The Human Behind @cryptopie | A First Personal Encounter with Another Steemian

The main objective of this post is to humanize the person behind @cryptopie, and to remove any doubts about him being who he says he is, needing what he says he needs - our help as fellow steemians.

@luvabi, a friend from Steemit Philippines discord channel reached out on the 20th of August, and asked if I've encountered @cryptopie. @cryptopie and I apparently live a town apart. I checked his blog posts and learned about his condition. I will share some insights about his rare medical condition here as well. @luvabi and the rest of our friends in the community started thinking about how we can best help @cryptopie. Doubt about things that proliferate the internet and social media sometimes can't be helped. While @cryptopie's posts seem to be effective, and he's gained many supporter who all have our thanks, we thought that a visit from another non-related steemian might help in removing doubts that may yet exist.

From our place the address given was nearly eight Kilometers north. Since it is the first time for @dandalion and I to venture into that part of Bulacan, we had to use GPS. Here are some photos along the way.

When we got to the village we had to ask where exactly the house was. We did not know @cryptopie's real name and we did not think the locals will know him as @cryptopie. The people though were very helpful. Since we did not have a name, @dandalion had to explain why we were looking for him, and they immediately thought about the only person in the village who is undergoing dialysis. A midwife from this house pointed us to @cryptopie's place; no more than two blocks away.

The midwife's house

When we got to @crytopie's house we were immediately met by his mother, who was very accommodating the whole time. She showed us some of @cryptopie's childhood pictures along with his siblings', nieces and nephews. We were also served some snacks. We did not take a lot of pictures, to not make them feel like we are invading their privacy.

During our conversation, @cryptopie was trying really hard to keep up, we can both see his difficulty in speaking. His breathing was shallow and with much effort. We learned that he has three siblings, a handful of nieces and nephews, a loving mother, and a really really hardworking father. He use to go to a nearby university, but had to quit when it became too difficult due to his illness. His mom told us that this was the first time he agreed to accept visitors because he feels embarrassed. His posts say the same.

@cryptopie has a rare medical condition characterized by an overgrowth of the facial and cranial bones called Leontiasis. This is a symptom of his renal condition which requires him to do dialysis sessions twice a week. His last visit to the doctor was to complain about his difficulty in breathing. The doctor confirmed that his ribs are starting to crush his lungs, and for this he will need a procedure to have metal braces. The doctor however, said that the local hospital have neither the specialty nor equipment to get this procedure done, and he was referred to several doctors at the East Avenue Medical Center. This entails a large sum. All our help so far has only gotten him through his weekly need for dialysis sessions.

I was thinking about declining rewards for this post, and just let it serve as a verification of @cryptopie's identity, but thought it's best to give whatever money this post make back to @cryptopie. I also commit to give any gains I get from steemit over the next 30 days. I have the entire Steemit Philippines to keep me honest here. Please drop us a message in this channel Steemit Philippines and someone will help assist you for any questions. I left him with some little amount I can spare and said it is hopefully just first of many. We are continuing to think about how else we can help him.

He is extremely grateful for all our help so far, but is also honest to say that he has long way to go. Please visit his blog, learn more about him, upvote and resteem his posts if you may.