One minute with Rio

First, I’m requesting my readers to say this little prayer for Rio Diaz-Cojuangco who is confined at the Stanford University Medical Center in San Francisco in yet another phase of her continuing – unyielding – six-year battle with the Big C (I changed the pronouns "me" and "my" to "Rio" and "Rio’s"):

Jesus, Help Rio

In every need let Rio come to You with humble trust, saying:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

In all her doubts, perplexities and temptations:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

In hours of loneliness, weariness and trials:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

In the failure of her plans and hopes, in disappointments, troubles and sorrows:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

When others fail Rio and Your Grace alone can assist her:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

When Rio throws herself on Your tender love as Savior:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

When her heart is cast down by failure at seeing no good come from her efforts:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

When she feels impatient and her cross irritates her:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

When she is ill and her head and hands cannot work and she is lonely:

"Jesus, help Rio!"

Always, always, in spite of weakness, falls and shortcomings of every kind:

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, help Rio and never forsake her.

I just came back yesterday from a four-day working trip to Los Angeles to interview Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway for their new Disney starrer, Princess Diaries: The Royal Engagement (released locally by Buena Vista International) and I’m glad I made a side trip to San Francisco to visit Rio at the Stanford Medical Center.

Two weeks before I left, a "prayer brigade" texted the request for everybody to pray for Rio because "she was in pain" at the ICU of Stanford where she has been undergoing chemotherapy since late in 1998 when she was diagnosed to have cancer. As everybody knows by now, Rio has been bravely going through a roller-coaster of remission, relapse, remission, relapse ... More than medicine, Rio is convinced that her strong faith in Jesus has sustained her up to now.

A few times, Rio was, so to speak, "on the brink." But then, she would bounce back. In May last year, she fell into a 10-day coma and her family (husband Charlie Cojuangco, Negros Occidental Representative, and children Ali, Jaime and Claudia; and the Diaz sisters and brother Ramon) was all but giving up when, miracle of miracles, Rio woke up as if from a beautiful if scary dream.

"In that dream," recalled Rio, "I was being chased by a group of men clad in black robes. They were about to overtake me at the foot of a mountain when a benevolent man in white robe appeared before me. I knew He was Jesus. I shouted, ‘Jesus, help me! Jesus, help me!’ I didn’t know that at that moment, members of my family were gathered around my bed, keeping a vigil. They couldn’t believe that I was talking – no, shouting! – after being in coma for 10 days."

Rio came home to spend the Christmas holidays with her folks as usual and went right back to San Francisco after New Year. And then came the sad/bad news two weeks ago that she’s "in pain" at the ICU of Stanford.

That’s where I saw Rio last Tuesday afternoon – at a regular room, not at the ICU, of Stanford’s Cancer Center. She was asleep when I and Eric Tan (my cousin’s son who played host to me overnight and drove me around) arrived. We saw Charlie and some of Rio’s sisters, among them STAR contributor Aurora Diaz, at the Waiting Room. Gloria left for Manila the day before after a three-day visit.

"You don’t have a cold, do you?" Charlie asked me as we walked to Rio’s room to take a peep.

Rio looked like a doll in sweet slumber, except that she was attached to an oxygen tank and she was on dextrose, with another machine attached to her leg to regulate blood circulation. It wasn’t her cancer that was bothering her but a blood infection which has to be treated first before Rio could go on with more chemo sessions.

More small talk at the Waiting Room and 30 minutes later, Aurora said Rio had awakened and would be ready to see me. But first, Aurora asked me only to open the door a bit and only say "Hi, I’m Ricky!" to Rio who wanted to be fixed up before facing me. Good sign, I thought. If Rio was concerned about her looks, then she must not be as serious as the rumor described her to be.

"You can see her now," Aurora told me, "but only for one minute."

Touching her hand, I told Rio, "You’re looking so well!" to boost her morale.

A faint smile crossed her lips.

"Sabi siguro ng Diyos," she said, half in jest, "‘Hey, Rio, maraming beses na kita pinagbigyan. Tama na!’"

I assured her that she would make it, like she always does, and she would soon be on her feet again.

"Why are you here?" she asked.

Oh, I said, I just came from L.A. to interview Julie Andrews and Anne Hathaway and she smiled.

"I took advantage of the opportunity and made a side trip to San Francisco to see you," I added.

She smiled again and said, "Sayang, hindi kita maipapasyal. Stanford is such a beautiful place. May shopping mall dito."

She was talking in a weak voice (remember that an oxygen tube was connected to her nose) and I noticed quiet tears streaming down her face. I touched her forehead and wiped those tears, holding back my own.

"Promise, ha! I’ll be back next month. By then, you should be up and about, back to being the lively Rio everybody knows, at ipapasyal mo ako sa buong Stanford, okay?"

She nodded. I kissed her forehead and bade her goodbye, till we meet again.

My one minute was over. On my way out, I hid behind the stairs and let fall the tears I didn’t want Rio – or anybody for that matter – to see.

I thanked Charlie, Aurora and Rio’s other sisters. I tapped Ali’s shoulder and told him that his mom would be all right, just wait and see. I saw Jaime and Claudia huddled beside each other on the sofa beside their mom’s sick bed.

Rio was, as usual, putting up a good fight and I knew she’d make it. With The Great Healer on her side, I knew she’d make it.

(Postcript: I talked to Gloria Diaz yesterday and she told me that the prognosis looked good. "They walked Rio around the garden yesterday," said Gloria who came back one day ahead of me. "She was on a wheelchair but she was in high spirit.")

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