Nang bumalik ako galing sa bakasyon, dalawa sa sulat sa aking email ay tungkol sa mga kaibigan na pumanaw na. Pareho dahil sa cancer.
Ang isa ay si Lani Nodado, isang kasamahan namin sa “I can Serve” ang grupo ng mga cancer survivor. Ang tapang-tapang ni Lani. Kahit na nagme-metastasize na ang kanyang breast cancer sa ibang parte ng katawan niya, hindi siya huminto gawing makabuluhan ang kanyang buhay.
Huli ko siya nakita noong Christmas 2006 ngunit palagi siya nag-si share kung paano niya nilalabanan ang kanyang sakit. Kahapon ang aming I Can Serve Christmas party. Miss namin si Lani.
Ang pangalawang email na natanggap ko ay galing sa California, kay Lourdes Bautista, kapatid ng aking kaibigan na si Ed Bautista, manunulat.
Ito and sulat ni Lourdes: “I’m sorry to tell you that Ed passed away Thursday Nov.15,2007 at 7:14 P.M.Sa kabila ng pagsisikap niyang mabuhay at labanan ang sakit na cancer.Salamat sa mga prayers at encourangements na ibinigay ninyo sa kanya.Masakit para sa ating lahat ang pagkawala niya pero alam kong sa ngayon ay mapayapa na siya at wala nang nararamdamang sakit.
The viewing will be held on Friday ,Nov.23 from 9:00 A.M. to 8:00 P.M.
Mass will be held at Good Shepherd Parish at 10:00 A.M followed by the Burial at
El Camino Memorial ParkI’m sorry to tell you that Ed passed away Thursday Nov.15,2007 at 7:14 P.M.”
Si Ed ay nakasama ko sa playwriting class sa PETA (Philippine Educational Theatre Association) noon noon pa. Ang ginawa niyang play, tungkol sa isang naaping grupo sa Montalban, Rizal ang isinadula pagkatapos ng aming summer workshop.
Seminarista si Ed ay mayroon siya noong grupo na tinatawag niyang Emmaus na tumutulong magbigay ng kabuhayan sa mga mahihirap katulad ng cigarette street vendor at mga kabataan na palaboy-laboy sa kalsada.
Sa kanya ko natutunan na kahit paminsan-minsan ay mapamahal o napasobra ang bayad mo sa isang bagay, kung ang napuntahan naman noon ay talagang nanganga-ilangan, (hindi naman siya si Henry Sy ng SM) hayaan mo na. Tulong mo na lang yun.
Mula sa PETA, napunta si Ed sa entertainment writing. Hindi kami masyado nagkikita ngunit nababasa ko siya sa mga entertainment magazines.
Noong Hunyo nitong taon, sumulat siya sa akin at nag-catch up kami ng balitaaan. Ikinuwento niya sa akin ang kanyang odyssey sa Amerika. At sinabi nga niya na may liver cancer siya.
Tuwing may bagong findings, tawag siya sa akin. Minsan mukhang nade-depress siya. Sini-share ko sa kanya ang aking natutunan sa aking pakikipaglaban sa cancer. Sabi ko nga, lahat lahat tayo darating ang araw na lilisan dito sa mundo. Mas mahalaga kaysa sa haba ng itinagal natin dito sa lupa ay kung paano nating ginamit ang handog ng buhay na binigay sa atin ng Panginoon.
Maraming buhay ang naimpluwensyahan sa kabutihan nina Lani at ni Ed. Sila ay katabi na ng Panginoon. Manatili sa akin ang kanilang magandang ala-ala.
I feel sorry for these two guys, though i don’t know them personally, my prayers for them. I remember my brother who passed away in 1995 of liver cancer too, and my mother who died of breast cancer in 2002. each one of us has our own destiny….and a day to leave the earth….i guess sickness should not make us dull, depressed, and sad. We have life to live on….make the most of it….serve God and people to the best we can do.
“Mas mahalaga kaysa sa haba ng itinagal natin dito sa lupa ay kung paano nating ginamit ang handog ng buhay na binigay sa atin ng Panginoon.”
