‘Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good people?’
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza
September 17, 2012
It was early in May when someone sent me a message on Facebook and asked me if I could re-post on my wall about a baby who was in urgent need of blood donations. I obliged and I got to know Baby Yvan Calimlim.
The third child of Heart and Andre Calimlim, Yvan was born on April 12, 2012. Like his two older siblings, he was born premature but was stricken with Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome (neonatal pneumonia), a breathing disorder which occurs in newborn premature infants whose lungs have not yet fully developed. He was also diagnosed to have sepsis, blood poisoning that is life-threatening.
There came a point when Baby Yvan’s chance of survival was at 50/50, and almost every part of his body was hooked on tubes. He silently cried in pain, breaking his parents’ hearts into pieces. “Sorry anak kasi nararanasan mo ang ganitong klaseng hirap, napakasakit para sa akin na nakikitang itim na ang braso, kamay, hita mo sa turok ng karayom kada araw, napakasakit,” Heart wrote in her letter for Yvan during his critical times.
Heart was also born premature and her son’s condition happened to her when she was a baby. But she survived and now lives a normal life. Heart realized that it is God’s way of telling them that Baby Yvan will survive, that they just need to encounter this in order for a miracle to happen.
A few days after his first month, Yvan was cleared of sepsis. From four different medicines given at high dosages, they were down to two plus one antibiotic and vitamins. However, Yvan could not breathe properly without any oxygen support. It was due to Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia (BPD), a chronic lung condition because of the neonatal pneumonia that he had. According to the Heart Lung and Blood Institute, BPD may get better in time, but they may need treatment for months or even years and continue to have lung problems throughout childhood and even into adulthood.
After two months in the hospital, he finally went home to be reunited with siblings, Yuri and Yana. Even with complications once in a while, Baby Yvan and his family are continuously fighting for him to have a better life.
Currently, Baby Yvan needs to be monitored regularly through X-rays and lab tests and needs to be hooked on oxygen tank as his maintenance 24/7. These, and a couple of antibiotics and vitamins, are the things that Baby Yvan needs regularly. This is why his parents launched a fundraising campaign to help them sustain their son’s medical needs. But despite being sick, Baby Yvan is becoming a happy child in his home. His family wants to see a healthier bunso with them.
Heart pleads, “I am still hoping na marami pa rin ako kasamang magdasal para sa kagalingan ni bunso and still support baby Yvan by supporting our fundraising campaign and buying from us. Sana hindi ninyo pa rin kami iwan.”
They are selling cute personalized shirts with three designs to choose from, and also handmade bracelets in different colors. Buy now and join Baby Yvan in fighting his way to a better life. Contact Heart Calimlim at 0933 329 6118 and visit http://www.facebook.com/helpforbabyyvancalimlim
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My friend Manong Joel is doing very fine even though he is handicapped and stuck in a wheelchair ever since he was a kid. He never questions God and is adjusting well, doing what he does best — creating music. “But now I feel somehow very helpless knowing that my sibling Lailane is suffering spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally and financially because of her condition; and I can’t do anything about it.”
Lailane Tangunan Bonilla, 45 years old, is Manong Joel’s eldest sister who was recently diagnosed with leukemia. She is currently living in the slums of Tondo, Manila with her husband and three children. She used to work at a factory near their place until it closed down. Aside from being a hardworking housewife, she works as a part time as househelper since her husband’s income as a security guard is not enough to sustain their living expenses. Despite the poverty, Laline is a cheerful person. Now that she is sick, everyone in her family is doing their best to help.
If you wish to know and help Lailane, contact Joel Tangunan at 09235818987 / 09196988225 or you can email him at joeltangunan@gmail.com
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Some people ask, “Why do good things happen to bad people and bad things happen to good people?”
Our family friend Tito Ronnie told me that it is one question that an unbeliever of God would ask. He said that an unbeliever would think that God is either not powerful enough because He cannot stop bad things from happening, or maybe He just doesn’t care.
Tito Ronnie also shared that since Adam and Eve committed a mortal sin, we are living in a fallen world. Everything that happens has a purpose. All sicknesses, all failures and frustrations are tests of our Faith in God and no good works or religion can save us. Salvation comes by accepting God in our lives.
You may or may not agree with the things that I said, but one thing is certain, be it something good or something bad that happens, we can always get something good from it.
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