Raymond de Asis Lo

MANILA, Philippines - Last September marked my first decade in America. It also marked 10 years of my mother’s amazing recovery from a life-threatening condition that once put my family’s faith to a very difficult test.

I left the Philippines 10 years ago with a heavy heart. I don’t remember ever praying non-stop for more than 24 hours before and I must have cried myself dry during the entire duration of my flight from Manila to Los Angeles but it still didn’t make me feel any better.

It was not what I wished to experience as I embarked on one of the greatest adventures of my life. I had everything planned to near perfection. But, as I would later discover, even the best plans cannot anticipate what God has in store for us.

I started planning to move to the US in early 2003. I have very good friends who have moved to America years before and have been encouraging me to join them. I kept telling them I had no plans of leaving the Philippines and the relatively comfortable life I had as a junior officer at Citibank. I still had dreams that I wanted to pursue but did not have enough savings to help me kick-start them — and that was what kept me from totally ignoring my friends’ invitations to join them. I told them I needed a “sign.”

The “sign” manifested itself March of that year. During our annual performance review, I was given a monetary bonus that was substantially more than what I expected. It was nearly equivalent to my annual salary and it was enough to finally help me decide on whether I was staying here or finally take the proverbial leap of faith and chase my dreams in the United States.

I consulted with my mom and my siblings and they were very supportive of my plan. I told my relatives about it and they, too, supported it. My friends were all for it also. I immediately tendered my resignation from Citibank and I booked my flight out on Sept. 3, 2003. Everything was set. My friends in the US were excited to see me.

Two weeks before my flight, my mom, traveled to Manila from Las Navas to spend my last few days in Manila and to see me off at the airport. There was no telling when I’ll be able to come back for a visit so we planned for it. Then the unthinkable happened.

When my mom arrived in Manila, she immediately complained of persistent headaches. We also noticed that her right eye seemed to be a bit swollen. We had her consult a doctor who initially dismissed the symptoms to migraines. When it wouldn’t let up, a friend suggested that my mom might have suffered from Bell’s Palsy, a medical condition where facial muscles are weakened thus causing it to droop. But her headaches only continued to worsen.

Finally, we sent mom to undergo several CT scan tests to finally ascertain what could be causing the headache. When the test results came, it was not the kind of news that I would wish on anyone to ever hear in their lives. My mom had a tumor growing inside her head.

I was leaving in four days when we got the results. I was 27. My father died a few years back. I do not come from an affluent family. I have to struggle and work hard for whatever success I had at the time and the timing of it all was just too much for me to bear. To be honest, I thought God was punishing me for my success.

I broke down. I had to call our uncle for advice. I also called a dear friend who just finished medical school and she didn’t have any good news to tell me about the condition of my mom until further tests were made.

I talked to my brother and sister. They were very brave. We decided that we didn’t want to alarm our mom with the result and we concocted a plan to take her to St. Luke’s immediately in the guise of having her undergo more tests as the CT scan result proved to be inconclusive.

At the hospital, she immediately underwent an MRI test and the result was clear. The tumor was real. It had to be removed immediately if we wanted to save Mama.

I talked to my mom about the result. I told her there was a tumor and it needed to be removed immediately. The next day, I made the difficult decision to still leave. I thought it would only add a burden to my mom, given her condition, if she blames herself if I stayed and changed any of my plans. I also considered how we could finance her hospitalization bills if I stayed and make the same amount of money — it would not have been enough. I decided to leave all my pocket money to help defray the initial costs of hospitalization.

I left with less than a thousand dollars with me. Far less from what I had budgeted for myself. It was raining. No one saw me off at the airport. My mom was scheduled to have the first of several surgeries on the same day and my brother and sister had to be with her.

When I arrived in Los Angeles, my best friend welcomed me with a hug. He lent me his phone and I was able to call Manila to ask for update about my mom. My sister relayed the good news to me that the surgery was successful — my prayers were heard.

My plan to leave may not have changed but most of my dreams had to be deferred. I have no regrets. I have been living a dream life ever since. I am still chasing lots and lots of dreams now and it is wonderful to know that my mom is also living her dream. In the past decade, she has had a remarkable career and had been enjoying the gift of life she received from god.

Last year, on the same days we celebrated my Lola’s 10th death anniversary, I finally received my green card. I have always felt that God has reasons for everything and that he can always surprise us with the greatest blessings if we continue keeping the faith.

I am 37 years old now and I have discovered that when one has faith in God, one receives kindness and love from people. But when one has strong faith in God, one brings kindness and love to people.

Keep the faith.