This is the right attitude. We should make the most of the gift of live that God has given us not only for ourselves but also for others.
May the souls of your good friends Lani and Ed rest in peace with the Lord. My father also died of cancer and I am witness to his pain and agony during his last days on sick bed. During those last days, I used to massage his arms, legs and body because he always says that he feels like ‘nangangalay’ or ‘nakukuryente’ if not in severe pain. It is really sad to lose one who is very special. Let us always pray for good health.
wala ng pinakamasakit sa isang nilalang kundi ang makita ang paghihirap ng kanyang minanamahal habang unti unting pinapapanawan ng buhay.
subalit mas masakit ang mabalitaan na lamang ang pagpanaw ng taong pinaglalaanan ng lahat ng pagsisikap na hindi man lamang nakapiling sa huling sandali ng kanyang pakikipaglaban kay kamatayan!
Naintindihan ko yan, MR. Nakaka-guilty na hindi mo man lamang nahawakan ang kamay sa kanyang pamama-alam. ‘Yan ang pakiramdam ko sa aking nanay at tiyo.
ganyan ang naramdaman ko noong magkasunod na mamatay ang nanay ko at kapatid na babae, ng tatay ko habang nandito ako, ang aking tiyahin at pinsang buong babae.
mga mahal ko sa buhay na maaaring hinanakit ang baon sa kanilang hukay dahil hindi ko man lamang nasilip ang kanilang labi at naihatid sa huling hantungan.
lani and ed, ay you rest in peace with the lord.
Ellen
just read about your good friends joining the Lord.
I have no doubt they will Rest in Peace
Unless they choose to be earthbound,
For that was their choice, agreed to by the Lord.
There’s another view and attitude about death
That any which way we die, by illness or by the sword
While young or terribly old, death must be understood
For what it is. Understood and followed the way
Jesus died. If you do, you become less human,
Less vulnerable to blandishments of charlatans.
If I am a priest or a minister which I will never be
I will not scare people about death
One should never be afraid of one’s own choice
Of dying, of leaving human existence, because dying fulfills the purpose of one’s re birth from previous life.
Why is it that so many good people chose cancer
Which meant fighting death itself?
And only so few chose hanging and by the bullet?
Not knowing why is to be scared
to death by impending death
to know even a little is to be free
to await peace and anticipate one’s rebirth.
When Jesus died nailed to his cross
Isn’t he telling us that there could no more
Horrible or more painful death? Regardless
Of how, anywhere? Did the angels wailed
And cried instead of singing Halleluyahs?
Was it a cause for celebration or endless sorrow?
Why do some fools have a party after the funeral?
And why do some pious devotees can’t let go?
Will I be afraid, when it’s my time?
Ellen were your friends afraid?
Like a child, It’s really scary Ellen
THAT IS:
If you don’t want to go.
If you don’t feel fulfilled of
Everything you must do. Or when
You have reason To be afraid if,
like your grandparents or parents
You have not kept the Commandments
And your conscience is not at peace.
ed n lani, may u rest in peace… may your loved ones u left behind be comforted by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ…
ellen,
naiiyak ako sa mga kwento tungkol sa mga mahal sa buhay. naalala ko ang aking mga magulang na namatay na. ang Father ko namatay noong 2000 hindi ko man lang siya nakita sa huling sandali dahil sa malayo ako at mahirap sa sitwasyon ko ang umuwi. namatay ang mother ko July 2007 na hanggang sa huling hininga niya ay hinihintay ako. masakit sa katulad ko na nag pakalayo at mag hanap buhay para masuportahan ang mga mahal sa buhay, tapos mawala sila. masakit lataga isipin na hindi mo sila makita man lang.
We have a different attitude toward death as members of our church as we believe that it is just another journey. Frankly, I pray that I will not have cancer and die because of it because of the terrible pain that cancer patients experience. I guess, however, that the pain compensates for the time they are told they still have to live, they can do a lot of things to make up for all shortcomings during their healthier time.
Let me share this story of a cancer patient who did not waste the time she was told she still could have to do good, and yes, even prepare for the time she would meet with her Creator.
