Early Holy Week

If soul searching, repentance and making your relationship right with your Creator are things you do on Holy Week, all came early for me this year. And now, it feels like I have been given a second chance at life.

It all began when my regular abdominal ultrasound showed a growing aneurysm in my aorta last year but decided to observe if it will grow and how fast. This year, they found out it was not only growing, but growing fast. A CT-scan confirmed the findings. The aorta is the main blood vessel that acts like EDSA, distributing oxygen rich blood to all parts of the body. I had to consult a cardiovascular surgeon on what to do next.

Coming from a family of doctors, I knew I could get a good recommendation from a trusted friend in the medical community. Fellow doctors know who the good and competent ones are. And doctors who are friends of the family will only recommend doctors they would trust to treat their own family members. I sent a text message to former Health Secretary Ike Ona seeking a recommendation for the right surgeon. The answer came quickly, Dr Ricardo Quintos. Dr. Ona assured me Dr. Quintos is among the best cardiovascular surgeons he knows.

Then I asked a few more doctors and got the same feedback about Dr. Quintos.

So, I consulted with Dr. Quintos at his clinic at Cardinal Santos Medical Center. He looked at my CT scan and agreed the growth of the aneurysm had crossed the red line for action. My regular doctors are all at Medical City and he asked if I wanted the surgical procedure done there. But his regular team works out of Cardinal Santos. I said I can have it done at Cardinal Santos because I want him working comfortably with a team that had worked with him on previous cases.

After a day and a half of pre-op tests, I was wheeled into the Cardiac Cath Lab for the procedure. They didn’t lose time putting me to sleep. After over three hours, it was all done and I gained consciousness as they were wheeling me to the recovery room at the Cardiac ICU. My wife managed to view the procedure from a gallery and later showed me a picture from the monitor while they were putting in stents to ease the pressure of the blood flow through the aorta that could cause it to burst. The aneurysm made my aorta look like a voluptuous exotic belly dancer on the monitor.

Technology was on my side. In the olden days, they would have to cut a patient up at the abdomen to make the repair. That means weeks or months of recovery. Today, they did two incisions on my groin, threaded a catheter through my arteries up to the aorta where they released several stents, a feat of precision minimally invasive surgery. The stents were tailor made for me in Singapore, based on precise measurements obtained from my CT scan.

The stents are made of special materials.

In the meantime, because I have ongoing issues with my heart and lungs, a cardiologist and a pulmonologist were carefully monitoring my condition after they prepped me up for the procedure.

I once saw a senior executive of the Lopez Group collapse in the office of Geny Lopez with a busted aortic aneurysm and died a few hours later. That underlined the urgency of taking action and a source of my pre-op fears.

Fear is very human and tough to control. Without faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, fear can kill you before any disease gets you. Sensing my anxiety, my wife who had long been a born-again Christian, reminded me of 2 Timothy 1:7 which says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” And then there is Psalm 55:22 which urges us to “Give your burdens to the Lord, and He will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.”

What got to me first was the loss of control. Entered the hospital fairly healthy, yet I was confined to a 25-square meter room. For my own protection from hospital infection, they kept my exposure to the hospital environment minimal. Even the X-ray machine was wheeled into my room. My niece, a practicing pediatrician in Cardinal Santos, explained that they have a number of pneumonia cases so they are making sure as best as they can that I do not complicate my case with an infection.

Then there was the anxiety about the surgical procedure. It may be minimally invasive but it is still surgery. I just placed my trust totally on Our Lord and that’s how I found peace. Soon I was able to go to a deep sleep by myself with no medication as I felt the peace of the Lord all over me. Also, so many people were praying for me.

We live busy lives. Our minds are busy all the time. That’s why when we find solid blocks of time but are unable to do what we normally do, we get very uncomfortable. That’s how I learned to initiate a conversation with the Lord. Not sure if you can call it prayer but just saying what’s on your mind as if you are talking to a close friend. I should have done that a long time ago. It is so calming to know you have a Friend up there who won’t let you down.

Easter or Resurrection Sunday marks a new life for mankind. Because of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, our sins are forgiven by the grace of God. We are gifted with a new life. Happy Easter, everyone.

Boo Chanco’s email address is [email protected]. Follow him on X or Twitter @boochanco