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Kris Aquino on battling autoimmune disease: 'I refuse to die' 

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Josiah Antonio

ABS-CBN News

<div>Kris Aquino entrusts sons to good friend Boy Abunda</div>MANILA (2nd UPDATE) — &quot;I refuse to die.&quot;These were the words of Kris Aquino as she revealed Wednesday more details on her ongoing battle with autoimmune diseases.In an interview with Boy Abunda on his GMA-7 show &quot;Fast Talk With Boy Abunda,&quot; Aquino said the next six months will be crucial as she will take some risks in terms of her medication.Aquino detailed her health battle and asked for prayers as she hopes to continue taking care of her children, Josh and Bimby.<ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/2/15/aquino-family-remains-hopeful-kris-will-get-better-thanks-public-for-support-2009">Aquino family remains hopeful Kris will get better, thanks public for support</a></li></ul><div> DETAILING THE AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES</div>Aquino admitted that her recent blood panel showed that her condition is getting worse.&quot;Three weeks ago, I had my regular blood panel. Parang ang ginagawa roon ay... I don&#x27;t wanna call it a blood panel; sabi ko, blood donation ang ginagawa ko sa dami ng kinukuhang dugo sa &#x27;kin each time,&quot; the former talk show host said.&quot;Hindi maganda &#x27;yung three weeks before. He, Dr. John Belperio, who is a physician in UCLA -- he actually does very complicated surgeries, gumagawa siya ng mga lung transplant because may tama na &#x27;yung lung ko from my autoimmune illness na Churg-Straus, that is because may comorbidity na ako tapos tinamaan ako ng COVID while in Houston when we first arrived here -- siya bale &#x27;yung lead physician ko together with a rheumatologist, si Dr. Khan, they&#x27;re both from UCLA,&quot; she added.She said that her hemoglobin dropped and the inflamed parts of her body doubled.&quot;What is alarming was that sobrang bumagsak &#x27;yung hemoglobin ko, that&#x27;s part of our CBC panel natin. I&#x27;m trying not to go too medical but &#x27;yung hemoglobin kasi is very important kasi &#x27;yun &#x27;yung may dala nung oxygen doon sa ating mga red blood cells,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;I fell to below 9 (gm/dL), it is the first time na na 8.7 (gm/dL) ako. In other words, kung nasa Pilipinas ako, binibigyan na sana ako ng blood transfusion, and when you have autoimmune (diseases) &#x27;yung tinitingnan mo doon &#x27;yung inflamatory panels that means kung ano &#x27;yung mga namamaga sa loob namin,&quot; she added.&quot;Nag-double that first time and he was so worried because when you have Churg-Strauss, &#x27;yung blood vessels natin &#x27;yun &#x27;yung tinatamaan, they become inflamed, nahihirapan &#x27;yung dugo na dumaloy sa katawan.&quot; Aquino also listed down the medications that she&#x27;s currently taking.&quot;He asked for another blood panel after two weeks kasi tinaas muna &#x27;yung methotrexate dose ko. Methotrexate is a form of chemotherapy medicine,&quot; the former talk show host said.&quot;I am also taking dupixent. Isang problema &#x27;yan because that is not readily available sa Pilipinas. Wala siya, they have no FDA, hindi sila nag-aapply. Unfortunately, for me, that is also not available in Singapore,&quot; she added. &quot;Bumalik ako roon sa inumpisahan sa Houston, that&#x27;s Nucala and unfortunately also ... &#x27;yung Nucala is available in Singapore pero wala pa siyang FDA na kahit man lang nag-apply, wala sila sa Pilipinas. Right now, two of the three medicines I&#x27;m on, wala sa Pilipinas.&quot;Aquino recalled how she was diagnosed with autoimmune thyroiditis and chronic spontaneous urticaria, along with Churg-Strauss.