Pinay still in ICU after suffering from heart attack at Canada airport

Josefina “Majo” Tumbaga, a 30-year-old overseas Filipino worker (OFW), who suffered a cardiac arrest upon arriving at the Vancouver International Airport in Canada on March 20, remains at the intensive care unit (ICU) of a hospital there. A report of the news site Philippine Asian News Today on March 29 said Tumbaga remains at the ICU of the St. Paul’s Hospital in Vancouver, where she was brought for heart surgery.   She was in a coma but on her sixth day in the hospital, she regained consciousness, the report said.   Tumbaga, who arrived in Canada via Philippine Airlines, was hired to work at the Toronto branch of the coffee shop chain Tim Hortons.   The report said Tumbaga's hospital bill costs $1,500 per day. In an exclusive interview with GMA News Online on Wednesday, Tumbaga’s mother Juliet Gutierrez said after regaining consciousness, Tumbaga was brought back to the ICU after collapsing again. Tumbaga's mother noted that her daughter's employers knew that she had a heart disease after going through a physical examination in the Philippines. Single mom Asked on how they intend to shoulder the hospital bills, Tumbaga’s mom said: “Ang alam ko ho may insurance naman siya doon sa kumpanya niya pero kung kami ho ang sasagot hindi ho namin kaya.” “Kaya nga ho siya nag-abroad kasi mahirap lang kami,” the mother added. Suzie Quiban, a friend and former co-worker of Tumbaga, said the patient was a single mom who had a seven-year-old daughter.   Without any relatives in Canada, Tumbaga relies on the support of the Filipino community there. When she regained consciousness on March 26, some community leaders in Vancouver visited her, the Philippine Asian News Today reported.   “Magpalakas ka. Lakasan mo ang loob mo. Magkapamilya tayo at marami tayo rito,” community leader Narima Dela Cruz told Tumbaga.    Dela Cruz said Tumbaga “tried to speak but could not say a word. Hys­terical and crying, she finally was able to say thank you in a hoarse but inaudible voice." - VVP, GMA News