What's ailing Alma Moreno

Is Alma Moreno dying?

That’s the shocking and morbid rumor going around, along with such other nasty rumors that she and her husband, Parañaque City Mayor Joey Marquez, are living apart (not true), that she has a young lover (not true) and that she’s on a "power sharing" with Mayor Joey in running the City of Parañaque (not true).

The most disturbing rumor, however, revolves around the health of Alma who, these past several weeks, has been reported to be suffering from, among other symptoms, terrible headaches, numbness of her nape and general weakness which her son (by Rudy Fernandez) Mark Anthony Fernandez dismisses in interviews as nothing more serious than bouts of migraine.

But how come, perceptive movie writers are asking, Mark turns teary-eyed everytime he is asked about his mom’s condition? Is he hiding something? Is Alma so sick that she has to seek a second opinion and/or further treatment in the States? What’s the real score?

Okay, I’ll give it to you straight the same way doctors at a Boston hospital told Alma about her illness, without resorting to the usual "softener" line "Huwag kang mabibigla" or some such pre-consolation.

The bad/sad news is that, yes, Alma is suffering from an incurable disease called Multiple Sclerosis. But it’s not, hopefully, a terminal one.

To avoid any misinterpretation, I am printing in full the description of Multiple Sclerosis from the book Medical Reference Library (Symptoms and Illnesses) lent to me by my doctor-friend (a specialist in internal medicine):

Multiple Sclerosis is a chronic, progressive disease of the nervous system that affects scattered parts of the brain and therefore produces symptoms in scattered parts of the body.

Symptoms: The earliest symptoms are often unrecognized because they are so subtle. Some of the early symptoms include temporary weakness of an arm or leg, changes in sensation (numbness, tingling); sudden loss of vision in one eye, double vision or blurriness; slurred speech; loss of bladder control. Later, weakness tends to remain. Late in the disease, there are mood alterations, especially in appropriate cheeriness and euphoria, lack of awareness of the severity of the disease.

Cause: Degeneration of the coverings of the nerves scattered throughout the nervous system. The cause is unknown. Many theories have been tested, including viral infection, drug or toxin exposure, stress and various dietary deficiencies. None of these explain the disease.

Severity of Problem: The disease progresses over time, with people often living 20 to 30 years after its detection. During bouts of active disease, the disability is great. Bouts of the disease have a tendency to come and go.

Contagious? No.

Treatment: There is no curative treatment, although many drugs have been tried. Plenty of rest, avoidance of stress and a nutritious diet are all important, both during and between episodes of worsening. Sometimes cold temperatures help people with this disease, while excessive heat makes the symptoms worse. Physical and occupational therapy are very important to help people recover as much function as possible after an acute episode and to help them learn to live with residual weakness and disability.

Prevention: No known prevention for the disease.

Discussion: Multiple Sclerosis usually begins in early adulthood, in the 20s or 30s, but may not be recognized until several years later. It is marked by episodes of worsening and improving nervous system function and symptoms that strike different parts of the body randomly. Most people with the disease gradually worsen over the years.

Barely two weeks after she flew back from the States (in Boston where Mayor Joey took a three-week special course in Public Administration in Harvard), Alma, 42, sat down for a heart-to-heart Conversation.

How do you feel now?

"Okay na hindi. I mean, nasa stage ako where I am depressed. Denial stage. I haven’t learned to accept the reality that I am sick of... MS. Last March, two months before the elections, when I went to Makati Med and I was diagnosed to have MS. I cried and cried. Hindi ko ma-accept, e. I went through MRI. They had to put me to sleep because kapag ipinapasok ako doon sa MRI machine, nilalamig ako. I have scoliosis kasi, e.

Oh, yeah? When did you get it (scoliosis, which Zsa Zsa Padilla, Lorna Tolentino and Amy Perez also suffer from)?

"Na-slipped disc ako when I was doing LoveliNESS (the TV show), noon sa baywang and later on sa upper back. Dahil ’yon sa kaka-tumbling-tumbling ko. After I was told that I had MS, parang binale-wala ko because we were busy with the campaign. And then, I started feeling worse, so I had to go back to Makati Med."

How did your children (Mark Anthony, Vandolph, Yeoj, Winwin and Vittorio Joe or VJ) feel about it?

"They were there at the hospital and they were asking, ‘Mama, ano daw ang sakit n’yo?’ I told them, ‘Wala, migraine lang. If people ask you, sabihin n’yo migraine lang.’ So that’s what they know – migraine lang. So when Mark is asked about me, sinasabi niya, ‘Migraine lang.’ Maybe they’re worried because napapansin nila na palagi ako sa ospital."

Anu-ano ’yung mga symptoms na nararamdaman mo?

"Para akong may mumps; I thought sakit lang sa tenga ’yon. Nagla-lockjaw ako. Namamaga ang eyes ko, as if I had just cried and cried. Akala ko pagod lang. I suffer from headaches; parang tinutusok-tusok ng karayom ang ulo ko."

