KCAT CAN: P100 for Nathan's heart

My blogger friend, Marian, shared the story & miracle of his nephew Zackery Mc Nathan on Facebook. I was so moved with the story. Miracles really really do happen! Let's help create another miracle for baby Nathan and help save his heart.

celebrating Nate @ 9 months

P100 for Nathan's heart
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza
March 14, 2011


Because we received the best one — the miracle of life — there is no doubt that I believe in miracles. There are no explanations needed to define what miracles are. Believe and a miracle will happen. Believe more and miracles will unfold.

I was so touched when I have read the story posted by one of my friends. Her name is Marian. It was about the wonderful miracle that happened to her nephew Nathan.


Moises (Mc) and Diana (Yan) Alvarado from Cebu City, happily married for four years, had always wished to complete their union with a child. Diana had three failed preg¬nancies and each tragedy made their hearts bleed with sorrow. But they never lost hope.

So on May 27, 2010, they were blessed with an adorable baby boy and named him Zackery Mc Nathan. In the Bible, Zackery means “God remembers”, and Nathan means “God’s gift.” And when put together, it means “God remembers Mc’s gift.

After his birth, Baby Nate stayed for a week more in the hospital due to Urinary Tract Infection. He was discharged a week later, but was made to undergo further tests such as 2D Echo due to the heart murmurs. He was diagnosed with Tetralogy of Fallot, or what is commonly known as the Blue Baby syndrome because babies with this condition have bluish skin or Tet Spells.

Baby Nate's heart was not pumping any blood at all because he had no pulmonary arteries. His survival is one of the greatest miracles of life!

Kidney defects

Baby Nate was also diagnosed with a dilated kidney, another congenital birth defect. The chance of his kidney condition happens only in one out of 4,000 babies born, while his heart condition happens only in one out of 10,000 babies born; and both his heart and kidney need to undergo surgery.

Before Baby Nate turned three months old, he had been in and out of the hospital due to repeated UTI and tet spells. Eventually, his kidneys had to be operated on to remove the ureterocele. But in the middle of the procedure, it was discovered that the ureterocele was not the problem but the Ureterovesical Junction Obstruction (UVJO) on his left kidney which was due to his heart problem. Thus, his surgeon opted not to correct the obstruction for fear of higher risks for Baby Nate. Instead of ureterocele removal, Baby Nate underwent nephrostomy tube insertion so that the urine from the left kidney had a way to exit his body.

They are now looking at more surgeries to come. Both obstructions could not be corrected under one surgery because his fragile ureter might not be able to handle it.

On November 25, 2010, Nate was subjected to another kidney surgery. Surprisingly, all of Nate’s doctors were there that day, signifying a hope that the day will be the day of Nate’s healing!

Outside the OR, Mc and Yan prayed the rosary while their family and friends in the community all prayed for Baby Nate during those hours as well. They were told that the procedure would last only for three hours. But five hours passed and still no news came. They were all so scared. Yan's heart stopped whenever the OR door opened.

Hidden kidney

The doctor’s assistant came out holding a small bloody tissue and Mc said it looked like a kidney. Yan told him, “It couldn’t be. The doctor would not take out anything without our consent."

Then the doctor came out, holding a pen and paper. He started to draw Baby Nate’s kidney condition, with an additional tissue behind the defective left kidney. He explained that after opening up Baby Nate, he found that he had a third kidney on the left which looked very normal!

Additional news was that it had its own normal ureter too! Scientifically, they call it Double Collecting System and because of that, the doctor decided to no longer correct the defective left ureter. Instead, he removed the defective left kidney with its defective left ureter. Nate, now, still has two healthy kidneys.

The third hidden kidney was a miracle! It was never seen in previous ultrasound, X-ray, and other tests. It was not even seen in the first kidney surgery. The possibility of a third normal kidney is rare. It could have been placed on the right kidney or it could have been a normal kidney without its own ureter. There are many other possibilities, but God placed the third set of kidney where the defective one was. They believe that it was Jesus who came down and placed that kidney the night before. Amazing!

Baby Nathan’s kidney was no longer a problem but he still needs to have the much needed surgery for his heart — a surgery that he badly needs immediately due to a possibility that he might not survive his first year.

Because of the complicated heart condition that Nate had, he was subjected to cardiac catheteriza¬tion last February 18, 2011. But Yan received the good news despite the heart wrenching situation they were in. The good news was: Baby Nathan’s heart is operable and instead of three heart surgeries, the doctors said that they may be able to correct it in two surgeries.

They need to raise at least 1 million pesos to fund Baby Nate’s upcoming first heart surgery within two months, before he turns one year old. They have already exhausted all their loan credits because of the two kidney surgeries, the recurring in and out hospital admissions due to UTI, the recent cardiac catheterization cost, and other medical needs and main¬tenance.

They have started a P100.00 drive for Nathan, hoping that from each generous soul who would dole out a hundred pesos for Baby Nathan, when added together, would suffice to cover Baby Nathan’s badly needed heart surgery.

If you have a P100 to spare, you could be a part of Baby Nathan’s fight for his fragile life. You send in your donations to Account name: Moises Alvarado II at BDO Mandaue Branch, Account number: 1850146584 (checking account) or at China bank, Cebu Business Park Branch, Account number: 3800003712 (savings account). Please visit Baby Nathan’s Facebook Page at: http://www.facebook.com/ zaknate and help save Zackery Mc Nathan’s life.

“God will continue the work He began in us.” These are words taken from the Bible. These too are the faithful words that Mc and Yan believe in and hold on to. And we believe too because it is only when we truly believe that miracles do happen. It is when God sees the love in the pure¬ness of hearts and the fiery faith and the ardent desires to make God listen that miracles from the heavens will come down to earth.

Erratum: The BDO account number that was published is owned by Nate's aunt, Marian Jane Alumbro.