PALAYAN CITY, Nueva Ecija–After three long
and agonizing years, 55-year-old bachelor Juanito Esteban finally got his wish
for medical treatment for a still undisclosed illness.
Esteban,
of Barangay Caimito, will soon undergo surgery for a lump which grew in his
left hip, through the assistance of Mayor Adrianne Mae Cuevas and the Chinese
General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC).
Esteban,
accompanied by his elder sister Corazon Deregla, went to the Caimito Elementary
School gymnasium here yesterday morning for the medical and dental mission
jointly sponsored by the city government, the CGHMC and the Philippine Chinese
Charitable Association (PCCA), Inc.
The
half-day medical activity benefited 1,000 residents from 19 barangays in this
city.
Esteban,
who was lying in a stretcher, said he first noticed the lump in 2010 which
caused him severe pain. It gradually grew, growing the size of a baseball.
Because of the ailment, he could no longer walk.
Deregla
said his brother, the third in a brood of eight, sleeps by his side, in pain.
“He eats and sleeps in excruciating pain always,” she said.
Johnson
Dy, director of the CGHMC observed that Esteban’s feet have turned yellow,
indicating that blood is no longer circulating in his body.
Dy
and Maria Gracia Jiongco, CGHMC deputy administrator, told Cuevas they would
have Esteban examined and operated at the CGHMC.
Cuevas and her
husband, businessman Vince, will assist in shouldering the operation. I’ll support
you all the way. I won’t neglect you,” Cuevas told Esteban.
The
33-man medical and dental team led by Jiongco and Dy consist of four
pediatricians, five physicians, four dentists, four nurses and a crew of 14. The group also distributed assorted
medicines to local folk.
Jiongco
said their group has already conducted at least 30 medical and dental missions
in various parts of the country this year. From November 25-27, they went to
Tacloban to provide assistance to 1,300 victims of typhoon Yolanda.
The
PCCA, headed by its president, Dr. James Dy, is an active organization serving
as umbrella of various organizations that include the CGHMC and involved in
several socio-civic activities providing aid in areas where people underwent
tragedies brought by natural calamities.
For
several years, PCCA organizations also got involved in relief operations in
far-flung areas such as Bohol, Davao , Northern Samar and Tuguegarao.
Aside
from Jiongco and Dy, the medical team here include director Robert Yang, Dr.
Jose Mari de Jesus, Dr. Leila Karen Nagal, Dr. Charles Erwin Cabus, Dr.
Leighnette Geronimo, Dr. Maria Aloiza Hadloc, Dr. Dara Diana Relleve, Dr. Nico
Ong, Dr. Jomar Silvestre and Dr. Roger Tiangco; dentists Eloisa Ferrer, Linda
Corpuz, Olga Francia and Malu Calano, nurses Cherry
May Almarez, Shane Mendoza, Lariza Javier and Olivia Leonardo and staffmembers
Cocoi Hombrebuano, Melicia Barroga, Armine Navarette, Vilma Dy, Reymund
Petrocinio, Shynee Calahat, Roberto Pangilinan, Mary Ann Pacheco, Beth Ngo,
Jerry Dy, Zsha Tabirao, Ony Bago Jimhar
Kallong, Leonilo Agus, Linda Alvarez and Rubilyn Argonido.
Among the
medicines given out were analgesic/antipyretic, anti-asthma, antibiotics,
mucolytic, anti-diabetic, nasal decongestants, anti-histamine, pain reliever,
anti-helmintic, anti-diarrheal, hematinic, eye irritation, anti-spasmodic,
anti-coagulant, anti-hypertensive, cough and cold remedies, ear antiseptic,
electrolyte replenisher, vertigo, anti-tubercular, topical preparation and
vitamins. (Manny Galvez)