Her name was Michiko. She was actually a member of our church whom I had befriended.
Like most cancer patients, when she was diagnosed with cancer of the lymph nodes and given 6 months to live, she was shocked, and yes, afraid as she had admitted. She asked for a blessing, and more time to prepare for her journey to the life hereafter.
She must have had that much faith for the 6 months in fact became two years during which time, she had the impression to use her talent (she was in fact a fashion designer) in making a book for children with drawings of events in the Genesis that she must have wanted to tell to her own child. In between drawing and preparing her book, she likewise did some charity to help the less privileged. She also helped other patients in the hospital where she was being treated. And most of all, she tried to do all the things that would make her clean and pure in the Eyes of God as prescribed in the Scriptures and tenets of our religion.
What is amazing is that she was able to finish her drawings and a publisher, who agreed to publish her book, was found just when her condition turned to worse.
Two weeks before she died, the doctor told her that the medication being administered to her no longer worked and that she should be ready anytime to go. It frightened her, but could not do anything but resign to her fate. A week before she died, she told her home teacher that she was ready to go.
What is likewise amazing was that on the day she died, her book was published. Apparently, she left word to give all those who would attend her wake and funeral a copy of her book. I did get a copy, and I thought it was swell.
She also left instructions to have her book be distributed and donated to all libraries in Japan because she wanted people to know that Jesus was/is the Christ. She also wanted people to know that God lives and answers prayers said with a humble and contrite heart.
I hope Ed and Lani have been able to make similar preparations. I would want that myself.
It seems to me that now a days we hear so much about cancer. I have a number of friends who either have cancer or who died of it. Just recently, my sister in law died of it..and a comadre too. But unlike before, advance treatment of it saves a lot..As they say there are only two things we are certain of..death and taxes..taxes can be avoided or evaded though (don’t we know it in the Phil) and death we just have to be ready for like a thief it comes when we least expect it..unlike the big thief we know…
pedrocarpio,
pareho tayo ng karanasan.
idalangin na lamang natin ang kanilang kapayapaan sa kabilang buhay.
my eldest daughter who is presently employed as a househelp here in saudi arabia is also a victim of the dreaded cancer that she had been suffering for almost a year now. it is a kind of cancer that was first detected not in the human body but in the society where the moneyed treat their servants like slaves oftentimes denying them of decent treatment and not giving what is due to them. she was not receiving her meager salary for more than four months, locked up inside the house even her employers are around and sometimes hit by the woman even for no apparent reason.
she had successfully kept it herself, but being a parent who, like her is away from home for a long time working in the same country, i had a feeling that not everything is okay with her although she pretended to be satisfied with her work and salary until lately confessed that she only wanted us not to worry about her and that she’s already fed up and cannot bear the beatings and hard work without pay.
I already sought the help of the POLO-OWWA in alkhobar, saudi arabia which has jurisdiction over her case but until now, after almost three weeks asking for their assistance, my daughter is still under the mercy of her savage employers and planning to do it herself to run away from slavery.
Re: “she’s already fed up and cannot bear the beatings and hard work without pay.”
Magno,
I was getting goose pimples while reading your post.
I am so sorry to hear that your own daughter is one of the thousands of people who are treated badly by their foreign employers.
How can foreign foreign employers of OFWs possess ethics when the very person who is supposed to be at the helm has no ethics herself, one who treats her fellow Filipinos as chattel to dispose of in unknown territories to send home dollars?
Stories like this make me livid with anger.
mrivera: i assume you know better the situation of pinays there in saudi than i do but still i have to tell the story of my niece who chose to run away from the cruelty of her employers. she was lucky to be able to rich the embassy and got help to come home to pinas.her employers confiscated her passport so she took the risk of going out without it.when she reached the embassy, they were able to contact her employers who gave her the ticket homeward instead of the payment she deserved, i think about 6 months.at least now she is in safety with people who care for her.i pray for your daughter’s safety and well being.
Katulad ninyo, dati akala ko ay masakit ang panawan ng mahal na hindi man lang nakita, mas mahirap pala kung sa piling mo mismo ito namatay.
