ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider The will to live: Sick father with visually impaired kids touches the hearts of netizens

The will to live: Sick father with visually impaired kids touches the hearts of netizens

Published Jun 17, 2023 10:58 pm
A 56-year-old father suffering from spine disease has touched the hearts of netizens with his plea for assistance --- not just for himself but also for his two visually impaired sons. Edgardo Roa with his sons Charles and Edel who both suffer from congenital cataracts\. Charles was also diagnosed with special needs\. \(Photo courtesy of Edel Roa \| Facebook\)
On Facebook, Edgardo Roa from Montalban in Rizal expressed his need for help --- particularly for his nearing spine operation. "I was told by a doctor that I am 50/50. It is either I will eventually suffer from stroke for the rest of my life in the future or the disease in my spinal cord will spread," he said in a mix of Filipino and English. The said Facebook post has since garnered thousands of reactions and shares.

No time for rest

A single father, Roa used to work as a street sweeper but needed to rest to prepare for his upcoming operation. Despite this, Roa could not find time to rest as he needed to look for ways to provide for his two children suffering from eye disease. Roa now works as a garbage collector and earns P20 per sack daily. "Each sack of garbage that I dispose of is 20 pesos. Sometimes I get to collect three bags, but it is rare. The money I earn is just enough for rice. Sometimes, my children and I eat rice with oil, and Edel's pocket money for school is just P5 and a piece of bread," Roa said. Roa's family lives in a shanty in Montalban Rizal\. According to Edgardo\, his wife left them in 2012\. \(Photo courtesy of Edel Roa \| Facebook\)
His sons, Edel (12) and Charles (13), who was also diagnosed with special needs, suffer from congenital cataracts and need continuous medical attention. Roa's little to no income was simply not enough. This prompted him to post online, seeking help from the public. "The steel that I need for my spine operation costs P260,000, but Malasakit (Center) will shoulder it. I now only have to collect money for other hospital bills. I hope you can help me; I want to live for my two children," said Roa. Due to hardships, Roa admitted to considering leaving his children to other people. "It was 2012 when my wife left me, and I thought of just leaving my children to other people, but I did not do it as I love them so much," he said.

Help goes a long way

After his appeal reached many, Roa said that various individuals reached out and sent him money and food assistance. While he is more thankful for all the assistance he has been receiving, Roa expressed hope that people will help him with his operation and the everyday living expenses of his family. This Father's Day, Roa could not help but wish for someone to help him have a small livelihood and for his continued medication. "I also wish to have a used bike so that we would not have to walk long distances when going to school," he added. *(Note: The responses of the interviewee were translated into English)*

Related Tags

Father's Day
ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.