MANULA, Philippines ? In an article that appeared in Tuesday?s issue, reporter Edson Tandoc Jr. wrote of how the PGH Pediatric Neurosurgical Craniofacial Unit (PNCU), which had been due to halt operations last January because of lack of funds, had been saved from closure by donations from individuals and groups.
The donations have reached more than P500,000 so far, enough to keep the unit running for the next 18 months. Dr. Gerardo ?Gap? Legaspi, main proponent of the unit, said he ?never expected this kind of response, especially during an economic crisis.? The donations began coming in to the unit after a story on its imminent closure appeared in this paper early in January.
The only one of its kind in the country, the PNCU serves children suffering from debilitating and potentially life-threatening congenital defects such as hydrocephalus (accumulation of fluid in the brain, resulting in an enlarged head), myelocoeles (where the spinal cord protrudes and forms a mass in the back), meningoceles (a disease of the central nervous system), encephaloceles (neural tube defects that result from the incomplete fusing of the skull), lipomyelomeningoceles (fatty tissue fusing with the spine) and craniosynostosis (which results in deformities in the face).
A total of 188 children have been treated by the unit, most of the children coming from poor families who couldn?t otherwise have afforded the series of operations required to correct these abnormalities. In private hospitals, said Tandoc quoting Dr. Legaspi, such procedures would cost around P300,000, while the unit would charge between P15,000 and P20,000. The neurosurgeons, cosmetic surgeons and other medical personnel who operate on the young patients donate their services, Dr. Legaspi said, with the doctors bringing their own equipment at no extra expense to the patients.
* * *
AMONG THE biggest supporters of the PNCU has been Senator Pia Cayetano, who has made the unit a special advocacy of her Gabriel Symphony Foundation, named after her son Gabriel Cayetano-Sebastian, who died from complications of a rare congenital disease in 2001.
Last year, the foundation donated P342,000 to the PNCU, which went to the salaries of the two nurses and a utility worker manning the facility.
In a press release from her office, Cayetano said, in relation to the PNCU, that ?our work is far from done yet. More funds are needed to ensure that the unit could fully function for the long-term. Donations are most welcome but funding for initiatives like these should primarily come from the national government. Health is our right, and so we should all work to make our government responsible and accountable for much-needed public health services.?
Even more disappointing, said Cayetano?s staff, ?is that most of the senator?s PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund or congressional allocations) that were meant to augment health services in PGH and other public hospitals have been withheld by the Department of Budget and Management and Malacañang since 2006, apparently for political reasons.?
Cayetano belongs to the political opposition and to the minority bloc in the Senate.
* * *
STILL, the story of the ?rescue? of the PNCU by largely private donations is inspiring, especially in this Easter season.
Especially given that the Philippines ? as Dr. Legaspi pointed out ? has not been spared the more painful impacts of the global economic crisis, and ordinary Filipinos could be expected to be tightening their belts and reserving their available cash for their daily needs.
But there are ways to give and to help the less fortunate without putting one?s own economic security at risk. Cayetano, for instance, said the donations the Gabriel Symphony Foundation has channeled to the PNCU were literally the result of her own ?sweat and tears.?
?Tears, because of the suffering I went through after the death of my child, and sweat because I literally have to push my body to run or bike in order to raise funds for the foundation,? she explained, referring to her annual sports fund-raisers: ?Pinay In Action? (an annual women?s run held every March, which is ?Women?s Month?), the ?12-hour multi-sport event in memory of Gabriel,? and the 100-kilometer ?Bike for Hope,? which she stages in different parts of the country.
* * *
Last March 29, the senator led this year?s staging of the ?Pinay In Action? run and expo at the Mall of Asia. I?m not much of a runner, but Pia?s reflections on ?why women run? and the photos of the event, especially the ?sea of pink? of women taking part in the run, were certainly inspiring. Here?s her own account:
?Every year I am asked why do a run to celebrate women?s month? My answer is ? because running is empowering. We gain strength and confidence in the company of other women.
?We feel good when we run. We may be tired, but when we finish our run, we feel accomplished, proud and happy!?
?A lot of women are scared to run for the first time or to run a longer distance, but when they do, the feeling is indescribable! And it shows in their smiles! I know, because I?ve felt this many times. And last Sunday, women came up to me, telling me the same thing.?
?Whether we are moms, wives, daughters, professionals, employees, students or young girls, we should be proud of who we are.?
?We should never be scared to pursue our dreams. No one should tell us we are not capable of doing something because we are women. On the contrary, because we are women, we shall excel!?
?As a mom, I want my girls to have good role models. I want them to be inspired. I want them to meet trailblazing women who beat the odds. At the Pinay in Action Run, I saw lots of these women. And I am so happy my daughters saw and met them too.?
