Medical Costs and Family Support
Javier Mejias a 27 year old from Chile has been diagnosed with colon and liver cancer in Wellington and received two misdiagnoses prior.
Wellington
Javier Mejias from Santiago Chile met Aniela Jorgensen who was on her OE. They immediately struck a connection and continued a relationship for two years, Aniela lived with his lovely and hospitable family in Santiago for eight months. Aniela's mother fell ill so she returned to New Zealand and shortly after her mother passed away. Javier was distraught at not being able to comfort her during this difficult period so made the big decision to take his first ever plane trip and travel to the other side of the world so they could start their life together again. Before Christmas 2013 Javier started to experience back pain and thought it could be something to do with heavy lifting at his job. He went to the medical clinic on 17 Adelaide Road, Newtown and described the pain he was having to the doctor and that it prevented him from being able to sleep. The cost for consultation as a foreigner was $200 NZD and the doctor prescribed him paracetamol for one month advising he probably pulled a muscle and if the pain persisted after this time to come back for another examination. Javier took the pain killers though the pain worsened and the pain killers couldn’t prevent the spread of pain he was feeling to his chest. After one month Aniela took Javier to see a GP at the Miramar Peninsula Medical Center who questioned why they were returning to see a doctor. Javier asked if the doctor could refer him to have some scans taken or for further examination though the doctor advised it was most likely a ripped muscle so he should wait another two months and come back if the pain still continued after this time. He prescribed Javier more paracetamol and sent him on his way. Javiers pain continued to a point where he was getting less than four hours sleep a night. He couldn’t work and lost his appetite for food. His weight dropped dramatically. In June 2014, Javier went to the emergency department at Wellington hospital. This was six months after the first time he went to see a doctor. It was there that they performed proper examinations and advised he had stage four colon cancer which had spread to his liver. He had 25% of his liver working and only a small gap in his colon for food to pass which explained why he had stopped eating. The cost for Javier staying at the hospital for five days was $5,548 NZD which is still outstanding. Within the same week he was diagnosed Aniela accompanied Javier back to Chile to start treatment urgently. The ambulance greeted him at the Santiago airport and he was advised by the medical professionals at the hospital in Chile to start chemotherapy. He has so far completed 11 chemotherapy treatments out of his 12 for the first cycle. Due to complications he had to undergo an operation to have a colostomy and a week ago had a haemorrhage which has stopped further chemotherapy treatments. His family have to pay $1,200 NZD for each chemotherapy treatment and due to the severe pain he is in every day they had to loan $9,767.10 NZD for special pain relief (as the morphine drip is not enough). In Chile the average weekly income is $271.25 NZD (125,000 Chilean pesos) so you can imagine the difficulty Javier’s parents are having in trying to support their only son. They have been relying heavily on family and friends in Chile by doing weekly fundraisers and working every day. Unfortunately it’s not enough. Please help this family who are going through a very stressful period, a little goes a long way. Ki te aroha taea e koe te wikitoria katoa. El amor puede superar cualquier obstáculo. Love can rise above any obstacle.
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From the Strongest woman I know, Javier's Mum, Her letter to you 25 February 2015
Dear Friends ... Family ... From all of Chile and New Zealand
I'm grateful to each of you that came to our cause and adopted Javier M. Cifuentes ... and I know that you joined and rose to the cause of my beloved son ..
The road was uphill and showed each of you capable to be able to stay with us.
Each grain of help ... was a true treasure ...
Today I cry .... my heart ... my soul .... my guts ..... all my being .... to know that he has gone, my fighter... and he always kept faith and hope
There were months of great anguish and tension ... where I had to suppress my feelings ..... get the blessed herb that eased his discomfort and severe pain
I came across many obstacles .... so many doors closed .... so much bureaucracy ... abuse of power .... and thanks to many of you my perspective changed to windows of faith and hope
I tip my hat to you all .... GRACIAS..GRACIAS..GRACIAS ... INFINITE THANKS .....
We remembered when we went to La Colina and watched the movie “Life is Beautiful” with our friends and often I had to act as the father in that movie to Javier and invent a world full of joy and hope.
Hope that he believed as well and he thanked me for many times.
He always knew of the existence of all those who provided generous hands to help... and we appreciated the daily prayer you did...you .... Our Angels
We love you very much ... the Universe witnessed our great Love .... though had better plans for Javier ...
for nothing was easy ... there were months of 24/7 ... certainly ..
God was gracious and gave us time, precious time..
My beautiful son has only been gone for a few days … and he has left many traces already.. people have shared with us their memories... some very funny .... we have been receiving and sharing photos ... so many signs of affection and love .... and hearing the best memories of his life.
We have to find north and find new reasons for being. I have put my chest to the bullets and faced adversity with my best smile.. and when I thought I could not continue always one of you gave me the encouragement to continue
Thank you for your generous help ... it was invaluable to provide a little relief and comfort to my son Javier
How could I feel that GOD DOES NOT EXIST!!
We received many blessings and miracles..
Many know how much it cost to get medical treatment... not by pride or vanity ....
Miracles came to help in this moment ... and before the catastrophe I had to learn to receive...
We met the goodness of Reiki and the Power of Prayer, many people prayed for Javier and each showed their affection.
The Father of the Universe put many people in my way ... where each contributed with their knowledge and talents...
massages.. medicines ... reiki ... supplies ... recipes .. morphine ... ailments ... herbs ... contacts ... each with their own and the list goes on...
It seems as if it were yesterday... when we ran to the Western Union bank to deposit the money for Javier's return ticket to Chile... and they only received cash .... ufff .... anxious moments due to the time zone differences as the travel agency was closing in New Zealand and they needed the deposit before the ticket was lost.. though it was beautiful to see all our friends waiting to help with any required assistance ... confident that we could get all the required funds into cash for the ticket before it was lost .. and finally, finally we got there!!
Thanks to each of you who got involved in our cause. Love is ALWAYS stronger
We made the most of each moment with Javier. And now it's time to pause ... take a breath ... replenish our energies and lift ourselves back up.
I will be revitalized and ready to give you of me all that you need. Only I ask you for patience.
Life taught me a hard lesson. But it also taught me to discover the goodness of people and their souls.
There was a lot of tension ... repressed feelings ... when all I wanted was to express all the pain and anguish in my soul.
And as God lit my conscience to understand that in this world we could not find the medicine to cure Javier it became a difficult situation to not be able to do anything apart from let him leave ... ALL WILL BE WELL!!
Without a doubt my son ... you are in a better place ... your body has been restored ... God listened to your plight
Thank you to all ... also to those who put up obstacles ... definitely ... from them we grew ... and today my life and my family will never be the same as a year ago.
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