Chaplains work together to support sick Pinoy seafarer

Chaplains work together to support sick seafarer
https://www.sailors-society.org/about-us/press-room/diosdado?platform=ho...

Chaplain Nic Tuban visiting Diosdado in hospital
A seafarer, who was told he could not go to sea because of a heart condition, has been given an emergency welfare grant by Sailors’ Society.

Diosdado Bantiad had already used his life savings to fund his children’s education.

Having taken out a loan, which wasn’t enough to cover his medical bills, he was left with the prospect of mortgaging his family’s home.

Diosdado said, “My worry is that I don’t have money to pay for my medication and most specially the two stents to be inserted in my heart's major arteries. My specialist said that the stents should eliminate the need for a heart bypass in the future."

Anxious about his and his family’s future, Diosdado sought help from chaplain Regina Borges de Paula, one of the charity’s chaplains in Rio de Janeiro.

Chaplain Nic Tuban, who has been supporting Diosdado in Manila, said, “He was getting restless and felt hopeless, then he remembered chaplain Regina, who often visited their vessel in Brazil.”

Having had the medical procedure, chief cook Diosdado is keen to return to sea so he can continue to support his family.