As soon as I turned around after praying to the various Marian images in the hospital lobby, I saw a cute, little girl, who must have been around 5 years old, head in my direction. I was pleasantly surprised when she gently took my hand and pressed the back of it to her forehead, after which she smiled widely and said, ‘Thank you.’ I was both touched and pleased because, for one thing, this traditional greeting of respect is not practiced as often as before, and, secondly, I didn’t know what I did to deserve her gratitude. Her mother came up to me and shared that they had just participated in a hospital activity. It was around 5:30 p.m., and I remembered that earlier that morning a younger colleague had excitedly told me that there was going to be a signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Education (DepEd) and our institution. The child’s mother went on to say that she was very thankful to our hospital for spearheading the program. Because of it, her child, who was undergoing treatment for leukemia, wouldn’t have to miss out on learning and could do so at her own pace. ‘Iba po dito, maging doctor, nurse, attendant, lahat po, kahit pagod, mababait po ang mga tao dito. Wala kaming masasabi. Maraming salamat sa inyong lahat.’
Her words got me misty-eyed, and I had to blink hard to hold back the tears. Just a few weeks prior to that chance encounter, I was engaged in a conversation with the same colleague who was telling me about a patient that they had sadly lost because he preferred to attend school rather than be on time for his dialysis sessions. She had always wished that our patients on long-term care who were hospitalized or attended to in our outpatient clinics because of chronic illness would have an opportunity to have a formal education. I understood where she was coming from. This was not only a way that they could continue learning but, more importantly, create a semblance of normalcy in their young lives.
Her dream, and I am quite certain, that of everyone who worked for it, had just been realized. Finally, our patients would have a chance to keep in step with their peers through the Alternative Learning System of DepEd. The ultimate goal is to ensure that patients wouldn’t have to leave the hospital or their bedside to attend class. Teachers from three public schools alongside volunteers who were involved even prior to the formalization of the agreement would be in attendance. Schedules, content, activities, and instructional materials would be provided for eligible patients. To my knowledge, we are the first hospital involved in such an initiative, and it is our hope that this would be replicated in other health facilities.
I chose to write about this for the dreamers and the doers, individuals looking for purpose or direction, those wanting to contribute both their time and effort but thinking that what they will contribute would be small, even insignificant, and selfishly, as a reminder for me and the others to focus on opportunities that are available rather than concentrate on what is missing, or who choose to start from the very beginning. As they would say, aim for the low-hanging fruits.
To map out how her dream had come to fruition, she started with a clear goal but an even higher purpose. She had a defined plan, and though she had her share of challenges, she was determined to carry it through no matter how long it took. She has always walked her talk, and in her pursuit, managed not only to get a team of like-minded doctors, but ultimately to win the support of the chief of the medical center.
All these provide evidence that anyone can dream big, especially if the intention behind it is to provide help to the majority. In the absence of politics to color honest intentions, things have a way of falling into the right places, making the journey a little smoother and easier to traverse. While it takes a lot of heart and a selfless spirit, one must also have the ability to lead with integrity and accountability. People, at least for the ones who choose to look closely, will always see you for who you are and not how you present yourself in the long run. If they see that you mean well, there wouldn’t be any need to explain or feel discouraged.
Help will always come in a thousand different ways and allow you to keep on dreaming bigger.