BENCHWARMER

Two patients just a call away for Samaritans
RAMON S. DACAWI

BAGUIO CITY -- The families of two patients – 27-year old kidney patient Cesar Kimpay and 53-year old breast cancer victim Cristina Lagasca – have appealed to Samaritans to help them cope with these medical crises that have left them drained financially and emotionally.

Cesar, the eighth of 10 children of a retired miner in Lepanto Mines, was diagnosed for chronic kidney ailment at the St. Louis Sacred Heart Hospital here. Since then, he has been on twice-a-week hemodialysis averaging P3,000 per session.

The family has been dependent on a P3,500 monthly Social Security System pension of his father Luis, 69, for its subsistence. Most of the siblings now have families of their own, except for the patient and Roland, the youngest sibling at 25, who stay with their parents at Paalaban, Paco, Mankayan, Benguet

Over at Pacdal barangay here, Cristina, an unemployed mother of three, is due for her fourth round of chemotherapy on August 22.Last week, she also started a daily radiation therapy for 25 to 30 days which her doctor advised to be done in-between the chemo sessions.

Olga Joy, her youngest of three children, said one chemo session averages P22,000. the bill for the radiation treatment was pegged at P4,000 for the planning fee and P600 per daily session. For years, Christina’s husband, Daniel, provided for the family as a caddy at the Baguio Country Club, until he was forced to rest due to heart ailment.

Cesar’s mother Percenia was at the provincial social welfare office in La Trinidad, Benguet last Tuesday. Provincial social welfare officer Juana Bannawe explained that her office could extend limited support, with the budget spread too thin because of their big number of indigent patients.

For Samaritans, the patients are only a call away. They can ring up Cesar at cellphone number 09092773496 or his father at 09207342682. They can get in touch with Cristina through Olga Joy’s number 09184524903 or course their support through the Pacdal barangay hall near the gate to the St. Joseph Church. – Ramon Dacawi.