An Overseas Filipino Worker from Isabela who works as a caregiver in Qatar has become the first intensive care unit patient of the OFW Hospital in San Fernando, Pampanga, highlighting the facility’s growing role in supporting Filipino workers returning home in medical distress.
Juvy May M. Soriano sought help at the Department of Migrant Workers office in Mandaluyong after struggling to breathe. The agency immediately coordinated her transfer to the OFW Hospital for urgent evaluation under the supervision of Acting Medical Center Chief Dr. Patrick Louie C. Maglaya.
Doctors determined Soriano was suffering from a thyroid storm, a rare but life-threatening complication of hyperthyroidism that can rapidly damage vital organs and lead to fatal outcomes without swift treatment. Her condition escalated, affecting her heart and causing pleural effusion, which made breathing even more difficult.
She was admitted to the ICU under the care of Head of Internal Medicine Dr. Alan Christopher Canlapan, along with Dr. Genesis David, Dr. Marc Angelo Hizon, Dr. Karen Bispo, Dr. Jan Kevin Nicdao, Dr. Josephus Sibal, Dr. Dianna Maddumba and Dr. Rafael Maddumba. ICU nurses Paolo Puno, Jerome Morales, Cindy Primavera, Elaine Medina, Russel Ocampo, Meynard Manlapaz, Alissandra Ventura and John Gabriel Narvaez provided round-the-clock monitoring.
Hospital officials confirmed that her condition has significantly improved. Soriano has transitioned to oral medication and has been moved out of the ICU to continue her recovery at the ward.
