Moving on

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO

March L. Fianza

BAGUIO CITY -- Very early morning last Thursday, uncle Joe Z texted that Mondacs passed away. No wonder it rained early that morning. I had mixed feelings upon receiving Joe’s text at 6:57am.

That was early morning bad news, but at the same time, honestly I thought there was release. Finally, Ramon S. Dacawi, 68; stopped feeling physically distressed and said goodbye to pain.

In the past five years or more, Mondacs has been in and out of the hospital for treatment of a number of ailments that needed serious medical attention. Sometime in 2012, his chest had to be opened for the insertion of a stent in one of his heart’s arteries.

Mondacs always joked about being a “sweet person” because he was diabetic, reason why he had to tire himself by doing activities that needed physical movement. He had to perspire to remove the “sweetness” from his system.

One activity he thought up  was the award-winning Eco-walk at the Busol Forest where schoolchildren follow foot trails and plant Pine Tree seedlings at the same time. I noticed that just by giving instructions to the children, Mondacs would already be oozing with sweat.

Since the 80s, Mondacs never ran out of ideas and group projects, whether it was for the Pony Boys at the Pacdal bridle path; eco-walk for all school levels, teachers and other environment projects; or for the print and broadcast men and women.

When he started building his house, he said that he had to take the risk even if he did not have enough money to begin constructing, because if not, then he will not have a project that he intends to finish little by little.

He was also a philanthropist in his own right, having shared to others in need the finances he got from donor friends. In difference, some donors took this disapprovingly, failing to consider that Mondacs had that soft heart and distinct philanthropic attitude towards others in need.

Mondacs has an unquestionable loyalty to the head of office he works in, even if he knew that there was something wrong in the decisions of the office head. But he only wanted to do well what is asked of him. He also commits mistakes as no one is perfect. He also goes out of bounds.

When Mondacs started dialysis treatment sometime in 2015, a doctor friend said that a kidney transplant is still the best treatment for the disease. When I narrated the information to him, he disapproved of it. I knew there was some personal reason behind his disapproval.

And so he continued his dialysis treatment, going in and out of the hospital and getting confined for short and long periods. The longest time was when he was hospitalized for pneumonia while getting connected to the dialysis machine.

That was the time I decided to not go see him again because he was no longer the Ramon Dacawi I have been with for years. I want to remember him as the healthy, happy guy who always had jokes to tell from under his sleeves.

That fateful rainy morning, his spirit took the first trip to the editorial room in the sky. I assumed that the spirit had to release himself from the body that was no longer the physique that he used to live in. The body was a bag of skin and bones. That is not Mondacs anymore.

Although he was in pain in the end, Mondacs enjoyed his life as well as make people around him enjoy their lives. I enjoyed his company. And his story made me think that the ever watchful Maker who has control over all things has ways of mixing the right ingredients in a man’s life.

That is the only reason that I understand at the moment. I read somewhere that when someone has been in pain for the longest time, his Maker stops the pain by getting rid of the physical body.

I think so too. But I also believe that when someone passes away, it is a signal for those left behind to move on. Being familiar with Mondac’s wit, he would tell us to stop crying upon his passing. In fact many of his friends already cried when he was in pain. Time to rest painlessly Bos Mondacs. See you later.