Here in Davao City, Philippines, there is a place called House of Hope. It is a transient place for underprivileged children with cancer and their caretakers who live far from the Southern Philippines Medical Center (SPMC), one of the few hospitals here in the Philippines that has cancer treatment facilities.
The House of Hope began in 2003 with Dr. Mae Concepcion J. Dolendo, one of the only two pediatric oncologists here in Mindanao. "I was doing my daily rounds; that time, I met a father with his three-year old girl who was going through leukemia. For many days and nights, the father was the only one who was watching over the patient," Doc Mae shared. "When I asked why he did not have any substitute, he told me that his wife was outside the hospital, staying in the waiting shed with their five-month old baby whom she was nursing."
Dr. Mae arranged for the mother to be accommodated in the hospital canteen. "That was the only thing I can do that time. And that was when I saw the need for a transient house; most of the patients dare to go to the hospital, travelling from the countryside, with little or no money," she said. The rest is a long history of courage, faith, hope, miracles, and paper works.
Back in 2003, the survival rate of children with cancer was zero. After a decade in 2013, House of Hope data revealed that it has risen to 60%. The main reason for this is that children are able to receive the medication that they deserve without their watchers worrying about accommodation and food during the treatment. Thanks to Dr. Mae and to the people who shared their resources to realize this thing.
Yesterday, I had coffee with Dr. Mae and she shared something very heartwarming that happened last Christmas:
"During the previous holidays, the House of Hope had a Christmas party. I was really busy that I forgot that we were supposed to have exchange gifts. I wanted to join so I prepared PhP500 bill instead. The process of our gift-giving was to circulate it for a number of times; at one time, I got a pillow. Since I really liked it, I halted the rounds of the gifts and declared that the rounds were enough. Later on, as we were enjoying our gifts, one of the parents came to me and thanked me for my present because the money was exactly the amount that she needed for her child to be discharged from SPMC. We were so amazed! How the Divine works in ways that we cannot just decipher! There are a lot of miracles in our lives and we have to take notice of them because that is how we fuel that sense of wonder in this life."
True enough, there are thousands of miracles that happen everyday. It's time to open our eyes to the magic that appears.
Top photo: Dr. Mae Concepcion J. Dolendo in the middle is flanked by the patients, parents and watchers, and the staff; taken outside the House of Hope in Davao City, Philippines.
Photo courtesy of http://davaohandsofhope.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/hoh1.jpg
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