Caridad Sanchez's kids refute each other on mom's real condition
MANILA, Philippines — Vetaran actress Caridad Sanchez’s daughter and son had contradicting views on the actress' condition.
Her daughter Cathy Babao recently opened up about Caridad’s alleged battle against dementia, but her son Alexander Babao denied that the actress is struggling from the disease.
Cathy, who has a master's degree in family psychology, published on her website that Caridad's dream role was a “matanda na malilimutin na minsan may moment na nakaka-alala pa siya," which seemingly has become a reality, she said.
“At this point I don’t know whether I should be grateful that she’s now unknowingly, portraying the dream role she had hoped for many years ago. Perhaps it will help in the coping, if I reframe things this way. Should I think of it as an answered prayer?” Cathy said in the story.
Cathy described her mom’s battle “the most difficult challenge of my adult life, next to losing my son.”
“My mother is fading. Day by day, week by week. It is the most difficult challenge of my adult life, next to losing my son. Anticipatory grief. This is what this is all over again. With my son, we had two whole weeks to fight, to hope, to pray that he would get better. And when he did not, we had a few days to accept and to surrender,” she said.
Alexander, however, took to his Instagram account to allege that his sister violated the privacy and honor of their mother.
“I Alexander Joseph S. Babao, son of Caridad Sanchez Babao, was shocked by the article published by my sister which was done without permission, violating the privacy, legacy and honor of my Mother,” he said.
“My Mom has a mild cognitive handicap that goes with aging. But it is unfair for her to be disrespected like this. Under my care, she remains very physically fit, a source of wisdom, strength and blessing to me whenever we have our late night mother and son conversations,” he added.
Alexander thanked the public for supporting his mom as he question the “opportunistic timing” of his sister’s statement.
“I thank the public who still continue to show their support, love and respect for my mother. However, I question the opportunistic timing of it’s publication by my sister,” he said.
He then posted photos and videos of his mom boxing and then visiting fellow actor Richard Gomez.
Cathy, however, answered Alexander's accusations on her Instagram account, saying: "It was never my intention to disrespect or disparage my mother’s image when I started to write about her dementia on social media. It took me a very long time to decide whether or not I would share our family’s story."
"I decided to finally write about it for the following reasons. 1. There is nothing shameful about admitting that a loved one has dementia. It’s a condition that afflicts a huge percentage of the senior population. It’s a condition that is highly misunderstood and sometimes even maligned. What persons with dementia need above all is time, patience, love, understanding and respect. To be able to give this, you must understand what dementia looks like and what it requires of the person/s caring for the person with dementia. 2. In sharing my mother’s story, my only motivation is to help other families understand, and come to an acceptance of their loved one’s condition. I cannot overemphasize the importance of early diagnosis, and acceptance. In families where there is no total acceptance, where family members are not on the same page, discord and misunderstanding are most likely to occur."
According to Cathy, "Denial is only to the detriment of the person with dementia."
"This will be the last thing I have to say about this issue... Mommy is physically strong. No question about that. Decades of daily running and waking have paid off. I am grateful that she is able to still exercise and walk unaided. It is the dementia that is affecting her memory. It is a fact that I have now accepted with all my heart... Knowing mom, she would not want to hide her condition if she knew that sharing our story would help others who are on a similar journey much like the one we find ourselves on right now."
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