REFLECTIONS : What Think You ?
A former classmate-friend in her 90s called to announce that she was flying back to the Philippines to tend to her husband ’ s grave . Both , having spent most of their medical careers in the U . S ., had always found satisfaction in watching their two sons follow in their footsteps .
In retirement , the couple indulged in travelling on cruise ships and reconnecting with relatives in the land of their birth .
On a hill overlooking a peaceful tropical landscape , they built their last home . Now that he is gone , she shuttles between the islands and here , to visit her sons in the U . S . She has , however , left word that she be laid beside her erstwhile mate when it was her time .
Lucky this friend is , to be able to plan and discuss wishes about her life ’ s ending , with equanimity . Most of us mortals are not prescient on the end of the lives we encounter . Consider a supposedly healthy person collapsing after a run , a teenager unable to be aroused in the morning , a baby unresponsive in his crib .
by TERESITA BACANI-OROPILLA , MD
Yet , a spouse or elderly parent , no longer be able to recognize any loved ones , might linger on for years . What about the victims of the most recent virus , this evil that has taken a heavy toll around the world ? Caught unaware , we mourn their loss and try to mend our broken minds and hearts .
Would that transitioning from life into death could not be so painful . That was the goal of known humanitarians like Mother Teresa of Calcutta who picked up the abandoned sick and dying and gave them relief . I think too of Father Damien of Molokai who gave lepers back their dignity .
In our modern world , not all is lost either . With much scientific research , dedicated people are trying to anticipate and alleviate suffering by identifying the causes , and finding the cures , for everything that ails us .
Would that the spark of entrepreneurship and the goodness that propels them never be extinguished .
Would then , that by these efforts the inevitable passing of lives as we know it be gentle and peaceful : that , I believe , was what my friend was telling me .
Dr . Bacani-Oropilla is a retired pediatrician and psychiatrist .
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