Stories of faith

SANDY ANDOLONG (Survivor of various ailments): The Lord is my Healer

When I discovered the presence of God in my life through the Holy Spirit, I knew what it really meant to be blessed. There is not a day that I am not filled with peace and so much grace by our Lord Jesus, with His overwhelming love, goodness and mercy. He eases my burden through the great love and support of my husband, Christopher de Leon.

In July 2003, something happened that led me to a passage in my life for which I was totally unprepared. I became ill. I was confined in the hospital to remedy dehydration due to vomiting. I underwent a series of check-ups. My doctors found that I had the following:

1) Bacteria and scars in my stomach;

2) Polyps in my gallbladder;

3) Abnormal lactation was present; my gynecologist feared there might be malfunction in the pituitary gland (major endocrine gland which secretes hormones in the blood, attached to the brain ), so I had to undergo MRI to explore the area;

4) My uterus was inflamed; I was told I might have to undergo hysterectomy; and

5) Urinalysis showed a high degree of infection and big amount of protein spillage; my doctor recommended biopsy of the kidneys. They found I have glumerulo nephritis. Only 67 percent of my kidneys were functioning then. Now it is at 47 percent. I am under management program for the rest of my life because we need to maintain the 47 percent. I take medications religiously to avoid having to go through dialysis or kidney transplant.

With faith and complete trust in my heart, I lifted up all my ailments to our Lord Jesus. My community, the Oasis of Love, and my close Christian friends prayed over me and arranged a lot of healing sessions for me. Other communities brought Our Lady of Miraculous Medal to our home where she stayed for three days.

The presence of our good Lord and the Holy Spirit was, and still is, so strong. I believed and I knew in my heart that I was healed.

One month later, I underwent the same tests and the findings were:

1) No trace of scars and bacteria in my stomach and large intestines;

2) Polyps in my gallbladder were smaller;

3) No abnormality in the pituitary gland;

4) My uterus was back to its normal size; and

5) Now there is zero protein spillage. The damage in my kidneys has not progressed

My kidneys may never function at 100 percent but it’s more than what I could have hoped for. Now, no matter how much or how often anything bad happens, I can take it all from God’s hand gracefully.

Praise the Lord!

BIBETH ORTEZA (Breast cancer survivor): I never questioned God

I was diagnosed on Nov. 11, 2004. Four days later, I was on the operating table, under the skillful hands of Dr. Jennifer Ang, surgeon, and Dr. Barbara M. Domingo, oncologist. After six chemotherapy sessions and 33 days of radiation, I wrote something like this for an organization of doctors’ handbook:

Some rant and rave and pick a fight with God for the illness. I did not go into an angry “God, why me?” mode because I could not deny that God had always taken care of me, even during times I kept my distance.

Instead, I prayed for strength, for the capacity to accept what I couldn’t understand. I prayed for healing, but recognized two kinds, one where God would heal me completely and render me absolutely well and cancer-free; and another where God would take me to live with Him in heaven, for that’s healing too, when my aches and pains are over.

I prayed for the ability to continuously delight in what I saw, heard, smelled, touched and tasted.

I prayed, not only to ask, but to thank God for all the gentle souls that helped me along the way.

I was grateful for most things: The scent of a baby’s breath at a low point of cancer is to suddenly remember what it’s like to hope.

Sure, there’s a downside. I chose to focus on the upside. To feel that the 23rd Psalm was written especially for you — even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death — now, that’s not too bad, is it?

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I will fear no evil,

for You are with me;

Your rod and Your staff,

they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

You anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

ROMMEL ADDUCUL(Nasopharyngealcancer survivor): God wouldn’t give me a burden too heavy to carry

“Why me?”

Yes, I did ask God that question when I was diagnosed to be suffering from nasopharyngeal cancer, Stage 3, early last year.

After all, being a basketball player, I take good care of my health. I don’t smoke; I don’t drink; I don’t even have a nightlife. I am clean-living. Never did I abuse myself. I thought I would be the last person who would get sick. At 6’5”, weighing 225 lbs., I thought I was invincible. I was wrong.

But after a while, I put myself in the hands of God. Didn’t He say, Cast your burden upon me, those who are heavily-laden?

I am a Born-again Christian. Instead of sulking, I decided to wage my battle with the Big C with head held high, heart full of hope, confident that God was behind me, beside me.

That proved to be the toughest battle in my life.

I surfed the Internet for information about nasopharyngeal cancer. I found out that it’s common among Asians, especially the Chinese, and may be caused by having too much salt in the diet. I was fond of tuyo (dried fish).

I noticed that my lymph nodes were swollen during a championship game. My doctor-wife, Joselyn Cobankiat, thinking that it was due to a bad cold, prescribed antibiotics for me. After two weeks, I woke up with my nose bleeding and with sores developing inside my mouth. The swelling of my lymph nodes was getting worse. It was my teammate James Yap who first noticed the swelling.

My wife told me to have a thorough check-up. The biopsy confirmed my biggest fear.

Luckily, my doctor told me that the form of cancer I had was curable.

I had to undergo chemotherapy every two weeks, six cycles in all, and then 35 sessions of daily radiation that left my neck black-grey, sunog. My vocal cords were affected, too. During the chemo/radiation, I became highly-susceptible to infection so I stayed away from crowds. I also stopped playing. I must admit that I was tempted to give up but thank God I did not.

I am healed. I am now cancer-free.

I knew all along that God wouldn’t give me a burden too heavy for me to carry.         — as told to RICKY LO

CONEY REYES (Thyroid cancer survivor): Thy willbe done!

When I was diagnosed 13 years ago, on Nov. 29, 1996, I was cool and collected. I didn’t panic when my doctor told me, “You have thyroid cancer (papillary carcinoma).”

I went to the Makati Med for my regular pap smear and I decided to drop by the clinic of my endocrinologist for my hypo-thyroidism. That’s how I got the grim news.

On the way home, I was near tears, whispering, “Lord, I will not even ask You why I don’t understand. I know that You are in complete control of my life. Thy will be done!”

My maid had told my children before I could break the sad news to them. They were young: L.A. was 19, Carla was 16 and Vico was seven. I was told that Carla and L.A. panicked, and Vico was restless. They called our church, Victory Christian Fellowship, to pray for me. I’ve been with the Lord since 1990. (Note: L.A. and Carla are Coney’s children by her late husband, Larry Mumar; and Vico, by Vic Sotto.)

More than a week after I was diagnosed, I went under the knife. My doctor told me that the tumor grew in my para-thyroid glands which are found in the (bigger) thyroid glands, beside my goiter. They took everything out, the thyroid and the para-thyroid glands.

Was I afraid to die? No, I wasn’t. I had a feeling that it wasn’t my time yet. But if it was, then I was ready to meet my Lord face-to-face. I also prepared my children for that eventuality.

I wrote my children a letter each, reminding them of their individual qualities and to make full use of them. To Vico, I said, “You are very sweet, loving and smart.” To Carla: “You’re thoughtful, loving and caring; you have a quality of leadership and you should cultivate it.” To L.A.: “You have the makings of a good athlete, among other traits, and you should develop them.”

Vic was nice and supportive. He assured me that whatever happened, he would take care not only of Vico but also of Carla and L.A.

God is good.

I recovered not long after my surgery.

Now, I am cancer-free. God has healed me.

I have learned to trust God more and cast all my worries and cares to Him. He is faithful and able to help us in anything at all. — as told to RICKY LO