IF THERE is one battle cry that fits people with very limited resources these days, it would be that of one pharmaceutical company that says: bawal ang magkasakit.”
A week ago, one of our office staff rushed home when he learned that his teenage daughter had dengue fever. He lived in a town in Laguna, an hour and a half ride from our office. His daughter was brought to a public hospital but since it was ill-equipped, he was forced to bring his daughter to a private hospital that was several kilometers more away.
That co-worker went home with no money in his pocket but proceeded anyway because he knew it was a race against time, especially if one’s blood platelet count is on a downhill trend.
As the office’ admin and personnel officer, I took it upon myself to closely monitor the situation of our co-worker’s daughter. I knew he needed moral support as well as resources for his daughter’s illness. For about a week, his daughter was in that private hospital that was like a taxi whose meter runs from day one.
I knew if it were not for our constant monitoring of the situation, our co-worker would have been very desperate about what to do. He had to produce bags of blood as his daughter needed blood transfusion. He had been to the Red Cross in their town and to hospitals as well but there was none available.
Instead, another colleague contacted another government agency to ask for blood which was readily available. After stabilizing and normalizing the blood platelet count of his daughter, he had another problem. His daughter’s lungs had water probably because of the constant hydration of liquids needed for a dengue afflicted patient. It meant prolonged stay in the hospital.
With only P7,000 life time savings that he said was supposed to used for his daughter’s college graduation later this month, my co-worker mustered enough courage to seek financial assistance for his daughter’s hospitalization that had already ballooned to about P50,000.
Good thing, our superior in the office was very considerate and we found ways to help our co-worker pay for the hospital bill for a six day confinement. After hurdling through it, our co-worker was back in the office the day after his daughter was discharged.
I asked him how his daughter was; he said she was recuperating, thanks to everyone’s help in the office. He said, shaking his head, “dapat talaga ma’m may savings kasi ang hirap magkasakit na walang perang nakatabi, ma’m.”
I felt his helplessness. For an enlisted personnel in the service, money is not easy to come by especially if one has four children to feed and send to school. Since he also could not afford to hire house help, his wife is a stay-at-home spouse who looks after the household with no additional income. He sends four children to school, two of them are in college. He is not alone in that situation though, a lot of people are. But one can only do so much, and such circumstance makes one feel very helpless.
In retrospect, I am reminded once again of the campaign promises our politicians barrage the people with. And with only a few days to go before lining up to cast our votes, let us not be swayed by how nice the political advertisements are made over the airwaves. What our country needs today is one who will truly and genuinely care for the people and not just enrich one’s self and think of ways to recoup what was spent to be put in office.
For those vying for elective posts, look around you, the real situation of the people is overwhelmingly depressing; give justice to your political advocacies and slogans. Make them a reality and not just mere lip service that is only good while the election period lasts.
It is about time to address the real concerns of the people.