Suffering girl with grotesque neck tumour helped by kind expats

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The Story of Greika Krisan Dael of Cebu: From Terrified to Tranquility, all Due to the Help of Expats – www.plnmedia.com

Five-year-old Graika Krisan Dael from Cebu has had a difficult life, first developing an eye tumor at the age of three, her left eye had to be removed due to the cancerous growth.

The cancer returned and eventually spread to her neck with horrific ramifications, creating a gigantic tumour that caused her immeasurable pain.

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Those who first met her were horrified by her condition – the sheer size of the tumor was simply astonishing. 

But one visitor changed all that, a certain Nic McCarthy, a native of Hutton, Lancashire, England, now living in Cebu City for three years. Nic explained to the Lancashire Evening Post that, “the tumour on Graika’s neck was absolutely horrific and it is inconceivable that you’d ever see anything like that in the UK as the patient would have been sent to the hospital long ago.”

With help from his fellow Cebu City expats, local friends and family, as well as asking for help from his own hometown citizens who knew what generosity is all about – his efforts helped change Graika’s world, transforming her life of constant pain into a world of smiles and happiness.

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Graika after her surgery, on the way to happier times

But Graika’s care is not over – her upkeep and long list of necessary medications and support are never ending – Chris Goldsmith has set up a ‘GoFundMe’ account which so far has raised over $5,000 (USD) with 96 donors to assist in her plight. Nic hopes to raise even more and possibly find a way to help Graika live a happier, healthier life.

Nic McCarthy and his fellow expats in Cebu, including Denise “Driving Force” Bassler, and the “Duterte Riders” (led by John Rodrick Lu and Moises Garcia Deiparine), as well as Chris Goldsmith and everyone involved in the process to help Graika, she not only thanks you, we here at PLN thank you as well.

This coming together shows we all have compassion, and though the Philippines is a land where we sometimes turn off our compassion meter, there are times likes these when that meter finally hits home for all of us. 

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