The father is considered the pillar of a family. But when the pillar starts collapsing under the weight of medical struggles, the loving daughter will do everything in her power to share the burden.
Despite the despair, helping her father Mang Roberto get through his medical struggles is the motivation of Chris Basilides.
A devoted daughter, Chris narrated that her 80-year-old father has many illnesses and had been in and out of the hospital numerous times already.
All through those hospitalizations, Chris and the rest of the Basilides family quietly bore the financial, physical, and mental problems. However, the latest confinement of Mang Roberto, which has now spanned to weeks, has led Chris crying for help.
“Si Papa kasi meron po kasi siyang hypertension at diabetes, tapos nitong April lang po,nawalan siya ng malay tapos tumama po ang ulo niya kaya nagkaroon po ng bleeding. So, ang sabi po kaya po nawalan ng malay kasi meron siyang problema sa puso, baka daw po may bara, kaya lang hindi po magawa ang procedure para sa heart niya kasi meron pong pagdurugo sa utak. So, kinailangan pong maghintay para lumiit or hanggang sa gumaling ang bleeding sa ulo niya para magawa po ang procedure,” Chris told AICS Chronicles, one of the DSWD’s online documentaries, which chronicled her journey to help her father overcome his health challenge.
Prior to this latest hospitalization, Mang Roberto was observed to be displaying symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. This was because Chris’ father was always aggressively angry without any reason nor provocation even throwing things around.
The Basilides family, however, was not convinced. But after Mang Roberto had a seizure, they had him admitted to another hospital where the bleeding was diagnosed.
Getting the right diagnosis and treatment was a positive development, but the mounting bills made Chris extremely worried.
Suffering from anguish at the hopelessness of their financial situation, Chris honestly told the hospital that the family is struggling to meet the demands of Mang Roberto’s hospitalization.
It was more distressing as they did not want to give up the fight, no matter how high the bills would amount to.
At this state, the hospital led Chris to seek help from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
Chris shared: “May social service din po kasi yung hospital, nagsabi po kasi ako talaga na hirap kami sa pagbayad tapos sila po ang nagbigay sa amin, ni-recommend kami na pumunta dito sa DSWD, malaki daw po talaga ang maitutulong.”
Arriving at the DSWD with immense hope, but without expectations, Chris got a big surprise after seeking assistance under the Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situation (AICS) program.
Under the AICS program, those in crisis may request for medical, transportation, burial and food assistance which are provided through outright cash or through guarantee letters based on need and assessment of social workers.
A tearful Chris recounted: “Nung nagpunta ako, tapos nakausap ko si Ma’am Mary Ann (social worker), nung sinabi niya sa akin na ano, naiiyak ako, eligible daw po ang Php300,000, malaking bagay po yun. Malaking tulong po, kaya sobrang salamat.”
Prior to this, Chris shared that she was not well-informed about the AICS program, which was probably why she did not initially think of seeking help from the DSWD.
“Ngayon ko lang po nalaman kasi na, akala ko po kasi dati mga Php10,000, Php20,000 pero nung narinig ko kanina Php300,000, parang di po ako makapaniwala. Kaya talagang malaking malaking tulong po at pasasalamat mula po sa buong pamilya ko. Salamat po talaga,” the devoted daughter repeated with a mix of tears and smiles.
Although Mang Roberto’s fight to beat his various illnesses is far from over, Chris and her family vowed to stand by their father’s corner and help him get unlimited chances to recover and still lead a meaningful life.
“Hangang nakikita ko po na malakas siya, kaya niya, alam ko na lumalaban po siya kahit nahihirapan siya kung minsan, go lang po. Alam ko po na may tutulong na tulad ng DSWD kaya napakalaking bagay po talaga yung ginagawa ng gobyerno sa mga katulad po namin kaya maraming marami pong salamat po kasi nadugtungan po ang buhay ni Papa. Maraming maraming maraming salamat po ulit. Marami pa po kayong matutulungan. God bless po sa DSWD,” Chris said with positive conviction.
With the AICS program, the DSWD continues its goal of helping the many families in the country who are valiantly facing the strikes of urgent and unexpected crises in their lives.
Through the AICS program, the DSWD not only disposes its resources to good use, but dispenses hope, and extends that much needed helping hand, and sometimes, even chances to prolong life.
The AICS Chronicles is an online program of the DSWD aired over the DSWD Facebook page every other Monday, and hosted by Media Relations Officer Mel Cabigting of the Digital Media Service (DMS). (GDVF)
