Prayers from the heart

My mom told me the news about her friend Tita Dorie who is currently in the ICU again. Sad. :(

w/ Tita Dorie in 2009

This came from my mom:

My friend from high school, dorie tayag ang or boston lady is in the Intensive Care Unit of Perpetual Hospital in Laguna now. She was diagnosed with heart enlargement that affected her lungs due to the abnormal size of her heart.

KCAT CAN: As simple as 'thank you'

Thank you so so so much!

As simple as 'thank you'
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza
July 18, 2011

"Thank you” is a powerful and meaningful phrase.

Parents are grateful for their children, and vice-versa. Employees are grateful for their jobs. Sick people appreciate the latest medical inventions.

To be grateful is to count our blessings, acknowledge everything that we receive, and notice the simple pleasures in life.

Even though I am optimistic by nature and a grateful person even before I got sick, it is only now that I am learning to appreciate every single detail in my life, like breathing, taking a step, swallowing, and hearing even just one tiny sound. It is true that sometimes, we will never know what we got until it is gone.

Ferdie Caral will get better

Baby +Nate+ is an angel! Even though he already passed, his family remains an instrument of God in helping other 'sick kids' here on earth. I got this from Yan (Nate's mom):

Baby Ferdie Caral is diagnosed with congenital heart defect when he was 3-month old. His heart condition is called Tetralogy of Fallot. His family was advised corrective heart surgery immediately but because of lack of financial capacity, they were unable to do so. He is now 4 years old and his condition is getting worse. His delay of speech is an obvious indication aside from his dusky lips and nailbeds. Because of his developmental delay, he is also advised to do neurodevelopmental consult. However, first thing first! Fix the heart!

KCAT CAN turns 1

I was organizing all my scanned articles (not all of it were scanned though) a while ago when I saw that my 1st published column was in July 5, 2010 then I checked the date today and it's July 5!

HAPPY 1st Birthday

KCAT CAN!

(my very first column)

KCAT CAN: Hang in there, Four Turtles

Like me, Niccolo, Marie, Ashley & Dondon has NF2 as well and your trash could save their lives..

Hang in there, Four Turtles
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza 
July 4, 2011

Your trash may help save the lives of four siblings afflicted with the same rare disease…

In a Korean telenovela that I have been watching recently, a version of the famous fable “The Turtle and the Hare” was mentioned.

In the said fable, the hare loses in the race as a result of his over self-confidence. The hare challenges the turtle for a rematch and once again, the turtle wins. Why? It is a swimming race and turtle proves to be a better swimmer than the hare!

This reminded me of the Remigio brothers and sisters, or the Four Turtles as they call themselves. Like me, they are inflicted with Neurofibromatosis Type 2 (NF2).

KCAT CAN: God bless the child

"Let’s commit our children and their plans to God—knowing that He’s the only One who can help them truly succeed." (Proverbs 16:3)

God bless the child
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza 
June 20, 2011

I love children! I love playing and talking with them. One of my favorite things to do is to observe kids while playing, running around, or simply doing nothing at all. They can make someone happy even without putting much effort. They are naturally adorable in their own ways.

I was having a conversation with one of my friends and we talked about how the kids of today are far different from what we were during our generation. We did not have play stations, cell phones, computers, internet services, cable TVs, iPods, and other game consoles then, but childhood days were fun and enjoyable, nonetheless. We enjoyed playing a lot of street games with our friends, like patintero, tumbang preso, syatong, langit-lupa, piko, Chinese garter, etc. We enjoyed writing letters, doodling, and passing our slum books around. There were times when I thought to myself, “If only there had been Facebook and Internet before….” But then again, I would tell myself, “Good thing they were not invented yet, for I might not have had those beautiful childhood memories to cherish right now.”

One sad thing though is that there are a lot of kids these days who are staying in the hospitals, instead of on the playground.

KCAT CAN: Blessings shared

So far, 2011 is a year full of success and blessing and once again, we have successfully shared our blessing last May 21 through our annual MAY Birthday Project.

Blessings shared
by Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza 
June 6, 2011

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

It is really a blessing to be able to share because that means you have something to give.

MAY Birthday Project 2011: SUCCESS!

We made a lot of faces (both patients & their guardians) SMILE once again. Thank you to everyone who supported us! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

(group pic before the gift-giving)

We really scheduled my (very successful) surgery on an earlier date (last April) so that I would have been fuuly-recovered when the month of May comes and we could push through with my annual birthday gift-giving. God is great! Everything went more than what we have planned.