A 24-year-old is trying to raise funds for his sick niece’s treatment.
According to an episode of “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho,” shortly after Christian’s 2-month-old niece Lira was born, she had a hard time breathing and was rushed to the hospital.
“Pagdating po namin dun sa ospital, bigla po na siyang tinubuhan agad-agad,” said Christian. “Kasi po sabi ng doctor kung hindi daw po namin ‘yun nadala, bale wala na po si Baby Lira.”
[“When we got to the hospital, she was immediately intubated. The doctor said if we didn’t bring her sooner, she would have died.”]
A few days later, Lira lost her heartbeat. The hospital struggled to revive the baby.
“Noong sinabi po na nine minutes wala na siya, iyak po ako nang iyak Sabi ko, Lord, kung plano mo po na buhayin si Baby Lira, babalik po ako sa church namin, sa pagkakanta,” Christian said.
[“When the doctor said she had been gone for nine minutes, I kept crying. I said, Lord, if you plan to let baby Lira live again, I’ll start going to church again.”]
Miraculously, Lira’s heart started beating again.
As Lira continued to fight for her life, Christian decided to raise funds for her hospital bills by accepting portrait commissions. Each painting costs at least P1,000.
After sharing his artworks online with the message that the proceeds would go to his niece’s medical expenses, he started getting clients both here and abroad.
“‘Yung katawan ko ang payat-payat na po kakapuyat para makatapos ng dalawang drawing or tatlong drawing sa isang araw,” he said.
[“I’m losing weight because I haven’t been sleeping properly. I had to finish two or three drawings a day.”]
Christian said he even posted on several online groups, but he’d get only about two orders.
Despite this, he persevered.
He said since he was young, he had been working to earn for his family because his father allegedly left them in 2014.
Apart from working as a waiter, he also became a construction worker.
Things got worse for Christian and his family when the pandemic hit and he lost his job. It also wasn’t easy when the youngest in their family had a child who was fighting for her life.
While looking for ways to earn more, he found a video of Madam Inutz, who sold thrifted clothes through live selling.
Inspired by her story, Christian made a portrait of the online seller, who started out small but was now getting recognized online.
Unknown to him, Madam Inutz found out about her portrait. With the help of KMJS, the two were introduced to each other.
After learning about Christian’s situation, Madam Inutz helped sell Christian’s paintings live online.
The live selling proved to be successful, and they were able to raise enough money for baby Lira’s treatment. Baby Lira was soon taken off the ventilator but is still under monitoring to prevent any complications.
“‘Yung itsura niya ngayon po maaliwalas na po talaga na wala na siyang nararamdaman po,” said Lira’s mom. “Maraming, maraming salamat po kuya Ian. Maraming, maraming salamat po kasi tinulungan po nila ‘yung anak ko. Pagpalain pa sila ng Diyos.”
[“She looks better now and no longer in pain. Thank you so much, Kuya Ian. Thank you so much because you helped my child. May God bless you.”]
Christian, meanwhile, encouraged people to persevere and stay hopeful in the midst of challenges.
“Huwag na huwag kayong hihinto. Walang imposible sa Diyos.”
[“Just keep going. Nothing is impossible with God.”]
For those who want to help Christian and Baby Lira, please deposit to:
UNIONBANK
BRANCH: 130 Timog Avenue, 1103 Quezon City
Account name: Ana B. Yerro
Account number: 1093 5119 8982
Contact number: 0997 076 5908
—Kaela Malig/RC/MGP, GMA News
Man draws portraits to help his sick 2-month-old niece
Source: Balitanghali
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