How often do you feel the symptoms?

"Everyday, especially during the campaign period. ’Yung pressures at ’yung pagod worsened my condition."

Di ba you went on a diet? Did it affect your health?

"Not so much daw. It’s the stress."

How did your doctor break the bad news to you?

"She told me about it in a very calm manner. You know, ‘Huwag kang magpapaka-pagod, give time for yourself, you relax and take care of yourself, tama na muna ’yung para sa ibang tao. Be happy. Don’t mind your problems,’ She was that gentle."

What about your doctor in Boston? Paano sinabi sa’yo?

"Since Joey was studying in Boston, he asked me to follow him there para magpa-check-up ulit ako doon, sa Boston Baptist Hospital. We know the doctors there, sina Dr. Betsy Parangan, Dr. Alice at Dr. Klaus Corden whose wife, Jerry Corden, is a nurse. I didn’t want to have another check-up there, pero pinilit ako ni Joey. Besides, my headaches were getting worse. I travelled to the States alone; I stayed overnight in L.A. and then I flew to Boston. All the while, I was in pain. ‘Yung sakit ng ulo ko umaabot na sa leeg at sa likod ko. ’Yung Bicodin, pinakamalakas na gamot, hindi na tumatalab sa akin. I spent 10 days in Boston and for 10 days I was in terrible pain. I brought with me the results of my two check-ups at Makati Med, pati ’yung dalawang MRI ko."

So how did the doctors there tell you about their own diagnosis?

"Direct to the point; hindi malambing like my doctor (Dr. Banico) at Makati Med. Wala nang paliguy-ligoy pa. I asked the doctors if there was a medicine for me to get well and they told me straight, ‘None.’ Ganoon kaderetso. Then they told me that there was an injection for it, pero mahal. $10,000 per shot. Sa States lang daw mayroong ganoon. Not to cure but to just prolong your life. One to two shots daw a year were enough. That means $20,000 for two shots (roughly P1 million). I cried, not because of the pain but just thinking of the expenses."

How did Joey take it?

"He doesn’t show it but I know he’s just as worried as our children and I are. We both took everything lightly in the beginning. It was only when we were in Boston, after another round of check-ups, did we realize how serious my condition is, especially when I was told na walang gamot sa sakit ko, na mayroon ngang gamot pero pampahaba lang ng buhay."

How long have you been feeling the symptoms?

"Last year lang. They started getting worse this year. Sometimes, para akong may stiff neck and I am alarmed because ang feeling ko baka mapatid ’yung ugat ko sa neck. It happened to my father when he suffered a stroke. Napatid ’yung ugat niya at the back of his neck."

What are the do’s and don’t’s?

"Sa pagkain, wala. Dati, when I was trying to reduce, I didn’t eat on time; sometimes, I wouldn’t feel hungry the whole day so hindi na lang ako kumakain. I think naapektuhan sa pagda-diet ko ang aking immune system and my resistance. Now I eat regularly, on time. Coffee, bawal sa akin. E, ang lakas ko pa naman uminom ng kape. I urinate very often, especially at night, so I keep on drinking (water), otherwise madi-dehydrate ako."

Is everything else normal?

"My blood pressure is normal; my blood-sugar level is also normal."

What else did your doctor(s) tell you to observe?

"I should learn daw how to relax. I’ve been advised to take up yoga; it’s good daw for relaxation. I should avoid stress at kailangan regular exercise. Bawal na ’yung dancing-dancing na dating ginagawa ko."

I heard that you’re going back to the States end of this month. Is it for another check-up?

"No, for a series of shows – in Las Vegas, L.A., San Francisco and in New York. Matagal nang na-book ’yan. That’s the trouble with me, I can’t stay put. I’m basically a busybody. Ayoko nang wala akong ginagawa. That’s why my doctor(s) keep on reminding me to relax."

How has your illness changed, if it did, your outlook in life?

"In the beginning, parang dinadaan pa namin ni Joey sa biro-biro. But now, when we talk about the children, seryoso na kami. I’d remind him kapag kaming dalawa na lang, ’O, Joey, ang mga bata, huwag mong pababayaan, ha! Alagaan mo sila.’ Joey is keeping up a brave front but I know that he’s badly affected. It’s good to be prepared, di ba?"

You are a prayerful person, I know. Have you become even more so now?

"I’ve always been religious, madasalin. I’m a devotee of the Virgin of Manaoag (Pangasinan) and the Sto. Niño. Before I went to the States for check-up, nagpunta muna ako sa Manaoag. When we came back, I went straight to Cebu (when Yeoj competed in a go-kart race) to visit the Sto. Niño Shrine."

What do you ask Him for?

"I simply whisper to Him, ‘Lord, Thy will be done’."