Sharjah: The husband of a stroke victim in Sharjah has appealed for help to settle a Dh220,000 hospital bill so that he can fly his sick wife back home to the Philippines.
Estrella Belaro, 65, suffered a stroke on January 5, five days after losing her wallet, which had contained Dh3,000.
Estrella’s husband Rolando, 58, said the stress of losing her wallet prompted the stroke later that week.
Appeal from husband
“I told her not to worry, we would make the money back but the stress and tension was too much for her,” said Estrella’s husband Rolando, who earns Dh4,500 working as a machinist in Sharjah.
Estrella — a housewife and the mother of two daughters — spent two weeks in intensive care at a private hospital in Sharjah, where she is now in a ward and cleared to fly by her doctor, but Rolando can’t get his wife discharged without first settling her mounting hospital bills.
“The Philippines Consulate says they will fly her home to Philippines, but first I need to settle the hospital bill, which has reached Dh220,000,” said Rolando, originally from Marikina City, Metro Manila. He has been living in the UAE with his wife and two daughters Rochelle, 29, and Rachelle, 26, for the past 11 years.
“We’ve appealed to church groups and charities to help us,” he said.
