By Jann Reymund Tatad
VIRAC, Catanduanes – A nurse at a government hospital here wasted no time in responding to a call for help from a netizen asking for assistance from any medical personnel on social media to returning a dislodged a tube that fed his live-in partner’s mother.
The hitch was the elderly woman was staying in a remote area of the province.
Without any hesitation, Prinz Diana Sorra, a nurse at the Juan M. Alberto Memorial District Hospital here, readily volunteered, and responded to Leo Magtangob’s call on social media.
It turned out that the nasogastric tube that was inserted into the nose, and through the throat, to the elderly patient’s stomach was dislodged. And according to Magtangob, it had been two days since the patient had anything to eat because it was only through the tube that she could ingest food.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Magtangob narrated he did not hear any complaint from Sorra while they made their way to Barangay Carorian in the far-flung town of Bato, which is about 24 kilometers from here.
Magtangob even noticed how Sorra was even enjoying the travel although she still had to report for work at 11 p.m. that same day.
And when the job was done, and while after they made the long return trip back here, Magtangob said Sorra refused to get paid for job rendered.
According to Magtangob, he asked for help through a Facebook page of Catanduanes State University that they were in need of a nurse who can perform duties at their home because they are not able to transport the patient because of her condition. Through this post, Sorra was tagged by her college friends.
In an interview by the Manila Bulletin with Sorra, 23, a resident of Palnab, Virac, Catanduanes said she only wanted to help the patient because she was in an area that was far from any hospital, and that there might be nobody who could help here in Barangay Carorian.
The village only has a population of about 430.
"Gusto ko lang talaga makatulong lalo na masyado silang malayo, mahirap na pumunta sa hospital, kaya hindi talaga ako nagdalawang isip kasi naawa ako sa pasyente ," Sorra said.
Sorra, who has been working as a government nurse for more than two years, is asking for patience and understanding from netizens, particularly in some social media posts which have shamed hospital staff.
"Sana po dai kami i-judge pirmi kasi minsan may mga nurses na nagiging maisog na kasi super understaffed tapos kadakol pasyente tapos pirming delay sahod, may mga oras na talagang yasubok ang pasensya mo minsan talaga dai mo na matios kasi tawo lang kami
,” she said.
Magtangob’s subsequent post praising Sorra for her selfless gesture has become viral, particularly among netizens in this province.