Tuesday, May 01, 2007 Young family loses father to cancer
ELMER Biogan's fight against cancer got a boost mid-October when Samaritans began chipping in. They handled at least two of the eight chemo sessions he underwent and helped free his wife Grace from a usurious P10,000 loan.
The kindness of people she hardly knew, Grace, who earlier also had to mortgage their house to sustain his treatment for a year, was hopeful of deliverance.
Recently, Baguio boy Joel Aliping sent from California US$100 to bolster Elmer's chances of recovery and returning to driving a jeepney and raising his three young children.
Elmer won't. He passed away late last Thursday evening, about 17 months after he was diagnosed with lymphoma.
When he heard the news, Bryan Aliping, Joel's elder brother, hoped that the amount would help shoulder the burial costs.
Aside from his wife, Elmer is survived by daughters Rossetee, 14, and Charmaine, 13, and their one-year-old son Harvey.
Relatives were working out the papers last Friday for an early burial, which was advised by culture-bound tribal leaders at the Bayyo community along Ambuclao Road where Elmer's family resided for years.
Soon, Grace would have to figure out how to save the mortgaged house and raise the kids alone. In between caring for them, watching over her husband's needs and knocking on doors for help, she had tried to earn by washing clothes.
Her load had earlier been lightened up by another expatriate, an Ibaloi woman raising her own daughter in Kentucky. The Samaritan shouldered part of the chemo sessions, and paid a P10,000 loan Grace got for her husband's therapy with Aliping paying for the P2,000 interest.
You lose one, you hope to win some.
Aliping also sent P5,000 each for the treatment of cancer patients Mary Chan and Juliet Oakes. Mary is a sister of Jimmy and George Chan who have been supporting folk and country music concerts for indigent patients. Juliet is the wife of folksinger Dick Oakes who, for years, performed pro bono in these concerts for-a-cause.
Aliping also coursed P3,000 for kidney patient Rex Balangitan; P2,000 for kidney patient Juliet Agustin; P1,566.75 for the medicines of toddler Jlykha Dumapi; and P2,000 for ambulance service for Maria Paz "Datsu" Molintas.
Datsu, the widow of the late pony boy Mike Molintas, was recently operated on for a slipped disc that kept her in bed for years. Her youngest son Niño Joshua was also operated on for congenital heart disease in 1997 with support from the late columnist Art Borjal, musicians and other Samaritans.
The Kentucky-based Ibaloi woman also sent US$200 for the treatment of Filbert Almoza, a 24-year-old father from Itogon, Benguet who is also undergoing dialysis.
From Germany where he is based, former world karate champion Julian Chees likewise transmitted P8,000 for the chemo of cancer victim Esther Villapana and an equal amount for the eye surgery of 12-year-old Shandy Quindao of Kennon Road.
An anonymous donor added P4,000 for Shandy's surgery, which was done after the boy graduated at the top of his grade six class. (RD)
