A Trip Down Memory Lane (CHS Class 75)

Last Sunday was my usual care-giving day for my Ate May(this is Nina writing for Ate. I would usually feed her first with breakfast that i brought either from my own kitchen or from a restaurant. She finished her breakfast quickly because she said she has something to tell me. With her advanced ALS, it is really a challenge to understand every word she is saying so from time to time I would use an alphabet board so she can spell out the words and I would just guess the thought and so communication becomes successful. It could be frustrating at times too. This is her story...

Last Friday, December 10,2010, a few classmates from Caloocan High School were having a reunion at their Alma Mater and about eight of them visited with Marissa Nario as their guide. Marissa visited her several times before. One of them, Ven Cam, told my Ate that he fondly remembers that she was very good in English. In fact she made it to the top ten in a school-wide essay writing contest and she was number eight.(The usual population for each year level is around 1000 students) My Ate was shocked because she thought that she did not do well in that contest, and she remembered vividly the topic was Pollution and she chose to write on "Smoke Belching". This was 1975, where there were few jeepneys and we usually walk to school. She just accepted the thought that she was probably bad in English and did poorly in the contest, only to find out 35 years later, with the help of some kind batchmates who included her in their 35th anniversary reunion, that she did well.

Oh what reunions could do. It brought smiles on her face, not that they matter so much now, but I guess it does.

Thanks to you CHS batch 75 for expressing your love to Ate May, Ate May and our family appreciate you all.

A LIFE FULL OF CHRISTMAS

I can still remember the lyrics of the song "And the Gift goes on" and I quote:

"When your life is full of Christmas then your life is full of love
You can give away the present that began with God above
Just like ripples in the water the circles of our love extend
What was started with the Father is a Gift that has no end,"

When I think of how my Ate May extends her love even in her wheelchair bound body, I know she understands very well the meaning of the the life which is full of Christmas.

Every Christmas, since she became the bread winner in the family, she would prepare the new peso bills from the bank to give away to children who would come to our house on Christmas day. She does not want the idea of hiding, even if times were hard. (Hiding from inaanaks (godchildren) is sometimes done to avoid spending too much on Christmas day.)

When she was diagnosed in June of 2007 with ALS, I supposed she can now retire from the Christmas tradition as she is now on disability and receives a very minimal monthly disability fund from the government.

However, because she understood the grace that came to us on the first Christmas, she could not help but again, this year to prepare for the coming of the children. Yes, she still gave out those new peso bills to visiting children this morning...and I could feel the love emanating from her frail body.

Eating and drinking has been harder for her lately, but she still keeps on giving...

Sitting Pretty

It has been 19 months since Ate May posted on her blog. Days after she wrote her last blog titled "House Arrest", she had a very bad fall my mom was almost sure she hit her head on the cement step. The Lord cushioned her fall and she hit her shoulder instead. It took three persons to move her from where she fell to her bed. That was the last you all heard from her.

That event signaled that ALS is advancing. She completely stopped using the computer and she had to be fed by my mother. I had to listen so carefully when I talk to her on the phone, I was in San Diego until October 2nd of 2008. Pictures of her 50th birthday organized by my cousins were depressing as her body continue to atrophy.
I went home on October 2nd, 2008 and witnessed for myself how my Ate’s condition progressed. Though I chatted with her and saw her several times in YM, it is still different to see her in that condition in person. But I am surely glad the Lord brought me and my husband back home to be with her at this time.
These days, she sits most of the day on her wheelchair, but a few visitors commented how she retains her beauty, both in and out despite ALS. Her quiet and peaceful spirit endures the pain and the limitations brought by ALS on her.
For many of you who will not be able to see her in person, I am posting her most recent picture with our one and only nephew, Ian.

House Arrest

I have no choice. Not that I have committed infraction of the law nor have I joined a rally against the government. ALS is the culprit. It makes you weak and feeling so tired that the option of going out becomes next to impossible, not to mention the mess you will create in the dining table. December is the hardest month to ignore if you are staying at home. The same season last year I was already busy shopping for gifts and wrapping them. How I like to wrap things! ( I have the skill, you know ). The Christmas tree and the lights will be taken out from where they hibernate to be decorated and presented. This year I will miss some parties, concerts, caroling, “simbang gabi”, but mostly I will miss the cold breeze outside as I come home from PM duty, to admire the glitters of decors everywhere, even buying “bibingka” (rice cake) and “ puto bumbong”(cylindrical rice cake) on my way home. Yes, I do miss all of these and more but God has His own way of bringing joy and not merely happiness based on happenings. He sends a fellowship group on a regular basis to share His faithfulness and to strengthen one another. He sends friends and loved ones and even people I don’t know who tells me they are praying for my healing since they knew of my condition. He sends E-mails of daily devotions and greetings and wishes for recovery. He even sends surprised packages from afar, places I haven’t been to. And constantly, He shows the love of a mother, a brother, a sister and a nephew. God is so good and house arrest is not so bad at all.

