I WAS FOUR AND I WAS AT MY PRESCHOOL YEARS WHEN MY MOTHER WAS DIAGNOSED OF AN END STAGE CHRONIC RENAL FAILURE WHICH REQUIRED HER TO UNDERGO A PAINFUL TREATMENT CALLED HEMODIALYSIS. SHE HAS TO BARE THAT THERAPY FOR THREE TIMES A WEEK, MORE OR LESS 120 TIMES A YEAR FOR 16 YEARS. PERHAPS MOST OF YOU WERE NOT AWARE OF HOW PAINFUL IT IS SO JUST IMAGINE BEING PUNCTURED WITH SUCTION NEEDLE ABOUT A MILLIMETER IN RADIUS AND 3 INCHES LONG ON YOUR ARMS? IT IS ONLY HALF THE PAIN MY MOTHER HAD TO UNDERGO DURING HER TREATMENT FOR NOT ONLY ONE BUT TWO NEEDLES WERE ON HER ARMS DURING THAT FOUR HOUR THERAPY.
IT WAS SIXTEEN YEARS AGO, BUT I CAN NEVER FORGET THE PAIN I SAW IN HER EYES WHEN SHE HELD MY HANDS AND SMILED TO COMFORT ME AS IF SHE FELT NO PAIN. SHE WAS INDEED STRONG. OUR FAMILY WAS SHAKEN AND MY LIFE WAS CHANGED BY THAT ACHING EVENT. DURING HER FIRST YEAR OF THERAPY MY MOTHER WAS CONFINED AT THE UNIVERSITY OF STO TOMAS HOSPITAL FOR ALMOST A YEAR AND SINCE I WAS ON MY PRESCHOOL THEN I HAD TO STAY WITH MY MOM, IN THE HOSPITAL MOST OF THE TIME WHILE MY FATHER WAS AT WORK. OUR FAMILY WAS PHYSICALLY EXHAUSTED, EMOTIONALLY BATTERED, PSYCHOLOGICALLY STRESSED, AND FINANCIALLY DRAINED BUT NEVER WAS THERE A SECOND DURING THAT HEARTBREAKING MOMENT THAT WE BECOME PITTY OF OUR SELVES. WE STILL ENJOY EACH OTHERS COMPANY AND BEGUN TO REALIZE THAT THERE IS NOTHING TO WORRY FOR AS LONG AS WE WERE TOGETHER. AFTER A YEAR MY MOM REGAINED HER STRENGTH AND HER GLOW WAS BACK AGAIN BUT STILL SHE HAS TO TAKE THE TREATMENT. IT WAS THE START OF A NEW HOPE. MY MOM CONTINUED TO BE ONE OF THE GREATEST MOM A SON COULD EVER HAD. AND MY FATHER STRIVED HARDER TO SUPPORT OUR NEEDS AND MY MOTHER’S THERAPY AND MEDICATION. OUR FAMILY WAS ABLE SURVIVE THE HARDSHIFTS OF OUR LIVES BY TAKING EACH STEP OF OUR LIFE THRU FAITH.
MOST OF US TENDS TO BLAME EVERY MISFORTUNE OF OUR LIVES TO GOD. SOME OF US EVEN QUESTIONED GOD’S EXISTENCE BECAUSE THEY FEEL ALONE DURING THE DARKEST MOMENTS OF THEIR LIVES. I HAVE WITNESSED MY MOM’S PAIN AND AGONY TO BATTLE HER SICKNESS, BUT SHE REMAINED STRONG AMIDST ALL ODDS. SHE NEVER GAVE UP, SHE NEVER LOOSE FAITH …THAT WAS HER SECRET, EVERYONE’S MOST POWERFUL WEAPON! SHE MAY BECAME WEAK PHYSICALLY BUT NEVER DID SHE BECOME WEAK INSIDE HER HEART.
MY MOM CONTINUOUSLY INSPIRED MOST OF THE PEOPLE AROUND HER. SHE WAS THE LONGEST HEMODIALYSIS PATIENT IN THE PHILIPPINES, SURVIVING FOR 16 LONG YEARS OF TREATMENT. SHE GAVE HOPE AND STRENGTHEN OTHER PEOPLES’ LIVES WITH HER COMPASSION. WHEN MY MOM PASSED AWAY LAST DECEMBER 24,2005, ABOUT 4 HOURS BEFORE CHRISTMAS. I SHED THE MOST PAINFUL TEARS I COULD DRAW FROM MY EYES. BUT HER DEATH DID NOT LEAVE US ANY HATRED NOR AGONY BUT MEMORIES OF HER STRONG PERSONALITY, HER FERVENT FAITH, AND EVERLASTING LOVE. I HAVE REALIZED THAT HER PASSING WAS THE BEST GIFT GOD HAS TO GIVE FOR HER THAT CHRISTMAS, FINALLY SHE FOUND PEACE AND HER COMPLETE HEALING. SHE WAS A MOM, A SISTER, A BEST FRIEND, A WIFE, A DAUGHTER AND A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE LORD. FOR SHE NEVER WALKED HER PATH OF LIFE LOOKING ON THE THINGS SHE HAS TO PASS THROUGH BUT SHE TRAVERSED HER PATH WITH FAITH ONLY HER FAITH…AND SHE WAS NEVER LOST…I LOVE YOU MAMA!
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