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Filipino int'l student seeks help for visiting mother who died in Canada

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Rowena Papasin | TFC News Vancouver

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/tIu6A9LXV3o?enablejsapi=1" width="560"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more News on <a href="https://www.iwanttfc.com/#!/browse/Genres/News/tag_id_genres/id_news" target="_blank">iWantTFC</a></div>A Filipino international student in Calgary is appealing for help to the Fil-Canadian community after her mother, who was visiting her, died from a heart attack.Marycon Grace Purisima shared that her mother, Marina, went to Canada in September to help take care of her child, so she can focus on school while her husband works.But two months into Marina’s visit, she suffered a cardiac arrest despite an emergency surgery at the hospital.“She stayed three days in ICU with her chest open,” said Purisima. “The doctors could not close it because she had a bypass. She was also on an ECMO machine, and was placed on life support.”As a tourist in Canada, Purisima’s mother was not entitled to free hospitalization and her travel insurance was not enough to cover the costs.She said that the hospital bill ran up to almost 60,000 Canadian dollars.Purisima is now trying to raise funds for the hospital expenses through a <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/fund-raising-for-mama-marinas-medical-and-funeral/donations">GoFundMe</a> page.“We are appealing for financial support, whether big or small,” she said. “At this time, we don’t know what to do because I&#x27;m still in school with one semester left.”Purisima and her husband have also asked the Consulate General in Calgary for help in having her mother’s remains flown back to the Philippines.Consul General Zaldy Patron said they are waiting for complete documents, including the death certificate from Alberta, so they can endorse the request for “Assistance to National” Fund to the Department of Foreign Affairs.As the financial help available to Filipinos abroad are limited, Patron urged other international students to ensure that their visiting relatives have full medical insurance in event of an emergency.Despite what happened, Purisima said she was able to see how happy and excited her mother was during the latter’s short stay in Calgary.As she tries to come to terms with her loss, Purisima said she remains determined to make it in Canada, as she said that is what her mother would have wanted for her family.

A Filipino international student in Calgary appeals to the community for help after her mother died while visiting her in Canada.