&quot;Magang-maga &#x27;yung sa mukha ko and marami akong rashes. I sent that to you (picture) because unfortunately mayroon akong panlimang autoimmune condition na naghe-hello ngayon. If you&#x27;ll allow me, I&#x27;ll start in 2018 na-diagnose ako with autoimmune thyroiditis and chronic spontaneous urticaria. &#x27;Yun you&#x27;re familiar with kasi nakikita mo na minsan papasok ako na puno ng pantal &#x27;yung katawan and mayroon akong mga after malalaking mga pasa,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;That is something I went through. It was already being treated in 2022 -- Xolair, that is another biological na gamot -- but then it was in April 2022 na lumala and na-diagnose &#x27;yung Churg-Strauss. &#x27;Yun ngayon &#x27;yung pinaka-kontrabida sa buhay ko. Ang problema it was diagnosed nung nasa phase three na ako and that&#x27;s the last phase,&quot; she added.She also narrated how her remaining autoimmune diseases are affecting her health.&quot;That&#x27;s a butterfly rash. Ayaw pang bigyan ng direct classification ng mga doktor but it&#x27;s a toss up because of the physical manifestations. Ang ibig sabihin nito &#x27;yung mga pinapakita ng katawan ko and because I have very low hemoglobin, I have fluctuating blood pressure. Nagsisimula na &#x27;yung pinakita ko sa &#x27;yo pero huwag mo nang i-share dahil medyo graphic talaga &#x27;yung pamamaga ng mga tuhod ko, mga buto-buto na naglalabasan. Right now, they&#x27;re classifying it as an autoimmune mixed connective tissue disease, falling under that is SLE or lupus na mas kilala, or rheumatoid arthritis,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;Pero babalikan ko, hindi natin nabanggit na nung nasa Houston ako habang hindi pa gumagaling nung COVID -- because I was a long-haul patient, I had it for more than 3 1/2 weeks with all the symptoms -- ang nangyari is I got a fourth diagnosis mayroon ako nung CREST syndrome, the other term diffuse scleroderma. Nakakatakot &#x27;yun kasi ang inaatake naman nu&#x27;n &#x27;yung ating lungs. You can get pulmonary hypertension for that, meaning that hypertension hindi lang sa puso, pwede nang mangyari sa .. it&#x27;s my right lung, nung gumawa kami ng buong chest hanggang then up to the stomach na CT scan mayroon na akong maliliit na nodules at tama,&quot; she added.&quot;Kung ito &#x27;yung lungs (right fist) may mga scratch marks kang makikita, may mga sugat na dahil hirap na hirap na &#x27;yung right lung dahil until now part of Churg-Strauss is you have this persistent dry cough and you have this adult onset and dahil matanda na ako ngayon ako nagkaroon ng asthma, nag-sinusitis na ako, bigla siyang nagsimula.&quot;Aquino described how her condition has limited her work around the house.&quot;Our heart is surrounded by muscles para maprotektahan &#x27;yung puso, &#x27;yung muscles na &#x27;yun that is surrounding my heart, magang-maga sila. Para mas maintindihan ng tao, kung naglalaro ka ng sports, kung natapilok ka habang naglalaro ta&#x27;s may nanipa sa &#x27;yo, nahulog ka, normally you pray that it&#x27;s not a fracture, it&#x27;s just a sprain. Pero kung sprain na &#x27;yun nangyari sa &#x27;yo, ano&#x27;ng mangyayari, mamamaga nang todo &#x27;yung nasa labas. &#x27;Yung sa akin, &#x27;yung pamamaga, hindi lang sa labas ng puso kung &#x27;di hanggang sa middle layer,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;Ang &#x27;yung problem there is, my heart has to work ... kung &#x27;yung sa &#x27;yo normal na kailangan siyang tumibok para makahinga ka, makagalaw ka, gumawa ka ng mga normal na activities tapos &#x27;yung heart rate mo would be for a normal person 70 to probably 90 range, ako maglakad lang ako ng banyo or mag-attempt dahil sinusubukan ko talagang magdagdag ng timbang, biglang &#x27;pag ni-test na ako -- because I have a cardiac monitor dito sa bahay 00 biglang ang heart rate ko, 120. May point na umabot na dahil na-enjoy ko &#x27;yung bathtub nung nagbanlaw ako it was 146,&quot; she added.With a family having a history of heart problems, Aquino said it was difficult for her to have autoimmune diseases.