Like many families fundraising to send their loved ones overseas for further medical treatment, Mr. Tom Kildi’s family is doing the same to raise funds for his heart treatment in the Philippines.
Tom Kildi is 55 years of age and from Ulga tribe in Nebilyer valley.
He was involved in the corporate sector working in business management for almost 3 decades, is now retired.
He is a father of seven and four grandchildren. Mr. Tom Kildi has experienced irregular heartbeats for the last 14 months now after experiencing the symptoms first in the year 2017.
PNG HAUSBUNG spoke to Mr. Kildi’s eldest daughter, Christine Kildi about the status of Mr Kildi’s health condition and what the next step was to be in his treatment process.
She said he started visiting the Sir Buri Kidu Heart Foundation 2 years after experiencing symptoms of difficulty breathing, high blood pressure and sharp pains around his chest and was given some medication to treat the symptoms.
She said, within the last 14 months, things have deteriorated. “He would struggle to breath and get dizzy if he was doing anything physical.”
“This prompted us to get him checked out at the Paradise Private Hospital where he was told that his heart beats were irregular.”
“He was then referred to the Port Moresby General Hospital Cardiologist Unit to do a coronary angiography procedure to find out the cause of the irregular heartbeats.”
“From there, it was revealed that two of the main arteries were blocked and he was diagnosed for Double Vessel Coronary Artery Disease.”
“The doctor recommended two likely medical procedures that needed to be done overseas, which is the Angioplasty with a stent or a bypass surgery.”
Given the urgency of her father’s condition and the current situation in the country where other patients with similar heart problems are waiting for heart specialists for the above surgery, the Kildi family have opted to seek medical treatment overseas.
Ms Kildi said, the total cost of the medical expense including logistics and accommodation is between K200, 000 – K250, 000 in the Philippines.
“We have decided to host a one-off medical fundraising dinner aiming to come up close to K250, 000 for our father’s medical expenses and trip to the Philippines.”
The dinner will be hosted at the Dynasty Restaurant on the 29th of July with Tables selling for K5000 (10 Heads) and K500 per head.
The Medical Account Details and contact information of the fundraising committee are listed below for those who wish to make a small amount of contribution or to purchase tickets for the fundraising dinner.
Account Name: Tom Kildi’s Medical Appeal
Account Number: 0000053668
Bank: BSP
Fundraising Committee contacts: John Mong – 76502892 Christine Kildi -79881893 Zinnia Kildi – 73230613 Ms Kildi added that some families and friends have already started contributing and some have helped in spreading the message about the fundraising drive and are grateful for their acts of kindness.
“For me personally, it is a difficult time for me, it is painful watching someone you love and have looked up to all your life deteriorating right in front of you.”
“I remember in some of my conversations with people who were asking about my dad, I told them I would rather donate my kidney to meet the cost myself if I could.”
The Kildi family understands times are tough and this is a difficult time for everyone financially but hope they will be able to raise enough funds on time for their father to receive the treatment he needs abroad.