Farmer’s wife in search of Samaritans

 LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Developments for the worse – medically and financially - have been too fast for Marco Joseph Ogas, a 51-year old vegetable farmer and father to four from Alapang Proper, La Trinidad, Benguet.

 Last May 19, he was brought to the Benguet General Hospital after he threw up blood and was experiencing severe stomach and back pains. The following day, he was at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center to begin his life-time hemodialysis treatment for kidney failure, spaced at three times a week.

 Last month, Delia, his 49-year old wife and fellow farmer, with the help of friends, sought media publication of Marco’s  plight. Like the spouses or close relatives of many other dialysis patients, she had no recourse but to make a public appeal for help to sustain the blood-cleansing treatment that is one of two options for those suffering from total kidney failure.

 The other option is a kidney transplant. It’s only for those who have relatives willing and physically able  to donate an organ which can pass the tissue matching, and have  at least P2 million for the procedure and the healing.

 The couple’s three sons and daughter may be too young to serve as organ donors. Neston, the eldest at 23, finished high school and works as a helper earning P300 a day. Jason, 21, finished elementary education and has no work, being a person with disability. Daughter Kris Cyril, 19, is in fourth year college while Nicojim, 17, is a high school graduate and now out of school.

 In her report, social welfare officer Melanie Sahoy said Delia told her Marco had been taking maintenance medicines for hypertension for almost 10 years. After their marriage in 1991, the couple settled in Alapang.

 “They were able to build their own house in 2006 from the savings of (Delia) who worked as a domestic help in Kuwait,” Sahoy noted.

Marco is at the dialysis room of the BGHMC  at 8:00 p.m. every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for his treatment. Otherwise, he’s at their house at BC 66, Alapang Proper, La Trinidad.

Donors may contact Delia at cellphone number 09484470319.

Meanwhile three Samaritans pooled support totaling P24,600 for 43-year old Nancy Bugnay, another dialysis patient and mother of five from Pongayan, Kapangan, Benguet.

 The biggest donor, who regularly reaches out to patients whose plights he reads from the local weeklies, coursed P15,000 through Nancy’s son, Edward.

A woman who also declined to be identified wrote a check for P6,600 (good for three treatment sessions) which she left with the nurses at the BGHMC renal treatment room.

Another gentle soul from Bontoc, Mt. Province sent P3,000 through a GL bus plying the route to Baguio. He or she must have been the  same kind stranger who earlier sent P3,000 each for patient April Sakiwat and his nephew, Robert Tomas. 

“We don’t know how to address the donor to thank him or her, as he or she declined to be identified,” Divina, mother of Robert, said. “He or she  just texted that we go get the cash support from the conductor of a GL bus with body number 928.”

 From southern Germany, Shoshin Kinderhilfe, the small foundation established by Bontoc native and Shotokan karate teacher Julian Chees, recently provided school fee support to two girls trying to pursue college courses.

 SharmaineBoquiren,  whose mother, Rhoda, sorts out garbage and a third year commerce student at the King’s College in La Trinidad, received tuition fee support totaling P2,746, while Cherry Anne Realina, freshman information technology student at Data Center, got P4,130 fund assistance. – Ramon Dacawi