Monday, July 30, 2007 People respond to patients' call for help
SINCE her hospital release on July 1 following surgery for breast cancer, 41-year-old single parent Josephine Pedronan has been searching for donors who could pool P8,200 for her first of six chemotherapy sessions.
Editha, her 50-year-old sister, tried a National Government field office in Pangasinan, but was told funds had been exhausted for the purpose, given the number of patients trying to avail of the same. The P8,200 x 6 cycles spread out every 21 one days P49,200. The figure, excluding amounts for the daily maintenance dosage, follow-up medicines, check-ups and all, was simply over the heads of the siblings.
Both are into weeding, cleaning up gardens of their neighbors in Barangay Kias. Each gets paid P120 for a day's work. But weeds don't grow that fast and city gardens are not as big as rural farms. Since last year, another single parent raising her own daughter in Kentucky has been sending amounts for sick people here.
Reaching out is her expression of gratitude for her own triumph over breast cancer.
It's also in memory of her elder sister who succumbed to the same affliction on June 28 last year, same day Josephine went under the knife.
With her support, Josephine was back in the hospital on Sunday for her first shot of drugs aimed at eliminating pesky cancer cells that multiply much faster than garden weeds.
"Whoever she is, she has given me relief, and the needed time to look for others like her, as I know she had already so much with other patients," Josephine said of her benefactor.
Doctors said her condition is at stage 2, which offers a good prognosis if chemo is sustained. They added, however, it's moving to level 3.
As she can't have a cell phone, people who would like to help fund her next chemo fund may visit the shanty she shares with her daughter and sister at Purok 8 in Barangay Kias.
There are other Samaritans out there.
Over at Guisad, members of the Department of Agriculture (DA) employees' cooperative and association turned their joint induction program into another outreach of sorts the other Friday.
Led by information officer Robert Domoguen, the agricultural workers turned over a total of P13,004 from their "Share-a-Life" program to four special guests. Six-year-old leukemia patient John Brix de Guzman, 60-year-old cancer patient Jane Patingan and 16-year-old Erlinda Corpuz, who's suffering from congenital heart defect, received P2,167 each.
Nine-year-old leukemia victim Mike Melchor Ngoap, who needs bone marrow transplant, was allotted P6,500. Her mother Josephine acknowledged other previous donors: An anonymous woman who coursed P10,000 through Metrobank, a certain Charlie of La Trinidad (P2,500), another anonymous woman from La Trinidad (P3,500), PCEC student Bubbles (P1,000), Dra. Dugui-is (P2,000) and Mr. and Mrs. Ganadan (P5,000).
Several months into his therapy, Mike Melchor had a relapse. Doctors advised bone marrow transplant. His brother Dario and three sisters were tested in a series of tissue matching to find the most likely donor. Yasmine, the youngest at four, was it.
Nevertheless, Mike Melchor won't have it. Doctors at the Medical Center of Asia estimated the bone marrow transplant to cost between P2.5 to P3 million.
The DA workers said it was the first turnover this year for patients under their "Share-a-Life program. They dedicated it to the memory their Robert Donato, their colleague who died last year.
Robert's widow, City Schools Superintendent Dr. Ellen Donato, recalled the employees' support through the years her husband underwent dialysis. She then handed P5,000 each as seed money for the association and the coop. She added P3,000 support to the employees' darts club.
"I don't want to be too emotional here," Donato said, pressing her palm to her chest.
Over at the Philippine General Hospital the other Wednesday, couple Manuel and Helen Nacionales were told Joshua, their three-month-old baby, had to be released for his own protection.
The boy was then due for further tests and then surgery for hemangioma, and asteriovenous malformation that turned his left hand into a swollen, infectious ball.
Surgery had to be postponed following an outbreak of tuberculosis in the crowded pediatric surgery ward.
With P500 left after expenses for tests, medicines, food and room to wash in, the couple could only make it to the Victory bus terminal in Pasay. City administrator Peter Fianza made arrangements, allowing them to board a bus.
An anonymous Samaritan who helped pay the transport costs during Joshua's previous check-up later paid the tickets at the Baguio terminal.
The donor had coursed P6,000 through bank vice president Rolly de Guzman of RCBC, of which P3,000 was used by kidney patient Jane Crispino, a mother of from Lucnab, for her dialysis.
Jane earlier parted with Brownie, the family dog, just to be able to come up with the amount needed or her earlier dialysis session.
Another amount of P2,410 from Soshin, a Gemany-based foundation headed by former world karate champion Julian Chees, also helped Garcia Pigao, a Benguet resident who is recovering from brain tumor surgery.
Also last week, nursing student Kelvin Agsaoay turned over P2,000 which his mother, a nurse in London, wanted to be given to a dialysis patient. (RD)
