Rare illness afflicts baby

Five-month-old John Maynard Talento, who has been confined at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) since Feb. 2, has been diagnosed as suffering from Asphyxiating Thoracic Dystrophy, or the rare and debilitating Jeune’s Syndrome disease.

Baby John’s condition has been steadily deteriorating as his lungs continue to develop, but the size of his rib cage remains as that of a newborn. He depends his breathing on a ventilator machine due to his small rib cage that causes respiratory distress and pneumonia.

PCMC doctors are planning to operate on John to expand his ribs by using titanium plates, costing P60,000 for the titanium plates and screws alone.

The operation is the first to be done in the Philippines, having been pioneered by Dr. Robert Campbell of Christus Sta. Rosa Children’s Hospital in San Antonio, Texas.

The baby’s parents, police officer Joseph and housewife Anna Marie, are appealing to kind-hearted Samaritans for donations for the immediate operation of their first-born and to sustain his medication.

The family’s savings had already ran out due to John’s prolonged confinement since he had developed various respiratory complications.

The baby’s father said his child is now living on borrowed time unless an operation is immediately performed. "We could not bear watching him when he is awake since he turns bluish due to difficulty in breathing," Joseph told The STAR, adding that the baby spends most of his time asleep.

"We are appealing to kind-hearted persons for assistance so that our first-born may live," the couple plead.

Donors may call The Philippine STAR at telephone no. 5277901 and ask for Operation Damayan and look for Melita Dioso.