Coming out a survivor

Did she wave at me or did she twitch? It was hard to tell as both her hands, including her feet, were tied to the railings of her bed. Marie is only six months old, a fighter even with her frail frame. She survived the stabbing caused by her own mother, while her older brother succumbed to the wounds inflicted upon him the night when their mother went amuck. The woman then killed herself.

Marie was still in the Intensive Care Unit of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center when I saw her in June. With all the attachments to her body, the only thing that I could figure then were her eyes — round and with lashes like that of a doll’s — that were staring at me.

She has several tubes attached to her. One to draw out the saliva, another to feed her. And another was attached to a machine to help her breathe.

The attack damaged Marie’s esophagus, so her eating was problematic. She also developed pneumonia.

So young. I wonder if she would remember any of this when she grows up. But there’s no escaping the big scar that runs from her neck to the middle of her ribs. How difficult it would be for the father to explain how it all happened.

Once stable, Marie’s esophageal repair will begin — a complicated process of extracting from her colon (tissues?) to repair the damage in her esophagus.

Marie cannot be allowed to move about in her bed, lest she hurts herself. She has to keep still as the world around her does what it can to save her.

Marie, after all, has done her lot, coming out a survivor in this tragedy.

* * *

Ah, Davao, quite an unforgettable experience it was for me. We were there two Fridays ago. They were all smiling! Embracing and very welcoming of us. We visited a barangay that was devastated by flood.

Think Ondoy and you would understand what I mean.

Who would think it has been two years since the great flashflood? It was unimaginable that it would happen to a city like Marikina. Time and again they would experience flooding but none of the extent of damage that Ondoy inflicted.

In Davao, the rains started pouring on a Tuesday night. Then the waters rose to about 10 feet, or perhaps higher. The fatalities reached 29 with two children missing.

Seventy-eight year-old Lola Milagros could not have saved her husband from the flooding. Not only her age prevented her, but also Lolo Jovito’s condition. He is paralyzed.

“We just waited,” she said as the water rose up to the second floor. She would feel guilty if she left her husband, so she stayed with him, ready to face death together. Thank God, the waters stopped rising.

Our visit in Davao was very brief; we flew in the morning and left in the afternoon. Oftentimes, the relief goods that we distribute are never enough. But it’s the spirit of caring that resounds in tragedies like this.