&quot;I could have a stroke at any time. I have to relate this because of genetics. Ang lolo sa side ng dad ko, original na Benigno S. Aquino, he was 55 years old, when he had a massive heart attack and cardiac arrest, he died in my dad&#x27;s arms and my dad that time was only 15 years old. That&#x27;s only 2 years older than me,&quot; the former talk show host said.&quot;The reason bakit nakapunta kami sa Boston dati, my dad had his heart attack at 47 years old. And not many people know but before Noy died, he needed an angioplasty, that is exactly 5 weeks bago siya namatay. Sa side ng dad ko, matindi &#x27;yung sakit ng pagkakaroon ng cardiovascular disease. I would have been okay if hindi ako nagkaroon ng autoimmune (disease). But you do remember na we were still doing our talk show, I had a big scare because sunod-sunod &#x27;yung shooting and I remember hindi ako umabot sa show natin dahil, nagsuka ako nang nagsuka, tapos I had to be brought to the ER of at that time Medical City. And I know that this is the year 2015, ghost month unfortunately, dumating ako sa Medical City, ang BP ko 170/100, umabot ito ng 200/120. At that time, I was only 44,&quot; she added.&quot;Mayroon na talaga akong risk but it was fine already because I was treated for this in San Francisco nung December of 2016. So I was fine nung panahon na &#x27;yun but I was only nagkaproblema naman after COVID.&quot;Despite her access to medical attention, Aquino said she is still limited as to what she can take.&quot;Tatlong pages &#x27;yung binibigay na laman ng binibigay sa mga doktor na ito &#x27;yung mga bawal na gamot kay Kris. As simple as Biogesic, as simple as Ponstan, Advil, &#x27;yung mga fever reducants, lahat &#x27;yan allergic ako. Lahat ng gamot, halos lahat ng antibiotics, allergic ako. &#x27;Yung mga steroid na nabanggit ko, lahat &#x27;yan may side effects sa akin, na mayroon akong pinagbabayaran. May bilang siguro sa 10 daliri kung ano ang gamot na pwede kong i-take,&quot; she said.&quot;Apart from that, gumawa sila ng total blood panel para malaman kung ano &#x27;yung mga allergies ko. Ultimo damo allergic ako, ultimo &#x27;yung butil ng alikabok, &#x27;pag nahininga ko &#x27;yan at hindi naka-purify &#x27;yung hangin. Hindi po ito kaartehan, totoo po ito, naninikip na, nag-aasthma attack na. Ang daming hindi pwedeng gamitin sa akin. Papasok ka sa giyera, ang mga kalaban mo, lahat naka-armalite, lahat sila may mga assault rifles, ikaw binigyan ka ng butter knife, or binigyan ka ng tinidor &#x27;yun lang ang panlaban pero buhay ako ngayon.&quot;<ul class="op-related-articles"><li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/entertainment/2024/2/15/aquino-family-remains-hopeful-kris-will-get-better-thanks-public-for-support-2009">Aquino family remains hopeful Kris will get better, thanks public for support</a></li></ul><div> CRUCIAL SIX MONTHS</div>Moving forward, the former talk show host said she will be taking a new medication and it is still uncertain how this will go.&quot;I&#x27;m sorry na parang ang kapal ng mukha ko dahil ang tagal niyo na akong pinagdarasal but I really need it now because on Monday papasok ako sa ospital at may susubukan kaming biological na gamot... Kung hindi ito tumalab, I stand a very strong chance of having cardiac arrest, as in pwedeng in my sleep or kung anuman ang ginagawa ko, tumigil na lang &#x27;yung pagtibok ng puso,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;May gamot na susubukan but there&#x27;s a really big risk involved in that medicine because hindi binibigay &#x27;yung gamot na &#x27;to na hindi binibigyan muna ng steroids. You need it para hindi ka magkaroon ng anaphylactic shock,&quot; she added.&quot;On Monday, magbe-baby dose muna ako, titingnan nila kung kakayanin ko. Kung kakayanin ko, bibigyan ako ng pangalawang dose but this will go on. I will need a total of 4 doses of this medication, hindi predictable.&quot;Aquino admitted that she&#x27;s prepared for any scenario with her new plan.