Warto, an arts and humanities instructor, a choreographer and dramatist, and fashion accessories designer too, says that in a stage production, Curtain Call is called after the play is over. Critics then judge the production. In life, Warto says, "The world is like a stage. Each of us is assigned a certain role to play. At the end of our life, we will be judged by how we played our role by the Lord God Almighty. I consider my life as a Play in Three Acts."
The First Act, he writes, was in the eighties when he suffered from acute hyperthyroidism. He asked the Lord to spare him because his sons, Warren and Xander, were still very young, and his wife, Vee, was still "a baby Christian." The Lord answered his prayer.
Act II took place a day after his 61st birthday, that is, on January 9 last year. He had a near fatal asthma attack. He thought that was the end of him. His wife Vee was in Australia, so his neighbors, Bert and Lydia Robledo, and his two sons rushed him to Cardinal Santos Medical Center. He survived; it wasn’t Curtain Call time. But it was God’s will that he continued to live, he says, with thanks, too, for the material support sent by our brother, Nell, our sister Jocelyn and Warto’s wife Vee, from Down Under.
The Third Act in Warto’s life took place three months ago, on January 11, at 2 in the morning. He woke up with a pain in his diaphragm. He drank a glass of water, but the pain did not go away. He asked Vee for a glass of hot water, thinking he was having a heartburn. Before he could drink the water, he fell from the bed, head first. In a matter of minutes, Vee and the boys had taken him to Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital where he was wheeled to the ICU immediately.
"I was having a heart attack," Warto says. "Vee felt she was going to have a heart attack herself. The doctors could not assure her of anything; they gave me a 50/50 chance of survival. Vee texted all the names in her cell phone, requesting for prayers to God to heal me. She opened the Bible to Psalm 78, which enumerated all the miracles God had performed for the Israelites. Vee interpreted this passage as an assurance that God would perform a miracle in my life. She kept telling me to trust God. She sang hymns, and I felt comforted and I fell asleep.
"After an hour, I felt severe chest pains. I was having a second heart attack. The doctors told Vee to prepare for the worst. I was diagnosed as having acute myocardial infarction of the interior wall. I was also suffering from urinary tract infection, hyperthyroidism and bronchial asthma. My x-rays showed I had fluid in my lungs. But Vee did not give up; she kept saying, ‘No, this is not happening,’ and she prayed to God for mercy.
"Then I had a dream – or was it a nightmare? I saw my body being raised from my bed and suspended in the air. At this moment two giant black crows appeared on my right side, fighting and squabbling over which of them would get me. All this time Vee kept repeating words of assurance. After several hours, she felt very tired. She prayed, ‘Lord, let me rest with Warto, Warren and Xander under the shadow of your wings.’
"Then Vee had a vision. Two big strong arms lifted my limp body and cradled me as if were a ‘Pieta’. Then a big golden hand appeared and touched my heart and all the vital parts of my body. Vee heard a voice whisper for her to open the Bible to Psalm 72. The chapter tells how God blessed Solomon and the Israelites and the whole earth being filled with His glory. Vee woke up and felt complete joy.
"Vee told me that the two big black crows probably represented my fear and unbelief. As I confessed and professed my faith and trust in God, the two crows flew away. I stayed at the ICU for eight days, not knowing if it was day or night, and 13 more days in the ward."
About the hospital expenses and doctors‚ fees – Warto worried about those. His hospitalization at Our Lourdes Hospital cost P210,902.63. The cardiologist later recommended an angiogram test – a procedure that would cost P45,000, but even then, it would not be a cure, only determine if he would need surgery. Surgery would cost from a quarter to half a million pesos. "With my salary and Vee’s earnings from her paintings, we would not have that kind of money."
Then someone recommended an alternative to surgery called Chemical Endarterectomy or Chelation Therapy, a non-surgical technique of declogging blockage in arteries and administered to outpatients in a clinic. The whole treatment consisting of 35 sessions would cost only P90,000. Warto has been undergoing this treatment, and he is now able to go to Cosmopolitan Church – to the wonder and delight of the congregation who not only prayed, but passed the hat around for Warto’s expenses.
To Warto and Vee, God’s miraculous powers are endless. Warto says: "If my life were to end in this chapter, with the few remaining years I have, I will heed God’s ‘Call‚ to serve and glorify Him. Only then can I say I am ready for ‘Curtain Call.’ "