Making it to 80

I thank GOD Almighty that my Mother Marita Salcedo Beltran made it to 80. Given that I’m writing this article two days in advance of her birthday, I am making presumptions on fate and life but I trust that GOD will graciously allow us to have reason to celebrate today. This is certainly a year with milestones for both of us as I recently hit the 60-year mark to qualify as a senior citizen as well.

I will be the first to admit that the last five years have been years that reminded me “to number our days.” It was not very long ago that Mom had a heart attack then a triple Angioplasty not to mention being border-line diabetes. If that was not enough, I too had a double angioplasty three years ago. Then there were the years when most of her closest friends went on to be with the Lord and I could tell how that affected her and often made her melancholy.

Numbering our days certainly helps to stop us from fooling ourselves into thinking that we have a long life ahead of us, or there will always be tomorrow to do things. Sorry but nobody gave you a warranty at birth indicating length of life or quality of life. But you do have a choice right now to make the most of what you have “for the moment.” That’s why our Muslim brothers and sisters always say: “Inshalla” or “God-willing.”

Mechanical as it may sound I try hard to take my Mom out to dinner on a weekly basis and call her every three days at the minimum. Having a schedule for everyday things helps make sure that you actually do what you set out to do almost without fail. Mechanical scheduling won’t diminish the quality of your time or effort. Instead it will help get you on a pattern. As a pastor once taught us: You start through discipline then you evolve into desire. As an added incentive, it also helps that the divine law teaches us to “Honor your Mother and your father so that all may go well with you and that you may have a long life.” Most people only know the imperative command and are surprised to find out that the command comes with the promise that if you do, “All will be well with you” and “that you may have a long life.”

Just the other week a friend shared how the burden of caring for an elderly parent had taken its toll on the emotions and the finances of the immediate family members. The bitter truth is that as people get older the likelihood of multiple confinements happen to some and that can drain “life” from their loved ones. But he said something that really reflected our beautiful Filipino values: “I just think to myself that they (our parents) must surely have undergone difficult times loving and caring for us when we were sick or too weak to care for ourselves. If only for that, I gladly do my duty to care for them.”

A sense of duty has carried many people through the toughest obligations, responsibility or burden. But duty once fulfilled can also leave you empty, relieved yes but spiritually and emotionally empty. Only when we do things out of love can we truly give honor, respect and all that we are to those we love. I love my Mom, but she loved me first.

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“CODE BLUE” is the international code for a “heart attack” and once again I found myself managing such a situation via remote control most of last week. Once again it reminded me of the emotional and financial nightmares that poor people face when hit by unexpected medical crisis.

A part time “pintor” asked to borrow money for the hospital. Given all the sob stories I’ve heard in a lifetime, I am instinctively wary if not suspicious of such claims. But when his relative told me that “Bong” threw up so much and became so weak, my immediate suspicion was a possible heart attack. So many people often dismiss vomiting and headaches as food poisoning and by the time they get to a real hospital instead of some roadside lay-in clinic, the damage to their heart is already so severe or fatal. Fortunately, I was able to refer “Bong” to Dr. Marlou Mendoza my cardiologist from Healthway and the Philippine Heart Center, who also saved me in 2013 after confirming I had two seriously blocked arteries and immediately did a double angioplasty on the spot!

As it turned out, “Bong” had had a heart attack so Dr. Mendoza sent him straight to the PHC E.R. Where they took good care of him until he was able to go home after two nights. Ironically, the biggest fear and apprehension that came over “Bong’s” family was not his heart attack but the expected huge bill they would have to pay for and how on earth they would be able to pay for it. Being a government hospital the Heart Center was able to provide some assistance via socialized medicine, while Dr. Marlou Mendoza threw in a lot of freebies in terms of tests and professional fees. We of course pitched in to cover the remainder of the bill so all’s well that ends well.

But this episode brings to mind how seriously we need Universal Health Care in the Philippines. We also need to remind President Rodrigo Duterte to address the corruption and mismanagement of the PCSO that the president always mentions so that the agency’s funds can be redirected to emergency medical needs of our poor but deserving fellow Filipinos. If he can’t find the suitable “Berdugo” then he might want to try assembling a “Suicide Squad” of people crazy and insane enough to do the clean up at the PCSO.

Along those lines, the President should also have his advisers review and study the spending patterns of PAGCOR so that their collections go to helping the poor and not projects or expenses for class rooms, chairs, street lights and basketball courts that are already provided for by the national budget or the income of LGUs.

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