Lupus stars inspire Rep. Emy Villar

Did you know that some Hollywood celebrities have been diagnosed to be suffering from Lupus, the most prominent of them being Selena Gomez (twice a Philippine visitor) who has undergone a kidney transplant?

“I really admire her,” said Diwa Party List Rep. Emmeline Aglipay-Villar who herself has been battling the illness for more than 10 years now. “She inspires me. She continues to fight and, even when she was having a kidney ailment, she decided to go on a world tour.”

Other stars known to be suffering from Lupus include Lady Gaga, Toni Braxton, Nick Cannon, Trick Daddy, Shannon Boxx and Kristen Johnston.

Rep. Emy again talked about the illness at a recent lunch at Crowne Plaza Hotel, coinciding with the launch of the book Lupus, Kayang-Kaya Ko ‘To! which she co-authored with Dr. Evelyn Osio-Salido (head of the Rheumatology Department of UP/PGH); Dr. Angeline Magbitang-Santiago (clinical associate professor at UP/PGH and assistant training officer of UP/PGH Section of Rheumatology); and Dr. Geraldine Zamora-Racaza (more on her in a while).

Rep. Emy with father-in-law former Senate Pres./House Speaker Manny Villar.

Rep. Emy, wife of Public Works Sec. Mark Villar, founded the Hope for Lupus Foundation in July last year.

“Hope for Lupus continues to make little steps to reach a milestone as it envisions a world without lupus,” said Rep. Emy who was among the 2012 Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) awardees for her contribution to public service and community development. She and Mark have a small daughter.

“My prayer is for God to let me live long enough to see our daughter Emma Therese grow up,” added Rep. Emy, 36, choking with emotion in her opening remarks. “Actually, I don’t want to be negative and I must say that the life expectancy of lupus sufferers is good.”

Lupus Kayang-Kaya Ko ‘To is an abridged version of Living Better with Lupus, written in conversational Filipino and is only 33 pages long. It is easy to understand and is quite entertaining to read as it contains illustrations and photos. It contains basic information about lupus such as what lupus is, what the symptoms are, causes and treatments, coping with the illness and complications arising from it, lupus in children, lupus during pregnancy, etc. (Copies are available for free in all health centers and government hospitals all over the country, distributed by the Department of Health.)

Dr. Racaza careful with remarks about ‘issue’

After the presscon proper, movie writers gravitated toward Dr. Geraldine “Ging” Zamora-Racaza who, probably without her intending to, got involved in a social-media “issue” after stylist Liz Uy posted her picture with her baby. Dr. Racaza made veiled comments, making people put two and two together and concluded that her husband is the father of the baby.

Ging has an impressive resume: She graduated valedictorian from UST, finished Physical Therapy magna cum laude at UP College of Medicine, specialized in Internal Medicine and Rheumatology at PGH (where she was awarded Most Outstanding Resident and Fellow), did research at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and is now a consultant at PGH, St. Luke’s Medical Center Global City and Manila Doctors Hospital. Like Rep. Emy, Ging is a TOYM awardee (for Medicine).

Photo of stylist Liz Uy and her baby posted on her Instagram and Dr. Geraldine ‘Ging’ Zamora-Racaza with a copy of the lupus book. Both with Chinese blood, the two ladies are often mistaken for ‘twins.’

Surrounded by movie writers, Ging was careful with her remarks, hesitant in making comments about the “Liz Uy issue,” very stingy with her answers, but pressed on to clear the matter once and for all.

This much was what the movie writers got from Ging (who has Chinese blood; studied at Chiang Kai Shek School in Binondo, Manila):

• She and Liz Uy know each other but they are not good friends;

• She was prompted to make comments (although in cryptic quotations) only as indirect reaction to the photo Liz (with baby) posted on social media, otherwise, she would have kept quiet;

• She did so to protect herself and her little daughter (by her husband);

• Her husband (unnamed) was the one who filed an annulment case; and

• She is happy with her daughter…life goes on.

Her advice to women in the same situation (predicament)?

“Be strong, be positive and keep on praying,” quoting a famous line, “Everything happens for a reason.”

As the late Inday Badiday (that line was her favorite reminder), “Even the falling of a leaf has a reason.”

(Note: Liz Uy was contacted for comment but she “cannot be reached.”)

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