
to a neurologist. I was told that since I have been sick for a long time, I
might have suffered a mild stroke or my spinal cord might have been affected.
They want me to do a CT scan again but I have no money to pay for it. Is OWWA
really unable to help? Why is it this difficult to get medical assistance?”
She also wonders why these are all necessary when she had three doctors in Hong Kong confirming her diagnosis, along with a medical certificate from the Hospital Authority.
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| Michelle's ailment is written clearly in the medical certificate from HK's Hospital Authority |
Michelle is clueless how she came down with infectious
mononucleosis, as she had always passed the annual medical check-ups required by
the company she used to work for in the Philippines.
Also, she had been in Hong Kong for four months, far
too long for the virus to have shown up if she got infected in the Philippines.
This could only mean that she was infected in Hong Kong, but as to who or how
it was passed on to her, remains a mystery.
Medical websites say the disease is caused by the
Epstein-Barr virus. It is one of the most common infections, especially among
adolescents, but its symptoms like swollen lymph nodes and liver as well as
high fever, manifest only in a few people.
Mononucleosis is often called the “kissing disease”
because it is known to spread through kissing, or the exchange of saliva. But
it could also be acquired by sharing drinks and food with someone infected.
On hindsight, Michelle realizes that she could have
asked help from other migrant support groups so she could have stayed for a few
more weeks in Hong Kong while awaiting a full diagnosis, but as she explained: “Hindi ko po alam ang mga procedure dyan.”
(I didn’t know how to get this procedure done).
All she is hoping for now is to get help from OWWA or
any OFW support group or agency so she can be treated immediately.
In a statement she was hoping to send as an appeal to
OWWA, Michelle said she started feeling dizzy, tired and weak at around the
start of July. But she just took a paracetamol then because she was busy and
she thought it was just a regular ailment.
But on July 23 she felt a lump in her throat which
hurt, so she decided to see a doctor. That was when she was diagnosed with “right
posterior cervical lymphaneditis” or infectious mononucleosis and given antibiotics
for five days. She was told the symptoms would go away after two weeks, but
they didn’t.
Instead, her dizzy spells worsened, and her stomach
began to ache as well, because it turned out, her liver had also swelled up. She consulted another doctor on Aug 8 and she was told
to go to a hospital.
That same day, she was admitted to the Pamela Youde
Nethersole Eastern Hospital where she was subjected to all sorts of tests, then
discharged after two days. She was given only pain relievers and was told the
laboratory results would be released on Sept 9.
She was told there was no cure or vaccine for her
disease, and she should just wait for the symptoms to go away.
After hearing the diagnosis, her employer asked that
they mutually terminate their contract. But it was not an easy parting, as her
employer had initially insisted on Michelle signing an undertaking that she
would pay $30,000 in compensation to cover the costs of hiring her from the
Philippines, including the agency fee and other expenses.
Michelle, who is assertive, having worked as a call
center agent in the Philippines before coming to Hong Kong, balked. After
consulting some leaders in the community, she managed to convince her employer
that what she was being made to sign was illegal and could get both of them
into trouble.
But she agreed on the mutual termination as she could
no longer work properly and was afraid of passing on her illness to her
employers and their eight-year-old daughter.
Michelle also felt sorry for her employers as they were
left in a lurch, after paying a lot of money to bring her to Hong Kong. Also,
her male employer is a friend of her father, who also used to work here as a
migrant worker.
But all of that is in the past. All she wants now is
to get herself treated so she could get well enough to start building up hopes for
herself and her two young children again.
Those
who want to help Michelle pay her medical bills may transfer money directly to
her Alipay account, through the QR code below:
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