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Philippine Showbiz Today
February 8 - 21, 2019
Gary V resumes dream after health scare
Gary Valenciano believes it
was nothing short of a miracle
how he survived his health cha-
llenges last year.
To recall, the 54-year-old
singer-songwriter/performer un-
derwent two major operations.
First, he had an open-heart sur-
gery and then another procedure
to remove a malignant tumor in
his kidney area, which fortunately
was “confined and extractable,”
reports say.
“Yeah (I consider it a miracle).
The doctor came to my room two
days after the operation and he
was like, are you sure you are dia-
betic because you’re healing rea-
lly well. And then he looks at his
team, ‘This guy is a Type 1 diabe-
tic for 39 years and look at how
he’s healing,’” Gary related to The
STAR. “So, it was really miracu-
lous. Not to say, there won’t be
any challenges later on. But right
now, I’m living proof that I called
on God and He responded.”
Gary has always been vocal
about his faith, but he admitted
that his faith took on a deeper me-
aning because “I’ve gone through
things that nobody expected me
to go through.”
Gary shared, “I’ve come to
realize one thing: You can only
exercise faith when fear begins
to knock on your door. You can-
not say you have faith kung wala
yung mga things like fear, becau-
se when things are great, it’s easy
to say you have faith.
“When I was going through
this whole health challenge, take
note, it was from a person who
seemingly was supposed to be
healthy all this time. Yun pala may
block na pala na 95 percent puso
REYFORT
Joel Castro
Web Designer
www.joelcastro.com
Jose K. Lirios
Contributing Writer
niya. Then there was already can-
cer brewing na di ko alam.
“So, it got to the point, that I
humanly cannot do anything any-
more. Even if I took medicine,
what is that going to do against
cancer? Even if I went through the
operations, is there certainty that
it won’t come back? Is there cer-
tainty that my heart will be OK?
So all the more it strengthened
me to realize that really I can only
rely on God for Him to do things
that humans cannot do and that
medicines cannot do.”
Asked how he is now, Gary
said, “I’m doing really good. I just
had my first check-up because I’m
supposed to go every six months.
So, it’s been seven months ac-
tually since June. Blood is fine.
Everything is fine. They found no-
thing that is alarming.”
The doctor’s only instruction
is to modify his work so that he
can continue to work out and stay
in shape. Food-wise, he keeps
away from anything sweet and
salty. Presently, Gary is one of the
judges on the newest reality con-
test, ABS-CBN’s World of Dance.
And he’s back to playing
with his grandchild, biking again
and going to the gym, and doing
things he has always dreamt of
doing with the encouragement of
his family. “As a matter of fact, I’m
resuming my dream of visiting 35
universities for my 35th anniver-
sary (in the entertainment indus-
try).”
Last week, Gary was at the Uni-
bersidad de Manila. “I was able to
share my journey and try to hope-
fully impart a message na kayo din
may journey kayo, di pwede may
shortcuts sa buhay. If you wanna
get somewhere, go on a journey
through life. All the upside-downs
will teach you to become who you
are supposed to be.”●
- N. Tomada, PS
Autonomous
shuttle rides
in Civic Plaza
The future of driving is co-
ming to Surrey! If you’ve been
wondering what it’s like to ride
in an autonomous vehicle,
here is your chance to be one
of the first people to experien-
ce the self-driving shuttle ride
in Surrey.
Rides will be offered at the
Surrey Civic Plaza on February
1-4, 9-10, and 13-17 between
10am and 4pm. Rides take
approximately five minutes
and can accommodate wheel-
chairs, scooters, and strollers.
You can book a ride onli-
ne to skip the lineup, or simply
show up during times when ri-
des are offered!
Note: You will be re-direc-
ted to ELA’s booking site, whi-
ch is hosted in the USA. Any
information gathered during
your visit to this site will be
transmitted and stored outsi-
de Canada. If you are unable
or do not wish to register via
ELA’s website, please visit the
shuttle site in person during
operating hours to find a ride
time.●
www.ridewithela.ca