The first “fetus within fetus” case

By Eva C. Visperas

It was the first case of a fetus within a fetus in the country and it happened to someone from Pangasinan.

That report was enough to make this corner follow up on the story, and locate the “twins” and their parents.

It was in the very remote barangay of Catuday in Bolinao town, more than 10 kilometers of rough road from the national highway, where a baby boy who underwent surgical operation for having a baby girl fetus in his abdomen, was interred around 10:a.m. Wednesday in a small barangay cemetery.

It was almost like searching for Italian priest Father Gian Carlo Bossi in a very rugged place, so unsure whether we could locate our target, asking many people, stopping every now and then until we met people on the road carrying a small white wooden coffin. We wasted no time and asked them who the dead was, and yes, by God’s grace, it was the subject we were looking for.

Eljie Millapes was born on May 11, 2007 by normal delivery by Lorna Millapes, 26, with the help of a midwife in their house.

On our way to the cemetery, she narrated she had an easy pregnancy with her second child. But baby Eljie’s stomach was noticeably  bulging since birth, and it always became prominent especially after being breastfed, and eventually noticed that an abdominal mass kept moving from one area  of the abdomen to another.

She was advised by a doctor in her town to send her son to Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center (BGHMC) in Baguio City as the baby’s doctor suspected the child had kidney problem.

On June 30, Eljie was confined in BGHMC and was operated on.

To their surprise, a baby girl fetus was found inside the boy’s abdomen, complete with hair, ears, hands, feet and vital organs. It weighed about a kilogram. It even had a heartbeat after it was taken out, she said, but died later.

Millapes said she didn’t believe in kababalaghan (supernatural occurrences) and had regular check ups during her pregnancy.

The doctor theorized that the other fetus was possibly Eljie’s twin sister that didn’t develop inside the mother’s womb but was instead swallowed by the baby boy because he was the dominant fetus then. 

 EMBITTERED

Eljie, a strong baby, underwent a second surgery, this time on his small intestine, because a part of it was allegedly decaying. The mother said Eljie survived the two operations and even started to breastfeed him. But on the night of July 21, while the couple was sleeping, a nurse allegedly injected something, using a big hypothermic needle, on the baby, according to their roommates at the pay ward section.

“Parang sinadyang pinatay yong anak ko (It’s like they intentionally killed my son),” she said, adding that he was already strong after two weeks of recovery.

She said when they approached ABS-CBN television station in Baguio City, the attending physician got mad at her husband. She clarified that their intention then was only to seek   financial help from Good Samaritans and not to destroy the reputation of the attending doctor.

“Ang problema pa namin Ma’am ayaw nilang ibigay yong kambal tapos  hinati-hati yong katawan (Our other problem is they refuse to give us the twin girl and they dismembered her body),” she said.

She said even the results of X-ray, CT scan and all other medical records were not given to them.

“Ayaw nilang ibigay sa amin (They refused to give them to us),” she added.

The baby girl is reportedly still in the hospital’s laboratory and is now possibly being used by the doctor for experimental purposes without their consent.

JUSTICE DEMANDED

Given what happened to their children, Millapes said they are now seeking justice.

“Masakit ma’am. Dalawang operasyon naligtas siya tapos biglang namatay

(It really hurts. He survived two operations and he suddenly died),” she said.

“Tapos nong maoperahan, Ma’am, bawa’t doctor, mga lima sila, tig-isa sila ng video (Then when he was operated on, each doctor, about five of them, had a video recorder),” she said. It was then when she already suspected something fishy was going on then.

Hospital employees, including the hospital security guard, became hostile to them especially when reporters began interviewing the couple.

Although poor, she said, she wants to sue her baby’s doctor to get justice. She is seeking the help of Health Secretary Francisco Duque III, a kabaleyan.

She said she had wanted the twins to be buried together Wednesday but with the hospital’s refusal to release the fetus, only Eljie was laid to rest.

A fellow reporter from Baguio City, Jun Dumlao, who interviewed Dr. Myrjhonahlyn Rulloda, the hospital’s pediatrician, quoting records of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said it was the first case of a fetus within a fetus in the country and the 88th recorded case in the world.

And yes, doctors who attended to Millapes denied the accusations of the mother through Jun’s interview.

While the mother has resigned herself to her babies’ fate, she feels deeply aggrieved for what she described as unfair and unjust treatment they got from the doctors.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/business-log/)

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