I've learned her story from a Philippine TV show that I've watched and I'm greatly moved by her story as her fellowmen
I would like to extend help to her and way is by sharing her story to others. I hope we could help her even in the smallest
way we can. I am re-posting her story here.





I am Geraldine Javier Oliva. 40 years of age. Married and with 4 children. My close friends and family call me “DANE.” I was born on March 1, 1970. I am the eldest in the brood of four. I graduated with academic honors from tertiary until higher education at Immaculate Conception College, Balayan, Batangas. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, Major in Accountancy. After a year from graduation, I was employed at Banco de Oro, Universal Bank Inc. It was a summer of March 6, 1994 when I was married to Mario Esguerra Oliva, an employee of Philsteen Holdings Inc., and an active member of the Knights of Columbus. We have 4 children: Marione Dave (16), Marius Dale (14), Marcus Duane (12) and Mark Dylan (10).

My Childhood, My Lifestyle

I grew up with doting grandparents Dominador and Leoncia Javier this, I became the little “star” in the family, because of my innate talents and looks. My friends looked up to me. I was the center of attention in school, at home, with the group that I belonged to and everywhere I went.

During my adolescent years, I indulged in socio-civic organizations, essay writing competitions, beauty pageants, fellowships and many gatherings.

My diet included fatty, salty foods and cold iced tea. Though, in my younger years, I never drank alcohol nor did I smoke. But I was addicted to “junk food.” I confess, I loved to eat cornchips (chips, in general), salty flakes, et cetera… I loved to drink cold cola with almost every meal and I had less water intake. I can clearly recall that I had repeated attacks of tonsilitis with rising fevers, accompanied by chills and aches in my back and limbs.

My Journey

I remember when I was in high school, I had frequent fevers and the doctor said that there was blood in my urine specimen. I believed it to be an ordinary infection. I was not aware of the physical changes, though my friends noticed sudden edema on my face, legs and feet; but, I mistook it as simple weight gain.

I remember when I was 21, I was hospitalized due to acute pharyngitis. The provincial doctor told me that it would endanger my life. There was an intense soreness in my throat and I had difficulty swallowing and talking. Ignorant on the proper management on the disease, I did not fully comprehend the proper food pyramid that I should abide by and I continued on with my habit of eating “garbage food.”

When I got married at the age of 24, the habit became worse. Our (my family)’s died revolved on fatty, salty food that were rich in protein and carbohydrates. When I got pregnant, the cravings for these foods increased. I concentrated on canned, salty and processed foods so much that I seldom ate fruits and vegetables.

It was in February 2000, four months before I gave birth to my fourth child, when I had pre-eclampsia. I got homspitalized because of chest heaviness, rise in my blood pressure and increase in the amount of tissue fluid manifested by the sudden gain in my weight and the swelling of my face and fingers.

Last August 16, 2000, my husband had a motorcycle accident. This resulted into my having post-partum depression. Since then, I had occasional nausea and extreme vomiting. I mistook those symptoms as migraines or other small illnesses.

It was in the last week of July 2003, after a seminar I attended in Laguna, that I began to experience severe abdominal pain. My family decided to transport me to Makati Medical Center for proper management and evaluation. I was seen by a nephrologist because my creatinine was above the usual norm and I was diagnosed with Glomerulonephritis. I started on twice-a-week hemodialysis on September 2003. I personally considered once a week dialysis because of financial constraints.

In 2007, I felt sudden changes in my body. I had decreased appetite, immense depression, I was losing weight mercurially and I was more irritable than usual. I was obliged to resume my twice a week dialysis. A year afterwards, I began to feel muscle weakness in my leg, in my arms and in my body, especially after hemodialysis. It was in 2008 when a donor came and offered my her kidney. But after the Stage 2 work-up, the possible kidney donor vanished, together with my initial gift to her (which wasn’t that large an amount). Since then, my world just stopped. I felt miserable, hopeless and I became so desperate, that I missed the chance to perceive the sudden change in my looks.

During the first quarter of 2009, I experienced occasional gumbleeding and my dentist noticed my growing palate. I consulted a specialist, a head and neck sugeon. After a CT scan, the findings were “Fibrous Dysplasia” and suspicious “acromegaly.” I was referred to an endocrinologist. The doctor told me that I would need surgery to remove the adenoma on the right of my neck due to hyperparathyroidism. Several fears dawned on me. The fear from the procedure. The fear of its cost. The fear of the complications.

The abnormal growth of my palate continued and it led to frequent gumbleeding. I had difficulty in eating. I could not chew food. My body decreased in weight. I had a hard time walking so I spent less time on my routine activities. I was not aware that I spent more time in a wheelchair than anywhere else. Because of the frequent gumbleeding, I decided to seek the aid of a head and neck surgeon in Asian Hospital. After a string of bloodworks and CT scans, the doctor referred me to an endocrinologist. Again.

When my medical insurance exhausted, I felt so powerless, helpess and hopeless. According to my father, my financial steward, we already spent PHP7 Million (approximately $155000) for almost 7 years of medication and confinement. I disclosed my financial dilemma to my endocrinologist. Little did I know that God answered my prayers through her. Truly, God works. She organized a conference for some medical professionals to raise funds for further management of my disease.

Reawakening the hope, my zest to live stir. I know I can never cling to money, because I have none, I know I can never cling to destiny, because it is fate, but I know I can cling to my Faith. God is there…

- Geraldine “Dane” J. Oliva.


You can contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for contact information or donate money by transferring money to her open account at Banco de Oro.

Account number: 5890-12991-1

Under her name: Geraldine J. Oliva.

@gailnav : I'm sorry. We need to verify this info first, so can you please provide the links to the news / TV Program ... about her.
It's a bit annoying. But we need to ensure that when the members here want to help/donate anyone, the contribution should come to the right hand.
So if we're not sure about the info, we will need to close this thread.

Thanks & looking forward for more info