Ten-year-old Jonah Babauta needs surgery to help an accident-fostered disability that happened when he was a baby. His family will be hosting a fundraiser in Saipan in late April for his scheduled surgery in May. Between now and the in-person fundraiser, his mother is raising funds on a GoFundMe page that his paternal grandmother, Celina Roberto Babauta, started. However, the GoFundMe protocols are making transfers difficult, so Jonah’s mother also is accepting donations through her Zelle and PayPal accounts.You can Zelle or PayPal her at [email protected].
This is the message Ms. Babauta shared publicly about the situation:
My grandson, Jonah, called me yesterday to let me know that they have scheduled his reconstructive hand surgery in Hawaii for May 21st. This will be his 4th of many surgeries. Jonah has expressed that he “is a little scared.” In trying to assure him that God will watch over him, I told him that I will pray for him and that he should pray as well.
I will be organizing a HH or dinner fundraiser for Jonah around April 25, most likely at Filcom or Minachom Atdao. Tickets will be available soon. Please join us then to meet Jonah in person, have a good time with great food & company and a chance to win some great raffle prizes!
For family and friends living abroad or for those unable to attend the fundraising event, I will activate a gofundme page (link posted above) or you may contribute via paypal or zelle to [email protected] (Jonah’s mom).
I humbly ask for your prayers for Jonah and also to please help by buying and/or selling tickets to help defray the cost of his stay and incidentals while in Hawaii.
I don’t have the details yet of his post- surgery recovery and such.
Jonah’s story – when Jonah was only 10 months old, he had an accident that burned nearly 30% of his left palm. It got seriously infected. My son, Bill, a nurse, who was living in Guam at the time, immediately flew to Saipan to bring him to Guam for immediate medical attention. Had it not been for the quick reaction of the medical professionals at the Guam Naval Hospital, my grandson would have lost his left hand completely. 
Jonah was instantly admitted to Guam Naval Hospital and prepped for surgery. We are so thankful that the Guam Naval Hospital medical team saved his hand and immediately contacted Shriners Hospital in Hawaii for a more complicated surgery.
At Shriners, they inserted wires to his digits to straighten it as much as they could because his fingers had contracted at least 95%.
Also, during his surgery at Shriners, they transplanted healthy skin from his abdomen to his hand.
At the time, Shriners informed us that Jonah would need repeated surgeries throughout his growth whenever his hands contract at least 80% because the grafted skin does not expand with his growth. In order to lessen his trauma, they will only do the surgeries when at least 80 – 90% contraction is observed.
Fast forward to 2025, Jonah’s fingers have contracted at least 80%, and he will need surgery this year.
Will keep you all posted.
