Touched by 2 angels

People are good. Some of them are closet angels. They help people in need without expecting to be recognized. There are a lot of them out there quietly helping the poor, caring for the sick, sharing food with the hungry, reaching out to the brokenhearted. I met Docs Willie and Liza Ong in my hosting class at ABS-CBN, clueless that they would introduce me to a world of pure kindness. They are the team of Makabayang Duktor who roam around forgotten streets and practice the noble profession of medicine through healing and caring for the sick, poor, lonely and angry. Docs Willie and Liza remind me that people still care in its purest sense despite the pollution of doubt and cynicism that pervade the ZTE infested air. Docs Willie and Liza have started a new endeavor to save a life via Makabayang Duktor Foundation.

With just P20,000 you can save a life today. This is what Makabayang Duktor Foundation says. Yes, P20,000 can save a life. Docs Willie and Liza say that the amount can help save a patient suffering from thyroid and neck masses, women’s diseases like myoma, ovarian cyst, abdominal surgeries like appendectomy, gallstones, hernias, benign masses, etc., and some emergency surgeries and childhood conditions. These, however, require that a patient must have 90 percent chance of survival.

Docs Willie and Liza reveal that the P20,000  donation would not include serious cancer conditions that have spread, very old and weak patients, very high-risk surgery, surgery that will not lead to a productive life, and expensive like heart and brain surgeries.

The good doctors say that some people are reluctant to donate money for some reasons. One is that they don’t understand the medical conditions of the sick; two, they think it is costly to save a life; three, that there is no end to the medical needs of a patient or that donations can be wasted. Docs Willie and Liza refuse to believe this myth. “Donors can find a cheaper and cost-effective way to save lives. Makabayang Duktor Foundation sees to it that money donated is not wasted. And I advise donors to get competent and trustworthy doctors to guarantee that money is not put to waste,” says Doc Willie. They also believe in saving lives by the numbers. With P20,000, one life is saved. With P100,000, five lives, and P200,000, 10 lives and so forth. “I believe that everyone has to do his share.”

Doc Willie realized he had the calling to help the poor when at a very young age he heard a story of a Christian boy named Kree who helped his poor friends and who eventually died at a very young age. He realized that it was not just a tragic story because Kree was welcomed in heaven by Jesus with open arms. Doc Willie, in his medical missions, also encounters people who call him an angel. Just like Kree, he would appear at other people’s doors  offering help. “Ikaw ang sagot ng matagal na naming ipinagdadasal, they would tell me. I am touched and my life is changed whenever I hear this.”

Doc Willie met Doc Liza when they were still in medical school. It was Doc Liza who typed the handwritten notes (now called The Medicine Blue Book and is on its sixth edition) Willie kept while on internship at a medical school. Liza realized that Willie’s notes were not only complete and concise but they make things easy for a doctor when he practices medicine. Inspired by the success of The Medicine Blue Book, Docs Willie and Liza wrote other publications like Cardiology Blue Book, Altapresyon at Tamang Pangangalaga ng Puso, Health and Life (in Chinese), Survival Guide for Doctors (and non-doctors), too among others.

Years ago, Doc Willie established the Movement of Nationalist Doctors (MIND) in an effort to keep doctors from leaving the country. He started by visiting medical schools and harped on compassion and idealism of medical practitioners who love their patients, who are not there for the money and who love their country as well. He fully understood that doctors leave the country to seek greener pastures. But he also told them that there are millions of poor people in the country who do not have anywhere to go to and who need their medical attention. Doc Willie said that the brain drain that was happening in the country was not only siphoning away the biggest and the brightest minds but was also leaving the poor with less medical attention. Together with the Philippine College of Physicians, Doc Willie created the Doctor’s Covenant which asked for the signatures of young doctors to do medical practice in the country for three years before seeking for greener pastures.

Docs Willie and Liza’s tandem is seen on Makabayang Duktor, RPN 9, Fridays, 4:30 to 5 p.m. It is now on its second season. “Some people have told me that it was an impractical move. It will take away much of my time from private practice,” he says.

But Docs Willie and Liza have devoted their lives in helping the poor. “Our goal as doctors is not to earn money but to help our patients get well.”