In the evening of March 6 when I got home, my daughter met me at the front door with the sad news that Francis Magalona had joined his Creator. My daughter Berna was at the Medical City Neuro ICU for status epilepticus (continuous seizures) on the same day that Francis Magalona also got into the Intensive Care Unit sometime in August last year. We viewed his blog and we were amazed at his courage and that of his family in his “Happy Battle” against acute myelogenous leukemia (blood cancer). The emotional support system of his family and friends and fans was tremendous and this apparently paved the way for his early acceptance of his terminal illness.
Despite his illness, he even initiated a project to help his countrymen in a similar medical scenario, showing his great concern for the welfare of others. His wife Pia and eight children showed their cooperative endeavor in helping out in their individual capacities. Humor (“Am checking in today courtesy of Doc Saturday (aka Dr. Gerry Sabado) and I’m in at around 8 p.m. I get discharged tomorrow morning.”) and spirituality (“Please pray for a speedy recovery dear reader of this post. I know your prayers have kept me alive up to this day. And into God’s hands I submit myself.”) were the two main coping styles of Francis Magalona and his family.
There was likewise creativity as seen in his continued passion for music and photography despite his illness. He hardly expressed anger for being sick with leukemia. He kept his optimism to the very end and placed his fate in God’s hand. The Master Rapper’s blog is indeed an inspirational reading material for people inflicted with terminal illness. I certainly hope this could be made available to other cancer survivors in the country with no Internet access.
Dr. Elisabeth Kübler-Ross earlier pioneered methods in the support and counseling of individual trauma, grief and grieving, associated with death and dying. She likewise greatly improved the understanding and practices in relation to bereavement and hospice care of the elderly and chronically ill. Her insights, specifically the five stages of grief model (denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance) are also applicable to personal change and emotional upset resulting from factors other than death and dying like reactions to chronic medical illness, stress and reactions to disaster. The family of the terminally ill patient likewise may experience these stages, sometimes overwhelming them when they come at the same time.
Maxx, daughter of Francis Magalona, wrote in the blog (www.happybattle.multiply.com): “Today, I experienced a testing of my faith. I had a mix of all sorts of emotions: anger, sadness, pain, worry, desperation, etc. The list could go on and on. But, despite all these Vampire-like emotions that tried to suck the life out of me, I stood up. I stood up and wiped the tears off my face and began praying to God. Not once did I question Him as to why my dad is suffering, why we are experiencing so much pain and sadness, why this had to happen to my wonderful and loving father, of all people. All I asked was for God to continue taking care of my dad, to give him strength and to make his sickness go away. With that one prayer, without even waiting for results, my faith and belief in God strengthened even more. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, and I know that he will NEVER let go of my dad. Through all of this, I choose to stand up.”
Some identified coping mechanisms of Pinoys as listed in Table 12 in the book From Victims to Survivors by Lourdes Ladrido Ignacio, MD and Antonio P. Perlas, MD, MPH are the following:
1. Spirituality
2. Bayanihan/cooperative endeavor
3. Concern for the welfare of others especially family members and how they can be helped
4. Gathering of family members
5. Overactivity (overextension of one’s capacity)
6. Doing relaxing activities/recreation
7. Creativity
8. Humor/laughter
9. Passivity/dependency
10. Anger and blaming others
11. Suspiciousness
12. Smoking
13. Drinking alcoholic beverages
14. Crying
15. Denial of the pain and gravity of the situation
We can see in the list both healthy and unhealthy ways of adjusting. In the Philippines, spirituality is a frequently observed coping style. The intimate relationship that Pinoys have with their religion allows them to accept reality in the context that all events are within the plan of God for the world. Good luck and misfortune or tragedy are colored with some amount of optimism that is found even among the most desperate. The constant use of the phrase “bahala na” is actually not a defeatist resignation but can be perceived as a reservoir of psychic energy, a security blanket or a psychological crutch which Pinoys lean on in times of difficulty. Faith is the Pinoy’s source of courage, daring optimism, inner peace and ability to accept illness, tragedy, death and bear the grief.
The “bayanihan” (mutual assistance) spirit is considered part of the pakikipagkapwa-tao trait which refers to the Pinoy’s natural openness to others and feelings of oneness with others. It is also shown through the ability to empathize through helpfulness and generosity in times of need. I witnessed the bayanihan spirit in the long line of friends and artists who rushed to Medical City to donate blood for Francis Magalona. Certainly, these are all characteristics that could truly be tested and put to good use in times of distress.
The Pinoy chronically ill patient or chronically distressed individual naturally will turn to the family for support (emotional, physical or financial). Family orientation refers to the genuine and deep love for family that extends beyond the immediate family unit of spouse, siblings and parents. The Pinoy family typically includes aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, godparents and ceremonial relatives. The family serves as the source of strength and as an effective coping mechanism in times of crisis.
Overactivity as a way of coping seems to show that engagement in some activity is one way by which a person is able to demonstrate in concrete ways that he has regained control over some aspects of his life. Doing relaxing activity or engaging in recreation has been reported as one of the ways by which Pinoys cope to chronic stress. Pinoys gather around to share stories.
Pinoys listen to the radio for information, to relax or distract themselves from distressing concerns at hand. “I exercise my vocals every now and then. It is my medicine. ....... I was vocalizing to the new track that we did with Ely B. and THE NEW BAND. Yup, we will have a new band. An album of music, a documentary movie, a foundation, yes all of these will happen. AND I WAS VOCALIZING WHILE TRANSFUSING A PACK OF RBC. .....I am lucky to have been a recording artist and one day when I leave this world, just like the names I mentioned, my voice will be heard,” read an entry from Francis Magalona’s blog.
Having information allows the Pinoy to somehow get some control of the distressing events in his life. The Pinoy can plan and prepare himself better with adequate information. Francis Magalona and his family were well informed by the medical staff. They even searched the Internet to learn more about his illness and the various procedures that were to be done.
The Pinoy continues to express his creativity even in the most trying circumstances For example, a cancer patient makes rosaries at home to earn some funds for her chemotherapy. Francis Magalona continued with his music and other creative endeavors. His wife and daughter helped update his blog.
The Pinoy, no matter how difficult the circumstances he is exposed to, continues to laugh at them. If the Pinoy can laugh at a situation, then he has control over it. Creativity and humor have been identified as strengths of the Filipino character. Anger and blaming others come naturally with the other attribute of suspiciousness. This can be equated to scapegoating as the method of coping.
Smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages are all efforts at somehow minimizing the effect of stress. This is somehow similar to the denial of pain and gravity of the situation as a way of Pinoy coping. The only difference is that in smoking and drinking, there is harm inflicted upon the Pinoy’s body as a consequence of the efforts at minimizing the pains suffered. These are considered immature and unhealthy defenses. Crying is a way of coping by which the Pinoy is able to relieve the tension within and from there go to some other ways of coping. It is okay even for males to shed tears for the loss of a loved one.
Francis Magalona ended his “Happy Battle” with leukemia with dignity and together with his closely-knit family, courageously coped with his illness the Pinoy way. His music will live on and continue to uplift the Pinoy’s nationalism.
(You may e-mail me at nina.halilijao@gmail.com)