Points to Ponder

                          Today, I had the so called "hung over" feeling from the lack of sleep. I slept at 3 am yesterday because I had a life changing talk with my business mentors and associates til 2 in the morning. It was really a surprise for me to receive a message upon waking up from one of my closest friend and business mate, Joel. He told me these few simple words : where are you? our challenge starts NOW. Woah. Wait, hold up. What challenge? Was it THE challenge? Needless to say, curiosity got the best of me so I hurriedly went to the Hilado's house. (still, I arrived late hahaha this is really one of the many things I need to change about myself). 

                          As I rushed towards the gateway of the Hilado apartment, I saw Mr. Tony backing up their car. When he saw me, he told me to get inside as my colleagues were already waiting for me and that this was our first test. It was then that it occurred to me that this could already be the start of my 90 day to a million challenge. I was kinda afraid, I had to admit. But I remembered those words I learned from last night's talk. Do it afraid. So I went inside their place.

                         Four young familiar faces welcomed me. Ate Lovely Hilado, Jan Hilado, Benson and Joel were all there at the living room patiently waiting for me. Oh, make that five. The fifth one being Cheska's. (the family shih tzu xD). Upon entering, they all joked to me about how late I was. Dugaya oi! I smiled. I felt happy that I was with my friends. Friends who had the same aspirations in life as I was having. It was then that I asked, "what are we gonna do?/mag-unsa diay ta?/ano ba yung gagawin natin?". Joel then informed me that we were to visit someone who was currently being confined in Chong Hua hospital. 0.0 So off we all went to Chong Hua to visit a patient whom we have never even met in real life. It was new to say the least. I mean, I for once, never had the chance to visit a stranger who was being confined in a hospital. So it was surprising. But it dawned on me that I was a Radical Millionaire. We encounter surprises every day. :) But the impact that the said patient was to make on my life as well as on theirs, was the major surprise out of all surprises. 

                       We were just 5 young wandering adults amidst the corridors of Chong Hua hospital. We made jokes along the way especially inside the elevator which had this smell that stood out especially for Benson (whooo Benson!). xD  Anyway, we never really prepared ourselves as to what we were about to encounter. As we reached isolation room number 3, the patient's ate or older sister came out to greet us with a startled face. (Guess she didn't expect us either). We told her that we were there to visit her sister to offer them our presence as well as our financial assistance. Unfortunately, her sister had to be in reverse isolation, meaning we, the visitors, had to wear masks but we never bought any so we were just made to stay outside the patient's room. And there it all started.

                     The patient's name is Jobelyn Pia C. Abano. She is 18 or 19 years of age. She is a beautiful girl who just like many of us, had dreams in life. Sadly, Jobelyn was suffering from a systemic autoimmune disease known as Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE). It is a condition wherein the immune system attacks the body's cells and tissues resulting to inflammation and damage. According to her ate, they have been staying in the hospital for almost two months now and are currently on the process of being discharged since they could no longer afford the daily rate of the hospital not to mention the medications her sister has to take. They no longer eat as much as they are supposed to since all of their money goes out to her sister's recovery. She never mentioned to us their father's occupation but she did tell us that she was once an ESL teacher but due to her sister's sickness, she was forced to quit her job. Their mother who used to be an OFW in Saudi has also returned home to be here for Jobelyn despite their dire need for income. 

                       Jobelyn no longer recalls anything. Due to her constant dose of steroids, she experiences psychosis. Although we never got to see her in person, the way her ate describes every detail of what was happening to her sister tugs the depths of my heart and soul. According to her ate, Jobelyn used to be a very happy go lucky person. She loves k-pop, cosplay, anime and fashion. She has passion for ear piercings which she enthusiastically shares with her other sister. Despite the number of ear piercings, Jobelyn never had any bad habits. She never smoked,drank nor did drugs. It was just sad to know that the happy person she was once was now being confined in a hospital screaming loudly, restless and sleepless for days and restrained for her own safety. It pains my heart to know that a young woman like her was experiencing such thing in life. Her ate shares to us that Jobelyn dreamt of Mama Mary telling her that she will be better and that was the only thing that kept them going. Faith. We handed out a sort of booklet to Jobelyn's ate along with the envelope containing the financial assistance. We told her that that booklet was a novena that had been blessed. It was where they are to write down their 7 wishes in life. She happily took it and smiled. As she flipped through its tiny pages, she said these words that struck my heart more than ever - usa raman jud amo wish. siya raman. so wish number 1, siya... number 2,, siya... number 3, siya gihapon.. (we only have one wish. We wish for her. So our wish number one would be her.. number 2, her. number 3 still her..) I tried so hard not to cry right then and there because it would be wrong. I was there to give them strength not to let them feel pity and weak. 

                  After bidding our goodbyes, a lot of thoughts came running into my head. Joel's words from earlier flashed back- our challenge starts now. My challenge starts now. The encounter with Jobelyn and her ate made me want to change myself even more. I want to change not just for myself but for others as well who are in dire need like Jobelyn and her family. According to Joel, I want to be rich in all aspects of my life so I will be a better person not just for myself but for others. My friends, it is sad that most of us who have perfectly healthy lives abuse and neglect it. A lot of us party overnight, non stop. A lot of us drink booze like there's no tomorrow. A lot of us smoke packs and packs of cigarettes each day. A lot of us eat junk with the thoughts that we are still young anyway. But it's sad. Cos a lot of us fail to see that there are people out there with no bad habits whatsoever but are experiencing what they should not be experiencing in life and are more deserving of our life than us. But what do we do anyway with our own perfectly healthy lives? We abuse it. We do not value GOD's gift of life to us. May this serve as an eye opener to us that we have to change. We must change not just for our own selves but also for others.