1997

Two events 25 years ago make 1997 an especially memorable time for me. One could say that both were affairs of the heart.

Early in the year after weeks of consultations and medical tests, I found myself on an operating table at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. I was about to undergo what some people would call a “CABG” operation, meaning a coronary artery bypass graft. Most of us just refer to the whole activity as a “bypass.” In my case, it involved three blocked arteries that were causing me shortness of breath and high blood pressure readings from time to time.

By coincidence, I went under the knife on a Wednesday morning in January that happened to be the 18th death anniversary of my father Modesto Farolan. The day before was the third anniversary of my dear friend Betty Go Belmonte’s passing away.

The two events reminded me of lives well spent, doing things they loved to do, while at the same time making a difference in the lives of others.

The whole operation, done by Dr. Stan de Castro, lasted about five hours. While still groggy from the anesthesia, I heard someone whispering that everything went well and I was being brought to a recovery room. After a while, as I slowly opened my eyes and started to get my bearings, I realized there were all kinds of tubes connected to my body.

For the average person, major surgery, particularly a heart bypass, can mean a lot of dreadful and painful procedures. The truth is the operation itself is painless. The surgical team opens up your chest, bringing out your heart while securing veins from your legs for grafting purposes, all under general anesthesia. After less than a day in the recovery room, I was moved to the cardiac care unit, St. Luke’s Intensive Care Unit for heart patients.

One morning at the ICU, after a restless night, I opened my eyes and saw a man in a white robe at some distance but moving closer. For a while, I thought I was at the pearly gates where St. Peter was directing traffic. He was sending people down or opening the doors for them to go up. I was not sure if he was signaling me to go down or up, but as the figure in white moved closer, I realized he was a priest. My next thought was, Is the presence of a priest in the ICU part of hospital services, or is he here to render extreme unction? Fortunately, it was Fr. Tom Shanahan, one of the Irish mafia at the Shrine of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, who dropped by to say hello, and to lift my spirits. Fr. Tom, also a bypass graduate, has since returned to Ireland.

Barely two days after surgery, the rehab people were getting me out of bed to do arm and leg exercises, and after another day I was back in a regular room and slowly beginning to move around. We thank the Divine Physician above for 25 years of keeping me safe with a strong heart. Each new day is a bonus only He can provide.

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In March, just a few months after surgery, we had the rare opportunity to meet one of the great political leaders of our time and one of my own personal heroes. Nelson Mandela, Nobel Peace Prize winner and the first black president of South Africa, was on a state visit to the Philippines.

At the reception in Malacañang Palace, flanked by President and Mrs. Ramos, Nelson Mandela and his lady companion, Graca Machel, received the invited guests. Graca, widow of Samora Machel, first president of independent Mozambique, aside from being the first lady, also served as minister of education and culture in her late husband’s Cabinet. Since Mandela’s divorce from his wife Winnie, Graca has been a constant presence in his life and there were rumors of an impending marriage. (They were married in 1998.)

At the state dinner, Mandela’s personal physician, Dr. Dirk de Lange, an anesthesiologist, was seated on my left. He had beside him two bags full of medicine and emergency first aid for the president. Apparently, back home Mandela has a team of ten medical specialists looking after his health and they take turns accompanying him during his travels. It seems to be my fate these days to be surrounded by doctors and nurses.

Also at our table were health secretary Carmencita Reodica, the Netherlands ambassador and Mrs. Eric Kwint and presidential daughter Jo Ramos Samartino, who was responsible for the musical presentation that evening. The program consisted of piano, violin and flute selections by Tateng Katindig, Jay Cayuca and Jong Cuenco.

In his remarks before dinner, President Mandela said, “Not everything about the Philippines is well known in South Africa. But most will tell you that it is a unique country of over 7,000 islands. Now, ladies and gentlemen, I know all about islands. I spent over 20 years of my life on one. (Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, near Cape Town.) But here the similarity ends. While the island which was my home for those years was a symbol of repression, the Philippines is a free, vibrant country.” He then paid tribute to the leadership of President Ramos for “the amazing development of your beautiful country” and also to former President Cory Aquino, who was “a symbol of inspiration in South Africa.”

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, Mandela talked about his people: “My country is rich in the minerals and gems that lie beneath its soil but I have always known that its greatest wealth is its people, finer and truer than the purest diamonds.”

Unlike many of his fellow African freedom fighters who went on to become dictators or presidents-for-life of their respective nations, Mandela served only one term of five years in office. With his immense popularity, leadership qualities and strength of character, he could have held on to power indefinitely. Instead he chose country and people before himself.