Angel in Pink Greets Governor and Lt. Governor During Their Tour of GMH
Press Update: February 21, 2011
(Adelup, Guam) Governor Eddie Baza Calvo and Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio visited the Guam Memorial Hospital on Friday. The newly appointed management team walked the halls with Governor Calvo and Lt. Governor Tenorio and greeted employees. With each employee they met, Governor Calvo said, “We’re here to support you.”
Hospital staff greeted the leaders and the management team enthusiastically. A member of the janitorial staff recognized Interim Administrator Rey Vega during the tour and ran up to him. They embraced and she said, “Welcome back, boss! I’m so happy you’re here to lead us!” Vega responded, “I’m gonna do my best here.” Vega worked at GMH in several positions for 18 years. He left the hospital four years ago.
They visited several departments on all four floors of the hospital. At the Pediatric Ward they were greeted by a toddler in pink, Avrilyn Mendiola. She’s been a patient at GMH for over a month. Her mother, Christina Gumataotao said that Avrilyn has been diagnosed with Diabetes I.
There are no doctors specializing in Childhood Diabetes on our island. Gumataotao has been fundraising to collect enough money to pay for their tickets to the Philippines where they’ve found a specialist to treat Avrilyn. Tomorrow there will be a fundraiser for Avrilyn at the Country Club in Yigo, from 6 p.m.-10 p.m. and on Friday, February 25 there will be a fundraiser at Club Fab in Tamuning from 6 p.m.-10 p.m.
Type I diabetes is the most common form of diabetes in children: 90 to 95 percent of children under 16 with diabetes have Type I according to www.netdoctor.co.uk
. Type I diabetes was previously known as juvenile diabetes. In Type 1 diabetes, the body does not produce insulin according to www.diabetes.org. Avrilyn’s sugar levels are extremely unbalanced. To date, they haven’t been able to find the right insulin to correct her sugar imbalances so she requires constant hospitalization until they can stabilize her.
Governor Eddie Baza Calvo and Lt. Governor Ray Tenorio talk with little Avrilyn Mendiola, a patient for more than a month at the Guam Memorial Hospital. Avrilyn’s mother is hoping to raise enough money at her fundraisers to take Avrilyn to a Childhood Diabetes I specialist in the Philippines. There are no doctors specializing in Childhood Diabetes on Guam.
