The letter goes …
Dear Ms. Fatima,
Reading your very interesting article in Inquirer yesterday brought back vivid memories to me. I am an Irish-born SVD missionary and a naturalized Filipino citizen. I am currently residing at SVD Seminary, Tagaytay. I had my animal bite experience last Nov. 11, 2013. I cannot forget the date.
I was viciously attacked by a stray dog that somehow got into the building. It sunk its molars into my leg. I had to force its mouth open and hold it down by the neck until help came. It was only a small dog actually, but very sick. When help arrived, I immediately went to the hospital and as soon as possible began the course of injections. In the meantime, the dog died, and the head was brought to RITM in Alabang. To nobody’s surprise, it was diagnosed positive for rabies.
I myself, upon the advice of the trauma surgeon, went to RITM a few days later. They were very good to me there. I was assured that I would be all right, having already begun the proper course of injections. But they said that the wound (two bites actually) was seriously infected and needed aggressive treatment. So I was confined at Tagaytay Medical Center for nearly a week. The wound had to be surgically cleaned and then had to be painfully treated several times a day. Of course, there were intravenous antibiotics and I don’t know what else.
After discharge, daily wound cleaning was required, three times a day, for nearly three months. It was very painful at first, but then became routine. A very good nurse took care of that.
Indeed, it was very traumatic in the beginning, but I soon got over that. Because of the good treatment, the marks from the wound are not very obvious. Naturally, the expense involved was considerable. And, of course, it was impossible to trace the ownership of the dog. It probably would have been a waste of time anyway, as the owner would perhaps not have been able to pay. As I said at the time, it was undoubtedly the most expensive dog in the Philippines!
I hope I have not bored you with all these details, but I certainly want to thank you for the very good article. I support everything you said one hundred percent. Do continue the good work, and we hope that this situation will keep improving.
Best wishes and God bless,
Fr. John O’Mahony, SVD
My reply:
Dear Father O‘Mahony,
May I begin by saying, Marami pong salamat! Thank you, Father! Your email is a picker-upper and more importantly another one of God’s funny ways of letting me know that I am doing something right.
Reading through your story, I was horrified not only by the extent of your physical suffering, but also by the mental trauma the experience brought. I am sorry that you had to go through all that. May I be allowed to share that what particularly struck me about your email was how kind and gracious you were in describing the people who attended to your needs and gave you medical attention? It was not just a reaffirmation of our capabilities as doctors and health professionals, but more of a recognition of how we are as a people and that we are worthy enough that you decided to stay and serve and be one of us.
To share a little about myself: I am a pediatric infectious disease doctor, and I took the opportunity and agreed to be a columnist because I wanted to have a wider reach in espousing the benefits of prevention in my own little way. The Philippines and the health situation is a work in progress and things can sometimes be frustrating, but I wouldn’t wish to be anywhere else but home.
Father, you are an answered prayer. Thank you for taking the time to write and encourage me. Your words are precious!
Please stay healthy and, hopefully, our paths will cross. God Bless you more.
Sincerely yours,
Fatima