How much of your own money are you willing to part with just to fulfill your dream of having your own child?
Well, for this 32-year-old OFW nurse from Davao City, the P9-M he spent is certainly worth it.
Dan Lester Dabon is a self-made man who rose from being a struggling OFW to a CEO of his own business, the Davao-based DLD Consulting. He is currently working as a risk officer of the largest ambulatory healthcare provider in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
He was also a recipient of the “Top 100 Leaders in Healthcare” award by the International Forum on Advancements in Healthcare (IFAH) in 2020-2021.
In an interview with Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS), Dabon narrated his journey to fulfill his wish of becoming a father.
Coming from a broken family, Dabon grew up under the care of his grandparents. He finished Nursing course and flew overseas to try his luck. He became a successful professional in his field and aside from his business, he now owns some properties in the Philippines.
At 30 something, Dabon said he reached the point where he already wants to be a father. But since he has no wife, he chose to fulfill this through ‘in vitro fertilization’ or IVF.
Doctors have already advised him that natural means is impossible due to his sperm morphology.
“Yung problema sa akin is yung shape at saka yung movement – na kapag ginawa siya naturally, hindi siya aabot doon sa stage na mame-meet niya ‘yung egg,” he told KMJS.
He decided to fly from Abu Dhabi to St. Petersburg in Russia in February 2021 to look for an IVF clinic where he was made to choose from potential egg donors.
He then chose a 24-year-old Russian female as egg donor but the process of embryo transfer failed.
Disappointed, Dan went through depression and even contracted vitiligo due to the stress. His family, especially his granparents, however, continued to support him.
He again tried IVF in May 2021 and only one of the twins had a heartbeat during the scan.
“When we did our first scan, I was very happy. I think that was the happiest part of my life na finally buntis na talaga – ito na, magiging tatay na ako,” Dan shared.
In January 29, 2022, he welcomed his daughter and named her ‘Danaya Liyah’.
Dan said he spent nearly P9-M for the whole process but his baby girl is worth so much more than that. Danaya Liyah gives him priceless joy and he has been documenting about their journey in a Facebook page, Dan On The Go (Raising Danaya), which he created last year. The father and daughter tandem has inspired many it’s no wonder their journey already has 33K followers.
Watch his road to fatherhood below via a special feature on KMJS: