Miracle baby comes home

The baby girl who underwent a liver transplant more than three years ago returned home to the country yesterday a robust four-year-old.

Jeremaia Matubis was dying from a rare liver disease called biliary atresia in 1999, but survived due to a liver transplant performed in the United States.

Her teary-eyed mother Jesselou Matubis carried the young survivor through the concourse of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 after disembarking from China Airlines flight C1-631 that arrived about 10:45 a.m. The 20-hour trip to the Philippines had a stopover in Taiwan.

They were accompanied by Jeremaia’s aunts Hiyas and Yasmin, both Jesselou’s sisters, and Scott Quelle, a Christian missionary belonging to the Church of Christ that the Matubis girls attend in Rochester, Minnesota, in the United States.

They were met by Jeremaia’s grandparents Jess and Lulu Matubis. The family members hugged as tears flowed.

"I am overwhelmed. Everytime I look at her (Jeremaia), I am just thankful to God. It is so unbelievable. If you have faith in God, you can do everything," said Jesselou, as she also thanked all those who gave their unconditional help to Jeremaia.

The Matubis sisters are daughters of Jess Matubis, Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs of Maynilad, and a former media personality.

The Matubis girls will stay for one month during which Hiyas will get married to Scott on June 9 at the Puerta Real in Intramuros.

In an interview with the family, the robust Jeremaia fielded questions from reporters, as her grandfather Jess and mother Jesselou sometimes helped her in her response.

She also gamely showed the scar she got from the operation.

Jeremaia still takes anti-rejection medicine so that her body would not reject the liver that she received during the operation, the girl’s mother said. Due to this condition, Jeremaia is very sensitive to the sun’s rays, and extreme exposure could cause her to develop skin cancer, she added.

Though Jeremaia has certain restrictions, she could generally live a healthy normal life just like any kid, her mother said. Even her diet is just like any normal child’s, she added.

Jeremaia’s favorite foods, Jesselou said, are cheeseburger, adobo and other Filipino dishes.

In a statement, issued by the Life Thru Transplants-Biliary Atresia Babies Information, Education and Support Foundation, Inc. (LIFT B.A.B.I.E.S), the family said that Jeremaia was found to be suffering from biliary atresia in July 1999.

But since facilities for a liver transplant were not yet available in the Philippines, the Matubis family began efforts to raise $250,000 (about P8 million in 1999) for a transplant in the United States.

Due to efforts made by several concerned people, the Mayo Clinic in Rochester accepted Jeremaia as the first humanitarian case from Asia with absolutely no expense on the part of the family with regards to her treatment and operation.

"Barely weighing five kilos and all stick and bone, the terminally ill Jeremaia and her mom, Jesselou, flew to the United States on March 15, 2000 courtesy of Northwest Airlines after being accepted by Mayo Clinic as its first humanitarian case from Asia. Jeremaia’s grandmother, Lulu, and Aunt Hiyas, the prospective live donor for Jeremaia, flew to the US on the same day, courtesy of Philippine Airlines," said the statement.

Fifteen days after arriving in Rochester, Jeremaia’s condition took a turn for the worse and doctors decided to immediately give her a liver transplant, instead of waiting for the child to gain weight.

Hiyas, originally set to donate a portion of her liver to Jeremaia, was spared this task as doctors decided to give Jeremaia a liver from an unnamed American baby donor who had just died an hour before Jeremaia’s operation, the statement said. The donor’s parents decided to donate to Jeremaia their baby’s liver, which was a perfect match.

In their first year in Rochester, the Matubis girls stayed at the Ronald McDonald House of Love, the lodging place for pediatric patients at Mayo Clinic. Their stay was arranged by Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Edgardo Manda, on instructions of President Arroyo.

On Dec. 20, 2002, The Associated Press featured Jeremaia’s story and was picked up by local papers and television in the Philippines.

Jesselou, enrolled in a nursing course at the Rochester Community and Technical College (RCTC), hopes to be able to work at Mayo Clinic. Hiyas took up a two-year course in computer graphics and digital editing at RCTC and graduated last May 13. Yasmin is enrolled in a music ministry course at the Crossroads College in Rochester.

As for now, the family members said they would sit down and talk, and celebrate thanksgiving with God, for the miracle that has been Jeremaia’s young and eventful life.