Paralyzed Pinay Helper in Kuwait Repatriated to Pangasinan
A paralyzed Filipina household service worker deployed to Kuwait has been repatriated to her home province in Pangasinan, the Department of Labor and Employment reported Friday.
Maricel Mortera’s repatriation stemmed from the coordination between the Philippine Overseas Labor Office in Kuwait and her Philippine recruitment agency, the DOLE said in a statement.
But the DOLE, which said she was repatriated last Jan. 21, said she will still have to undergo medication.
Citing the last medical report by Farwaniya Hospital, the last hospital she stayed in before her repatriation, the DOLE said Mortera had a history of quadriparesis (locked in syndrome) secondary to rheumatic heart disease (mitral stenosis).
However, the DOLE said Mortera was advised to be admitted to a hospital and to continue her medication upon her return to the Philippines.
Hospital to hospital
Labor Attaché Cesar Chavez Jr. said they initially learned Mortera, 34, had been in the ICU of Jubail General Hospital in Saudi Arabia after she was admitted there last Oct. 27.
Citing the Jubail General Hospital’s initial reports, the DOLE said Mortera suffered from generalized seizures before her admission to the hospital.
Her recruitment agency coordinated with POLO-Kuwait and Philippnie Overseas Employment Administration to ensure Mortera’s employer will pay for her hospitalization.
Last November 25, Mortera was transferred to Kafji Hospital by her second employer, Abdulaziz Faisal Aldowaish. She was then transferred to Farwaniya Hospital in Kuwait on November 30 where stayed until her repatriation.
But Farwaniya Hospital’s last report said Mortera was in “vitally stable condition” and can travel on a bed, with a nurse.
POLO found an escort nurse for Mortera, with help from the Filipino communities in Kuwait.