Thursday, May 01, 2008 Dacawi: Lakay Tinong By Ramon Dacawi Benchwarmer
BEFORE he succumbed to aplastic anemia in April three years ago, Danilo, my immediately elder brother, badly needed blood transfusion. Through those months, he would need to be infused with new blood, but his family, by then, had already exhausted the kindness of donors, blood banks and hospital laboratories.
A recurrent thought -- and truism -- gripped me: It's always easier to generate support for strangers than your own kin.
That was when broadcast journalist Florentino "Lakay Tinong" Lardizabal dropped by. He had heard and came to confirm the need. I wanted to accompany him, but he refused, saying he was familiar with the process, having bled before for other people he never met or knew. I offered a little cash -- for the transport and the after-procedure fluid replacement -- but he wouldn't have it.
At my brother's wake and burial, Tinong's quiet support and those of many others cushioned thoughts of uncertainty -- for Manang Fely, Manong Dan's widow; Janet, their special daughter; and Ronald, their son. They never met Tinong, much less heard him on air, as the reach of RPN-DZBS, the once powerful radio station along Session Rd. had been reduced to the city's main street.
Eli Refuerzo and I heard the news about Tinong last Monday morning. Eli's phone rang and he read the text message from the Philippine Information Agency, the same outfit that updates Baguio media on upcoming interviews, press conferences and newsworthy events.
"Tinong was rushed to the Baguio General Hospital this morning -- apparently a stroke or aneurism," Eli told me while we were on a bus bound for Ilocos Sur.
We found Tinong at the ICU of the medical center Wednesday morning. The medical staff told us to wait as people were already by his bedside. From the anteroom, we watched several kids pass us by. The moment they reached his bedside, we heard sudden wailing, from a young girl. Later, we presumed it was Trisha Loren, Tinong's six-year-old daughter. Her eyes had filled.
She had been led out by elder brother Von Charles, 16, and elder sister Yvonne, 10, and their aunt. The youngest child, 21-month old Florentino III, wasn't around, probably left at home.
"Take care of yourself so you can pray well for your dad," their aunt advised Trisha.
Tinong's wife, Juvy, came out and led us to his bedside. A breathing tube from a pumping apparatus was attached to his mouth. At 37, Tinong was unconscious.
"I have hopes he will recover," she said, almost with certainty. "We will have something done rather than watch him this way."
That meant moving him for a CT-scan at the nearby Baguio Medical Center, which has the gadget. Doctors, however, were hesitant, for just wheeling him out for the procedure may prove disastrous.
Thank God, Eli and I were messengers. We were there to deliver support from a woman Samaritan who entrusted an amount for whoever needed it most. Hours after they heard, officers of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club, which Tinong serves as vice president for radio, set aside another amount to help foot the bills.
Juvy said Tinong was waiting for a cab early Monday morning along Kennon when he collapsed. He was on his way to his regular board work. Some people passing by recognized him and rushed him to the BGH.
Tinong also recently got himself elected councilman of Barangay San Vicente. He was out covering other results and learned he was in only when he came home from work.
"He needs your prayers," Juvy told us as we were about to make our exit from the intensive care unit. (email:rdacawi@yahoo.com for comments)
(Editor's note: The family of Florentino Lardizabal decided Tuesday to unplug the life support system keeping him alive the last two days. Please pray for the eternal repose of his soul. His body lies in state at the Baguio Memorial Chapels.)
