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By Dr. Bob D. Alojipan, Philippines
Oftentimes I would ask our nomadic kasimanwas to join us in our pagtatap egroups, and they would often ask me back what benefits they would get from joining us. Most of them who politely declined my invitation were actually looking for tangible benefits they would get from spending their time with our egroups, and I would tell them that they would never get them if they were looking for them.
Let me tell you a story. The other day, a friend visited me in the hospital where I work. It was almost noon so I invited her for lunch in our canteen. It was our first time to have a real good conversation together and observe the growing wrinkles in our faces after 35 years that we had not seen each other. She told me that she had read a lot about me and the help that I have been giving to our town and to our kasimanwas. Most of this information came from the pagtatap egroups emails that were forwarded to her.
So I told her some stories of the seriously ill patients who would come to my clinic with nothing but their clothes and their sickness and how we helped them return to the mainstream of society and become useful members of the community again.
In the course of our conversation, she got a crisp 100-dollar bill from her bag and handed it to me saying, "My little contribution to the patients that you are helping." "How would you like me to distribute this?" I asked. "Bahala ka na," she answered.
It took me several spoonfuls of rice before I told her what I was thinking. "We have a patient in our charity ward who came from our town and he has been in the ward for 2 weeks now. He needs money badly. Let's give the money to him and I would like you to come with me. You will be the one to personally hand it to him". At first she was hesitant to come with me, but with a little patience and some convincing, she consented. "But", she said "you should not tell him my name". I asked why, and she just said, "That's how I want it to be."
After paying the bill, we went to the charity ward. The patient was sleeping when we arrived. He had dextrose in his left arm. He looked comfortable but his face could not hide the pain he was suffering. His wife was sitting on a chair beside his bed. She was also sleeping with her head on her arms pressed on the cramped edge of the bed.
The nurse woke them up. They must have been very tired and sleepy because it took them a few minutes before they recognized me. I examined the patient while my friend was watching. I asked a few questions and looked at his chart to find out what diagnostic procedures had been done. He was scheduled for a CT scan-guided drainage of his abscess in the ileopsoas muscles, a very hard to diagnose disease and very difficult to treat surgically. I then asked the nurse to leave.
The ward was full. There were 24 beds in the room and all were occupied with watchers and relatives of the patients sitting on chairs provided exclusively for them at each side of the beds. I handed the $100 dollars to the wife and said, "This lady here is giving this money to you for your daily needs." The patient was stunned for a few seconds, then he cried. He didn't utter a word. He could not utter a word. His cascading tears blurred his vision and numbed his cheeks. Tears kept flowing down to his smiling lips. The wife was crying too as she took the money from me. She wiped her tears with her hands, looked at the lady and said, "Thank you, this is a big help for us. May I know who you are?" I told the wife, "She is our kasimanwa but she prefers not to be known, so please let it stay that way." I was already on the verge of crying when I said that, but when I noticed some patients and their watchers seriously looking at us, I held back my tears, quickly touched the covered feet of the patient and said, "We have to go. You will be alright.."
I have no intention of breaking my promise to my friend, but because it's Christmas, I deem it right to tell you this heartwarming story. I believe that by not divulging her name here, somehow I have kept my promise to her.
Isn't this one good reason why our pagtatap egroups is one of the best things that has ever happened to us in our lifetime?
Merry Christmas everyone!
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