I visited the pulmonary and leukemia ward section at the National Children’s Hospital last Thursday, December 5, 2019.
Our staff from Makati Ford, led by Kay Anne and Joralyn, coordinated everything. They already knew what to do, I’ve been doing this for more than a decade.
Every time I visited hospitals, I made it a point to meet with some of the parents to hear their stories. I feel it’s important that they are able to share their problems even to strangers like me. To stand there and listen to their situation for a few minutes makes them feel someone cares.
The baby girl carried by her mom has down syndrome or trisomy 21. According to the mother, her ob-gyn discovered during the pre-natal ultrasound and scan that the baby has abnormalities.
Her first child is autistic. The mom also told me her husband has relatives who have genetic disorders. I advised her not to get pregnant again because the baby could have some disability.
Theirs could be a case of genetic incompatibility. This is the reason why we pushed Oyen and Derrick to have genetic compatibility tests. It was a lot of hassle and pain (tusok ng karayom). Oyen was terrorized by the amount of blood taken from her, like 10 vials at least. Not counting the expense. The tests alone cost an initial P50,000. Hindi pa tapos yun.
The little girl beside me is so cute. She poses for the camera and gives out a lovely smile. She has leukemia. Sana gumaling na silang lahat.
Kay Anne wasn’t able to reach Fr. Bok, the priest who regularly celebrates the First Friday Masses at Makati Ford. She waited for his response for two weeks but he never said anything. Maybe he didn’t get Kay-Anne’s messages. So for our Blessing of Angels, there was no priest’s blessing. We went without a priest and just let the Jollibee mascot entertained the parents and kids. Eh makita lang nila si Jollibee, happy na agad sila.
Liv is the new HR manager for the Aeon Group. It was nice that she volunteered to come with us.
I don’t need to require our employees to help me each time we distribute some goodies for charity. They willingly join. I think they also feel some kind of satisfaction in helping the less fortunate individuals even in our own little way.
It made me smile when I saw this boy finishing the spaghetti. Seeing how much he appreciated what we brought was my reward for doing this. Even for a few minutes, he forgot his pains. #pricelessreward
What’s with me? I looked silly.
We also gave food and bath soaps to some of the hospital staff.
Ara, the social worker, asked if it was okay to solicit some financial help from me. According to her, there are two patients confined in the hospital for several months now because of some serious illnesses and the parents could no longer work because they needed to be beside their children full time. The babies would not be able to breathe on their own so they are attached to a machine. The tubings alone cost P2,500 a month/ patient plus P750 for oxygen.
I saw the two babies Ara was referring to, nay ko, beybing-baby pa sila. Nakakadurog ng puso seeing them suffer like that. Wala pang kamuang-muang. My prayers when I was pregnant with Oyen and Nyke were always “sana po healthy ang baby ko”.
These two young girls, aged 11 and 3 respectively share a bed because the hospital has no more extra bed. They both have leukemia and are both the youngest in their own brood. According to statistics, females, youngest (bunso) in their family, have a higher risk of developing leukemia.
I met with a woman whose daughter was diagnosed with leukemia in September. The mom worked in Brunei but she has to resign to be with her daughter. She is living on her savings from years of working abroad. She also supports her three siblings.
A—-:E asan yung husband mo? Ano’ng trabaho nya?”
Mother—-“Wala na. Wala na sya”.
A—–“Ano’ng wala na? Umalis na. Nangalapitbahay?”
Mother—-“Patay na sya”
A—–“Ha? Anong nangyari sa kanya? Nagkasakit?”
Mother—–“Nagpakamatay nung July”
She said her husband was into drugs. He spent on drugs the money she was sending every month.
I told my staff that it’s a good feeling that we are able to do something like this. I also told them they don’t need money to be able to help others in need. They can volunteer, like today. #thankyoumakatifordstaff #hradmin #charity #ombcharities #choosetobegood #generosity #compassion
