DNL’s Speech during the Association of Philippine Physicians in Ohio (APPO)
Medical and Surgical Mission Closing Program at the Bohol Tropics Resort, February 2, 2006.
|
| ``Making a Difference in an Indifferent World`` |
(Greetings)
Tonight we are gathered to salute all the gallant men and women who have gone out of their way to
share a portion of their valuable skills and time for people who cannot afford the service they
are offering.
Although tasked to rise before such a distinguished crowd, I beg your indulgence for my inability
to personally convey my message considering the exigencies of the service that require me to be
away from my post at this most regrettable moment.
I cannot pass up the chance to relay my personal message however knowing that this gathering is
not like any other and also because Tagbilaran City must express its gratitude to you.
We are all aware how materialism has gained inroads in nearly every profession known to man in
nearly every part of the globe. Its adherents have increased by the day and infected even many in
the medical profession.
These days, it is no longer news to hear of hospitals refusing admissions to patients simply
because they are unable to make downpayments. In fact, the number of hospitals adopting this
policy is steadily increasing.
Unfortunate as it is, this policy is rather strange though because not many people prepare for
their hospitalization but are merely compelled to do so because the desire to take medicine is
perhaps the least desired by man among those that benefit him most.
Given this backdrop, it is therefore a sharp contrast, a refreshing change to face medical
practitioners, among the best and most respected in their craft, who actually do not just expect
patients to make initial payments. In fact, you have no intention of collecting payments this
time.
As I mentioned earlier, the gospel of materialism has invaded practically every endeavor in life.
Time was when physicians faithfully commit themselves to the Hippocratic Oath, to the task of
administering treatment to heal broken people and give them back their lives.
Today, there are many who do so only when their pay is assured. When there is no assurance, they
refuse to administer treatment to hurting people. Never mind if in the process they will forfeit
opportunities to heal the sick and alleviate the pain. Some of those lives they turn away will be
crippled for life, others even lose their lives.
You are a special breed of healers however. Even though you are employed in the most advance
hospitals and centers of wellness, you have not forgotten the least of your brethren. You have not
allowed your comfortable surroundings to make you neglect and forget those who are not
comfortable. Even when you are protected by walls of security, comfort and privilege, you chose to
overcome those walls just to make a difference in the lives of the least fortunate.
Since January 30, you the members of the Association of Philippine Physicians in Ohio (APPO) led
by Dr. German Neri have silently but unmistakably shared not only your talents but your very lives
to people who could not have availed of your skills had you chose to limit yourselves to your
comfortable confines back in Ohio. Many of the people who availed of your services may not even
have thought for a single minute about Ohio prior to your coming. From this day on, for the rest
of their lives, they will treasure the memory of having been given a lease on life simply because
the APPO dared to cross the seas just to make a difference to people like them.
To most of the patients who have availed of your services and those who will avail of them, this
gesture will be a memory to last a lifetime. In case you did not notice, most of these patients
had been waiting for the treatment that you offer them for a long time.
There are some who are willing to pay but do not have access to specialists in this part of the
country. Most patients however simply could not afford the expensive treatment that specialists
demand. These people are like the sick man at the pool of Bethesda whom Jesus healed in one of his
miracles. They are not exactly sure whether they are actually waiting for treatment or death
itself.
This is a world where many poor people have gone so cynical they have lost not only hope, but
dignity. These are people who think that the world owes them a living. In blaming the comfortable
for their miseries, they demand help but do not appreciate it.
Most of the time, gratitude is the last thing on the mind of desperate people. Ingratitude however
is one thing I don’t want the City Government of Tagbilaran to be known for. It is precisely in
behalf of all the beneficiaries of this medical mission that we express our collective gratitude
to all of you who made this activity successful.
Definitely, we cannot thank you enough. What we are doing is that in our own humble way, even with
our meager resources, we press on with our dream to make treatment accessible to every
impoverished Tagbilaranon. We have devised a modest scheme where the city government will ensure
that no resident of the city will be turned away from the government hospital just because he is
poor.
Long after you have returned to your respective homes, to resume your life after this missionary
trip, you can somehow feel a reassurance that your humanitarian gesture through this medical
mission has not been in vain. It will live in the valiant effort of the men and women of this
little city to give poor people access to treatment.
Outwardly, the similarities may not show. And yet inwardly, we share a vision that we know will
allow us to share the memory of this event look after this Medical and Surgical Mission has drawn
to a close. It is the desire to make a difference in an indifferent world.
William Shakespeare once said that the miserable have no other medicine but hope. Here in
Tagbilaran, it is our commitment that the miserable will not only have hope but will in fact have
access to medicine. This is a commitment we make to them, a commitment we make in your honor and
memory. Thank you and good evening. |
 |
|
