Gary V resumes dream after health scare

MANILA, Philippines — Gary Valenciano believes it was nothing short of a miracle how he survived his health challenges last year. 

To recall, the 54-year-old singer-songwriter/performer underwent two major operations. First, he had an open-heart surgery and then another procedure to remove a malignant tumor in his kidney area, which fortunately was “confined and extractable,” reports say.     

“Yeah (I consider it a miracle). The doctor came to my room two days after the operation and he was like, are you sure you are diabetic because you’re healing really well. And then he looks at his team, ‘This guy is a Type 1 diabetic for 39 years and look at how he’s healing,’” Gary related to The STAR. “So, it was really miraculous. Not to say, there won’t be any challenges later on. But right now, I’m living proof that I called on God and He responded.”

Gary has always been vocal about his faith, but he admitted that his faith took on a deeper meaning because “I’ve gone through things that nobody expected me to go through.”

Gary shared, “I’ve come to realize one thing: You can only exercise faith when fear begins to knock on your door. You cannot say you have faith kung wala yung mga things like fear, because when things are great, it’s easy to say you have faith.

“When I was going through this whole health challenge, take note, it was from a person who seemingly was supposed to be healthy all this time. Yun pala may block na pala na 95 percent puso niya. Then there was already cancer brewing na di ko alam.

Gary is visiting 35 schools for his 35th anniversary in the entertainment industry

“So, it got to the point, that I humanly cannot do anything anymore. Even if I took medicine, what is that going to do against cancer? Even if I went through the operations, is there certainty that it won’t come back? Is there certainty that my heart will be OK? So all the more it strengthened me to realize that really I can only rely on God for Him to do things that humans cannot do and that medicines cannot do.”

Asked how he is now, Gary said, “I’m doing really good. I just had my first check-up because I’m supposed to go every six months. So, it’s been seven months actually since June. Blood is fine. Everything is fine. They found nothing that is alarming.”

The doctor’s only instruction is to modify his work so that he can continue to work out and stay in shape. Food-wise, he keeps away from anything sweet and salty. Presently, Gary is one of the judges on the newest reality contest, ABS-CBN’s World of Dance.

And he’s back to playing with his grandchild, biking again and going to the gym, and doing things he has always dreamt of doing with the encouragement of his family. “As a matter of fact, I’m resuming my dream of visiting 35 universities for my 35th anniversary (in the entertainment industry).”  

Last week, Gary was at the Unibersidad de Manila. “I was able to share my journey and try to hopefully impart a message na kayo din may journey kayo, di pwede may shortcuts sa buhay. If you wanna get somewhere, go on a journey through life. All the upside-downs will teach you to become who you are supposed to be.”