OFW FORUM
Jun Concepcion
Elma dela Cruz, 39, a domestic helper in Hong Kong and a single mother, is battling Stage 4 brain cancer... and she needs help for support of her two children and aging parents.
She now awaits an imminent major brain surgery at Pamela Youde Hospital in Hong Kong’s Chai Wan district to remove 95 percent of the enlarged tumor on her brain that caused the loss of sight of her left eye. She faces loss soon of her right eye and other body functions – and even her life – if she doesn’t undergo immediate surgery to remove most of her brain tumor.
Understandably, she is gripped by great fears of what lies ahead of her. Severe headaches and creeping haywired body functions, caused by intensifying pressures of the enlarged tumor on her brain, are further aggravated by endless questions that plague her troubled mind.
“How long will I stay here in hospital? What happens to my children and parents if something bad happens to me? Can you guarantee I won’t die from surgery? What happens to my job after surgery? Where will I stay and how will I survive?” she asked Filipino Samaritans who helped her get admitted to a hospital.
She has every reason to fear the baffling uncertainties ahead since her choices are severely limited and dire.
“If you don’t undergo surgery, you will only have two to three months to live. But if most of the tumor is removed right away, you may live up to three to five years,” a young Hong Kong doctor told Elma bluntly.
Mustering whatever courage and clarity that remains in her flickering and constantly confused mind, she reluctantly gave her assent to on-the-spot hospital confinement prescribed by the doctor and eventual surgery. Elma’s battle with cancer began in July last year when she discovered that a lump inside her left breast was cancerous. Despite removal of her affected breast, her cancer silently and treacherously jumped to her brain in a space of just one year. And from early August up to the middle of this month, her Stage 1 brain cancer inexplicably and alarmingly deteriorated to Stage 4 or the last stage of the disease.
Despite her deteriorated condition, she initially insisted on flying home to her children and parents in Isabela, apparently feeling and fearing that her end is getting closer. Presumably, she wants to be in the company of her loved ones before she perishes. She is, in fact, already booked to fly home a few days after that eventful doctor’s meeting on August 26. With much reluctance, she dropped her trip home after repeatedly being told that she will only have up to three months to live if she flies home without undergoing a major brain surgery.
“I’m really scared of what will happen to me and my children in the future. Yes, I will fight on, but I need all the help that I can get. Will you help me?” she asked the Samaritans who assisted her.
Financial contributions to Elma and her family may be sent directly to her daughter – Dela Cruz, Aeryll P – who has a savings account at Philippine National Bank (PNB) with account number 228510030214. She can be reached via e-mail at [email protected].
“Since our father abandoned us years ago, Mama has served as the fountain of strength and support for our family. She has a big heart and readily helps any family member in great need,” Aeryll said. She recalls her mother rushing in July to raise P45,000 for bail and penalty to save one of her mom’s uncles from getting jailed over an illegal logging offense.
“Mama is a superhero to us. But even in the movies, superheroes get in trouble at times and they ask for help. Mama now needs help... badly, and our family appeals to those who can help us at a time of our greatest need. While we constantly pray for Mama’s health, we also pray for kind-hearted people who can assist us to overcome this biggest crisis in our family,” she said.
Elma has been working for over three years as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. But she’s been away from home for many years as she took up odd jobs elsewhere in Isabela to support her family after her husband took a job in the Middle East and abandoned them. A broken family, typical fate of numerous overseas Filipinos whose loved ones await a homecoming that may never come. In Elma’s case, she anxiously wants to come home, hopefully in better health and shape – with help from generous readers of this article.
Contact writer at [email protected]