&quot;I hate to say it, I&#x27;ve always been very, very upfront and honest and hinarap ko na &#x27;to kasi alam ko na bawat araw, especially now birthday ko pa, pahiram na lang &#x27;to ng Diyos, binigyan ako ng bonus. Whatever days are left, kung anuman ang natitira, it&#x27;s a blessing,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;But I really want to stay alive. Sino ba naman ang sasabihin na handa na akong mamatay. I don&#x27;t any of us can say that because Bimb is only 16. I made a promise to him na until he becomes an adult, I will really do everything. Lahat gagawin ko kasi &#x27;di naman sikreto sa mga tao na ang kuya niya falls under the autism spectrum. Ako mismo, ako lang nagpalaki roon sa dalawa,&quot; she added.&quot;Kailangan pa nila ako but on the flipside of that after Monday, wala na akong immunity, pwede na akong dapuan ng kahit anong sakit, at wala akong panlaban doon.&quot;She also thanked Abunda, along with her family and close friends as they promised to take care of her kids.&quot;I want to take this opportunity na magpasalamat sa &#x27;yo because nangako ka sa &#x27;kin, kagaya ng ilan sa mga pinakamalapit na kaibigan ko at &#x27;yung mga kapatid kong babae, nangako sila na kung anuman ang mangyari, mayroon akong dalawang kaibigan na lilipad dito para samahan &#x27;yung two boys,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;I love you so much and I&#x27;m entrusting Bimb with you because the two will actually be going home in two weeks. Why did I decide on this? Because naawa ako roon sa dalawang bata kasi ako makukulong na ako sa bahay. Pupunta na lang ako lalabas para makita &#x27;yung mga doktor,&quot; she added.Aquino thanked people for their continuous support and prayers.&quot;I just wanna thank God. Gusto kong magpasalamat because people I do not know, people na have never met me, &#x27;yung mga hindi ko kilala, everywhere, kanina kasi may nag-deliver ng pagkain dito, I was asleep pero may dala sila na mga prayer booklet. Ang laki ng community rito sa LA,&quot; Aquino said.&quot;I barely go out but when my sons are out they&#x27;re recognized and lahat, wala akong na-encounter na hindi nagsabi sa mga anak ko, sa mga kapatid ko, sa mga taong alam na kaibigan ko sila, na pinagdarasal nila at sinasabi nila na kailangan siyang gumaling kasi mayroon pa kaming hinihintay na galing sa kanya, gusto pa namin siyang mapanood,&quot; she added.She promised to continue to fight: &quot;I cannot promise you that because ang daming hindi ko kayang gawin pero ito po ang pangako ko sa inyo, hindi ko kayo bibiguin dahil sumuko ako. Wala sa pananaw ko sa buhay na pwedeng sumuko.&quot;&quot;Kailangang lumaban. Hindi ko ipapaya ang sarili ko sa inyo dahil binigyan niyo ako ng pinagamagandang regalo, &#x27;yung pagmamahal ninyo at suporta ninyo, at &#x27;yung pagdarasal. Kasi wala naman akong nagawa para sa inyo pero kayo sobra &#x27;yung binibigay niyo sa &#x27;kin na lakas because I know that you&#x27;re praying for me and that&#x27;s the biggest gift anyone can give.&quot; She also expressed how she misses her family: &quot;Para sa mga kapatid ko, I miss them so much. I love them so much but it&#x27;s so hard... Malalaman mo talaga kung sino talaga &#x27;yung mga totoo mong kaibigan, dahil gagawa at gagawa sila ng paraan.&quot; Saying she doesn&#x27;t want viewers to see her weak, she declared: &quot;No, I refuse to die. Talagang pipilitin ko because my next chapter is to become a stage mother ... I&#x27;m 53 now, I want to still be here when I&#x27;m 63.&quot;<div> </div><div>RELATED VIDEO:</div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="2467074"></ivs-player></div><script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script><div> </div>

'I refuse to die.' These were the words of Kris Aquino as she revealed Wednesday more details on her ongoing battle with autoimmune diseases.

'I refuse to die.' These were the words of Kris Aquino as she revealed Wednesday more details on her ongoing battle with autoimmune diseases.