Dear Beloved Brother, With utmost respect, we, Brother Joel Dela Cruz and Sister Richelle Jane Dela Cruz, parents of Brother Noah Ezekai Dela Cruz, would like to express our deepest gratitude po for sending Brother Philip Velasquez to anoint our son with oil and offer him to our Almighty God on 26th March 2021 at the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (GOSH).
It has been 3 years po since we almost lost our son, and we are beyond grateful to our Almighty God that he is still alive and doing well po. Our son was born on 24th March 2021 at 10:06am po.
Due various complications during labour, Noah was born by ventouse with significant meconium aspiration, neonatal stroke and septic shock. He required intubation at 40 minutes of his life before admission to the neonatal incentive care unit (NICU).
This has triggered a series of other complications to his vital organs po – he had lung, liver, kidneys and heart failure and presented a series of issues such as excessive bleeding and severe infection.
Noah received treatments for these po and had to be transferred to the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit (CICU) at GOSH where Doctors mentioned that he would have ‘little to no chance of survival’ one of the worst conditions he has ever seen a child in.
They suggested to undergo an Extra Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) procedure, which takes on the function of his lungs and heart but may not survive the procedure.
With God’s help po, despite this highly risky procedure, Noah had survived this po and was stable for some time.
Not knowing what will happen next, we requested po that our son be anointed and offered at the hospital, as we believe that no matter what the outcome was, we would have peace knowing that Noah’s name is written in the book of life in heaven.
Noah continued to get better each day after this po, and once he was released from the hospital, he continued to have check ups and physiotherapy every 2 months, and was officially discharged of all appointments after a year.
Each time, the nurses and doctors were in awe of the miracle of Noah’s survival. They couldn’t believe seeing him reach his appropriate milestones despite his difficult beginnings.
We believe that this is a manifestation of God’s love and mercy to us po.
Noah is now 3 years old po. With God’s mercy, Noah is a cheerful, confident, friendly and a clever toddler who loves making everyone around him smile.
He enjoys coming with us po as we go to different locals and perform our duties (Sis Richelle as Choir Director & Bro Joel as CWS Teacher). He has learned how to pray po and enjoys attending CWS and all the activities. He continues to thrive at school, and has been in a healthy condition po.
We continue to thank our Almighty God for blessing us with him, and we are grateful for each day we have with him. We pray that we may be able to guide him in the righteous way as his parents po, with God’s help.
Words cannot express how thankful and deeply humbled we are, po, to hear that you have recognised our family during these difficult times.
We consider this as a great blessing and manifestation of God’s love to us through you po. We are grateful po for your constant guidance and for teaching us God’s words, which is what we truly need during these difficult times.
Thank you po for reminding us to continue our prayers which brings us even closer to our Almighty God, and to continue to place our full trust and hope in what He can do.
Our family thank you so much po Ka Eduardo, for all your continued love, care and guidance to us po, despite the distance between us. We promise po that we will continue to wholeheartedly unite with you and the Church Administration in all our endeavours by fulfilling all our duties and remaining active members of the Church of Christ.
We hope to see you again po and we wish you a happy 15 years of leadership po, we love you so much po! Your Brother and Sister in Christ,
Brother Joel, Sister Richelle, and Brother Noah
