Author and filmmaker Crisanta Sampang will be flown back to Vancouver on Tuesday, March 20 for an open-heart operation. (StoryHive)
Vancouver, B.C.
Vancouver author suffered heart attack in Philippines
Former caregiver and author Crisanta Sampang suffered a heart attack while visiting relatives in the Philippines recently.
Doctors in the Philippines determined that she needed open-heart surgery instead of just a stent, according to a GoFundMe campaign created by friends.
She did not have travel insurance and the medical cost would be in the thousands of dollars.
Her husband, Daniel Wood, also a writer, decided that it would better to fly Sampang to Vancouver to have the operation.
Sampang worked for several years in Singapore as a caregiver leaving her own daughters to the car of her mother, before moving to Canada.
Her autobiographical book, Maid in Singapore was published in 2005.
She has been a contributor to the Straits Times in Singapore and has worked as a filmmaker, news researcher, and a media specialist at Multicultural Helping House Society in Vancouver.
One of her daughters who has medical training, is flying from Seattle to accompany her mom to Vancouver.
The two will be flying back to Canada on March 20 with the help of MedEVac Canada accompanied by a doctor on board.
According to reports, Sampang wouldn’t be permitted to fly unless she had the operation,hence the necessity of a medical evacuation.
Sampang’s daughters and grandchildren: L-R: Maricel Sampang, Margaret Laylo Garet, Catherine Sampang-Jones, Caitlin Jones, Maricar Sampang Laylo, and Samantha Laylo.(Facebook)
Sampang’s predicament is a reminder of the importance of having travel medical insurance when travelling abroad.
The B. C. Provincial Medical Health plan does not cover all expenses incurred outside of Canada.
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/health-drug-coverage/msp/bc-residents/benefits/services-covered-by-msp/medical-benefits/medical-benefits-outside-of-british-columbia
The GoFundMe campaign has raised $5,670 as of this writing out of a $10,000 goal.
Donations can made to GoFundMe. Go to this link:
https://www.gofundme.com/help-bring-crisanta-home
Sampang posted this for StoryHive:
“I want to highlight and share the rich multicultural community stories with mainstream viewers, through music, documentaries and films.”
Worked for 3 years as news researcher for CTV Evening News. Graduated from the VFS Film Foundation Program, and has since won Best Student Film at the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival. Was finalist at the NFB’s Reel Diversity Competition for her doc project Trading Motherhood for Dollars (currently filming) and won Jury Prize at the New Players’ Pitch at Banff for her film In Memory of Gloria (in development). Has written and directed The Ocean Between Us, a short partially funded by the NFB, and a privately commissioned short doc The Opsal, Time, Memory and Rebirth. As a writer, published a best seller in 2005, and has contributed to 2 Canadian anthologies. Currently works part-time as Media Specialist for a non-profit organization and writes free-lance.