051109IW2

Taga sa bato

Even before the sun rises, throngs of people line up everyday in front of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) building for one purpose seek financial support.

Lining up in the PCSO compound has been Edens routine since her mother was diagnosed with kidney stones two years ago. Eden had to give up her job to take care of her Nanay Leonor. Now, instead of waking up early to get to work, Eden rushes to the PCSO building to be the first in line.

Aling Minda faces the same fate. Her son Jinky contracted a kidney ailment when he was just three years old. Since then, Aling Minda has been queuing up for PCSOs support for 21 years now.

Both Lola Leonor and Jinky need a kidney transplant, but they cannot afford the operations steep cost. The only way to sustain their health is through dialysis treatment, a process that cleans a patients blood. However, a session of dialysis costs P3, 000.00, and patients usually need at least two treatments per week.

To support Lola Leonor and Jinkys dialysis treatments, Nanay Minda and Eden relentlessly seeks help from all possible donors - relatives, friends, the local government and charitable institutions but still end up with insufficient funds. To help out in the expenses, Jinkys father sells lumpia and other street foods while Edens siblings sell fruits and rice.

The National Kidney Transplant Institute is one of the few hospitals in the country that accepts promissory notes from PCSO. But recently, the NKTI has implemented an advanced payment" scheme that now requires patients to pay first before receiving the treatment. This has caused alarm among the indigent patients who cannot even afford to have three meals per day.

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Animoy isang pelikulang patok sa takilya na pinipilahan ang Philippine Charity Sweeptakes Office o PCSO. Araw-araw kasi, dinaragsa ito ng daan-daang katao para humingi ng pinansiyal na tulong. Pangkaraniwang tanawin na raw ito ayon kay Eden. Alas tres pa lang ng madaling araw, gumagayak na siya para mauna sa pila at makahingi ng tulong para sa kanyang inang si Lola Leonor na may sakit sa bato. Tumigil na si Eden sa pagtatrabaho bilang mananahi mula nang magkasakit ang kanyang ina dalawang taon na ang nakakaraan.

Ganito rin ang sitwasyon ni Nanay Minda, pumipila siya sa PCSO para sa anak niyang si Jinky na may sakit din sa bato. Mula ng dapuan ito ng sakit noong siyay tatlong taong gulang pa lang, lumaki at nagkaisip na ang binata na ospital ang kinamulatang bahay.

Parehong sumasailalim sa dialysis sina Lola Leonor at Jinky --- isang prosesong medikal kung saan nililinis ng dugo. Pansamantalang lunas ito sa mga taong hindi pa napapalitan ng bato, at dalawang beses kada linggo dapat isagawa ang dialysis. Ngunit nagkakahalaga ng humigit-kumulang sa tatlong libong piso ang isang sesyon ng dialysis, hindi pa kasama ang gamot at iba pang gastusin sa ospital. Ang tatay ni Jinky, nagtitinda ngayon ng lumpia pandagdag sa pambili ng gamot, samantalang sina Lola Leonor, naibenta na ang lupain sa Pampanga para sa pangangailangang medikal ng matanda.

Pero ang isang malaking problema: iniba na ang sistema ng pagbabayad sa isang dialysis center. Dapat mauna raw ang bayad bago isalang ang isang pasyente sa dialysis. Mariing tinututulan ito ng mga pasyente dahil lalo raw itong pahirap sa mga katulad nilang mahihirap.

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