Dubai: On June 12, XPRESS carried a cover story about 10-year-old Filipino boy Gil Mercid who would collapse the minute he stood or started walking. His mother Mercedita was desperate for help to raise funds for his open-heart surgery as he suffered from a congenital heart disease called Tetralogy of Fallot.
Within two weeks, XPRESS readers helped raise Dh55,000 for his treatment after St Mary’s Church, Dubai took the initiative to bring the boy’s plight to the attention of the newspaper.
Dr Moopen’s Foundation, a charitable organisation spearheaded by Dr Azad Moopen, chairman of Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare, also took up his cause by operating on him free of cost in Kochi, India, this month.
“We came to know about Gill’s plight through the XPRESS article. We have an ongoing programme – Save The Little Hearts – in the Philippines under which we provide free of cost treatment to children. So we decided to help Gill. The little boy is recovering well and the family is very happy,” said Dr Moopen.
According to a statement from the foundation, Gil and his family were flown to Aster Medcity in Kochi where the diagnosis was reconfirmed and the plan of treatment determined. Gil underwent open-heart surgery on August 5, thanks to which he can now lead a normal life and walk again. He was discharged on August 14, but will remain in Kochi for a week before returning to Dubai.
Just before flying to India, Mercedita thanked XPRESS and its readers for their overwhelming support. “On behalf of my family, I would like to convey our heartfelt thanks for all your support and strength,” the mother said in a handwritten note.
