It was another red-letter day for Kris Aquino, as she marked her birthday yesterday, Valentine’s Day. The ailing “Queen of all Media” turned 53, and this time her wish was for something no amount of money could buy – the gift of more time to spend with her two sons Joshua and James. It was also during the Day of Hearts when Kris revealed to the world that something is amiss with her heart.
By ALEX Y. VERGARA
“This is already a bonus. It’s a blessing,” Kris said, referring to the fact that she is still around after nearly three years of battling a series of life-threatening autoimmune ailments in the US. Thanking her family, close friends and countless strangers who have prayed and wished her well, Kris said, “I really want to stay alive. No one is really ready to go. Bimby (James) is only 16. I promised I would stay with him until at least he becomes an adult. And it’s no secret to everyone that Kuya (elder son Joshua) falls under the autism spectrum.”
“I have nothing to give you,” she said much later, referring to her army of nameless prayer warriors. “But the strength you are giving me is beyond measure. Even people I do not know. I know you are praying for me, and that is the biggest gift one can ever give.”
In an exclusive Zoom interview with good friend Boy Abunda on GMA’s Fast Talk with Boy Abunda, Kris, speaking from the living room of her home in Orange County, California, revealed the latest about her deteriorating health, which resulted from years of battling five rare forms of autoimmune diseases, including the inflammation of her heart muscles.
Dressed in a pink turtleneck sweater, a gaunt and bespectacled Kris spoke freely to Boy about her series of ailments and how she, despite receiving the best medical care in the US, has hardly gotten any better. She also noted that the next six months of her life would be crucial, as she is about to receive a “biological drug” early next week to address her now inflamed heart, which causes it to sometimes beat an alarming 120 to 146 beats per minute (BPM) even while she’s resting or doing mundane tasks like going to the bathroom. The heart of a healthy person, she added, beats between 70 and 90 BPM.
“In my case, the inflammation not only involves the surface muscle of my heart, but also the middle layer,” a relaxed Kris, talking in a mix of Filipino and English, shared with Boy. Because of her elevated heart rate, “I have a very strong chance of having cardiac arrest in my sleep or in whatever I’m doing. Pwedeng tumigil na lang bigla ang pagtibok ng puso. (My heart could suddenly stop beating.)”
She then related her family’s medical history, from her father side, and how the men in particular, from her grandfather to her father Ninoy Aquino, and even late brother President Benigno Aquino III, were prone to acquiring heart disease at a relatively young age.
“I would have been okay if not for my autoimmune condition,” she said. Initial symptoms related to her autoimmune condition started manifesting as early as 2015. It progressed to now include five forms of autoimmune diseases, including a so-called auto-immune mixed connective disease, which leads to systemic lupus erythematosus or SLE, the main cause of inflammation affecting her skin, joints, bones and lately her lungs.
“A recent chest CT scan revealed small nodules or scratch marks on my right lung,” Kris said. “Hirap na ang right lung (my right lung is strained). One of its manifestations is persistent dry cough. I also contracted adult asthma.” Also called in medical parlance as diffused scleroderma, the condition can also lead to pulmonary hypertension.
Kris’ condition has also made her prone to all sorts of allergic reactions to a cabinet-ful of medicines, from common fever reducers and pain relievers such as Biogesic, Ponstan, Advil, and nearly all types of antibiotics and steroids.
“You could count with your ten fingers what I can take,” she said. A total blood panel test to determine the extent of her allergies revealed that even a speck of dust from unpurified air could lead to asthma attacks and difficulty in breathing.
“Ultimo butil ng alikabok (could affect her). Hindi po ito kaartehan, (Even a speck of dust. This is not vanity on my part),” she told Boy.
She likened her condition to facing an army who’s armed to the teeth with bombs, missiles and Armalites with nothing but a butter knife and a fork.
The new and presumably expensive experimental drug she is about to take on Monday, February 19, is not without its risk, said Kris. Apart from the possibility that it might not work, it requires the recipient to receive the right amounts of steroids for her not to go into anaphylactic shock (a severe life-threatening allergic reaction).
Despite her predicament, Kris has retained her legendary gift of gab that Boy, her former co-host, had to cut her in mid-sentence several times due to time constraints. She has also not lost her sense of humor and the trademark vanity Kris has been known for.
“I was talking with my sister Viel before this. She told me to fix myself up and not to appear pitiful in front of a live audience,” she said.
If anything happens to her, she said, her sisters are ready to fly to her two sons’ side to be with them. She also revealed that Joshua and James would be flying back to Manila anytime soon, leaving her to deal with her ailments that now require her full concentration and even isolation.
Kris also congratulated Boy for having signed up a new contract with GMA. Putting him virtually on the spot, Kris made Boy promise that he’d be always there for her two sons.
“I can’t promise you that I would get well,” she concluded in Filipino, addressing the audience. “What I will promise you is I won’t fail you because giving up is not in my vocabulary. I won’t put myself to shame because you have given me the best gift, your prayers, your support.”
She continued: “No, I refuse to die! (Because the) Next chapter (in my life) is to become a stage mother!”