Nung 2003, habang nasa ICU ang Dad ko, at ako mismo ang bantay, biglang nagpanic ang isang nurse ng kunan siya ng blood pressure, walang sabi-sabi, nagdatingan ang mga doktor, hatak-hatak ang mga instrumento. Nang hinala nilang hindi gumagana ng maayos ang respirator dahil hindi tumataas ang oxygen sa monitor, binunot ito at isinaksak ang ambu-bag, at manu-manong binomba para matulungan sa paghinga.
Nun lamang nakaraang gabi, binibiro pa namin siya ng nurse nung sumenyas siya ng iginuhit sa leeg niya yung thumb niya, parang sinabing “mamamatay na ako”. Sabi kasi ng doktor iwe-wean na siya sa respirator the next day. Sumenyas pa siya ng parang nagwiwisik ng tubig sa mukha na naintindihan ko lang ilang taon matapos: gusto pala niya noong magpa-bendisyon sa pari.
Noon ngang binobomba ng nurse at hirap na hirap na, nag-volunteer ako na ako na ang magbobomba pero hindi pa rin nagre-respond ang Dad ko. Nagflatline siya kaya yung dibdib na niya ang binobomba ng nurse, tinurukan ng injection at kinuryente, kung anu-ano pa. Nandoon lang ako sa tabi pero hindi ko alam ang gagawin ko kung meron man. Hindi ako umiiyak, ayokong maramdaman ng Dad ko na naaawa ako sa kanya, ayaw niya nun. Inilayo ko ang Mommy ko at sinabihan kong magdasal na lang kami, doon mismo sa hallway.
Balik ako sa loob ng ICU para tignan, wala pa rin. Matapos ang kalahating oras, ipinatigil ko na sabay sabing, “Ibigay na natin siya”.
Bago ako pumunta sa ospital ng gabing iyon, nagdasal ako, sabi ko, “Lord, kung ipapahiram pa Ninyo sa amin si Daddy, kung puwede po, yung maayos naman siya, pero kung magtatagal din lang ang paghihirap niya, kunin na po Ninyo”. Iyak ako ng iyak, hindi ko matanggap ang dinasal ko. Kakalabas lang namin kasi sa ospital matapos ding ma-ICU siya sa sakit na emphysema gawa ng matinding paninigarilyo.
Dumating ang Kuya ko at ang bunso namin at gaya ninyo, yun ang iniiyak – bakit wala man lang silang nagawa. Kahit naman nandoon sila, kung oras na, oras na.
anna, norpil,
my daughter successfully made it out of her demonic employers’ house but was apprehended by the police who brought her to the precinct for questioning and was later endorsed to what they called SOWA (which, to my own term is saudi overseas workers administration same like our OWWA but it is more of a detention center for run-aways).
if it were my mistake telling her not to carry anything except the clothes she wore, i must say i did to my belief that she would be turned over to the POLO-OWWA personnel in alkhobar for safekeeping after her apprehension but sad to say i regret it upon learning that she had to stay inside SOWA without anything in her possession except her cellphone that could be my only source of monitoring her situation which was taken for safekeeping as it is prohibited inside the detention center.
i just don’t know if any representative from POLO-OWWA is taking care and/or monitoring her case.
para akong masisiraan ng bait dahil hindi ko man lamang siya madamayan. wala siyang damit na pampalit at wala ni isang kusing sa kanyang bulsa.
MR, please check your email.
ellen,
got it and preparing all details about my daughter.
i already talked to labatt david des dicang and he told me that once a week, a personnel from his office is checking the condition/situation of any pinay run-away held in SOWA.
a word of consolation
Sorry sa mahabang post ko, nalungkot lang ako sa mga nabasa ko dito. Para huwag kayong malungkot, eto:
Doktor: Lola, kailangan nating pumunta sa kabilang kwarto para malunasan yang sakit ninyong kanser.
Lola: Anon’ng gagawin ninyo sa akin?
Doktor: Chemotherapy po.
Lola: Anon’ng kimopertariti?
Doktor: Ki-chemo, Lola.
Lola: Bastos ka, maysakit na nga ako e…#%ti mo rin!