Thank you, God, for little things
That often come our way_
The things we take for granted
but don’t mention when we pray
The unexpected courtesy,
the thoughtful, kindly deed
A hand reached out to help us
in the time of sudden need_
Oh, make us more aware, dear God,
of little daily graces
That come to us with “sweet surprise”
from never-dreamed-of places.
- H. S. R.

May de Jesus-Aquino’ 80
December 12, 2007

Rewind

Someone close to my heart gave me a book sometime this month. Every time I receive one I always read the dedication first. The date, I noticed, instead of 2007 she wrote 2004 by mistake. My mind drifted to that particular year. What have I been doing three years earlier? What were my plans? The term ALS was a stranger to me then. It will not introduce itself to me until after two more years.

Three years ago I was doing what I love the most: being a Nurse. Half of my 27 years in this profession was in bedside nursing- actual, hands-on care giving. As a nurse supervisor, 2004 gave me the opportunity to respond to challenging roles of being a teacher, adviser, mentor, role- model and a friend. It was a year full of life and dreams. Two friends suggested we pursue PhD. I began counting years, told them jokingly by the time we finish the degree, only a few more years and it will be retirement for me.

Now we know that I will no longer be looking forward to retirement as soon as I stopped working since July of this year. But what was significant in 2004?
It was the year I started to ask the Lord to bless my desire to sing and pray for the sick and the dying, specially the dying. I remember praying and singing to a young, mentally challenged girl in a coma…” in heaven, no more sickness, no more pain”, I read from Our Daily Bread.
“…only what is done for Christ will last.”

By the way, the title of the book is Always a Springtime by Helen Steiner Rice.

For life on earth is a transient affair,
Just a few brief years in which to prepare
For a life that is free from pain and tears
Where time is not counted by hours or years
-H.S.R.
May de Jesus-A. , Oct. 25, 2007 (Manila)

SEEDLESS GRAPES

What you are about to read is not a recipe for fruit salad, although it won’t hurt to try this one. Since I got sick, my home became busy with visitors: co-workers, friends, relatives, brethren from my home church, fellowship groups from other churches, and neighbors. When they come they usually bring something with them: flowers, biscuits, fruit juices and fruits. Wow! mango,atis, pomelo, banana, apple, sampaloc, ponkan, papaya, pineapple, longgan, rambutan and lanzones. I love to eat all of them but there’s a slight problem. On my own I can’t. I’m not able to open, peel, scoop or cut these succulent fruits. That’s when I realized the truth that no man is an island. One needs another to be able to appreciate all the good things God provides. We must be grateful of the people around us. Oops, before I forget, about the seedless grapes , I enjoy them a lot because they need only to be washed and just pop them in your mouth. If you will ask , “where’s the challenge in that?” Then you must have learned something from this story.

Little bird in the sky,
Dropped a poopoo in my eye,
I didn’t scream I didn’t cry,
I just thanked God
Carabaos don’t fly!
-Anon

24 k and more...

Pure gold. Precious. I’m not referring to your jewelries. The other day I got a call from someone very dear to me. She said, “We’ll take you out to lunch tomorrow.” I started to cry .I said, “I’ll just be a burden to you all.” She retorted, “we are all nurses, we know what to do, we can manage.” I said yes, put down the phone and cried and cried and cried. I’ve never been out, not since my condition worsened. The four corners of my humble home became my space; I felt safe inside. To MOA (Mall of Asia) at last! Never been there yet. Ate delicious Thai food and sipped coffee in between banana cake bites. The variety of topics as we exchange stories permeated the air. We laughed, we enjoyed the moment. You might be wondering, what’s so special about this story? The people I was with. They are the ones that made my day a memorable one. They are VIPs with 1001 list of things to do but chose to be with me for a day. What do they have in common? Jesus in their lives. In them you’ll see a heart of gold and so much more. Priceless. The 24k Ladies : Dean Edna Imperial :prof. wheelchair driver; a true friend Ate Ela: florist ,prof. singer-caregiver Tita Goody: humble, sophisticated whose feet always touch the ground. Ate Alice: her place to MOA in one leap! Dedicated. Dean S and Dean P: the heart & soul + brain Prof. Choir. Not a lady, Anton :DJ of Fav Hymns