Lessons from the women watchers’ in an ICU

ALONG the hallway where sleeping people, many among them women, a few had hard paper boards as bed, some not even having a piece of cloth between their backs and the cold tiles. There was no space left around here to sit and rest our weary backs…

But one corner around a bend offered just a perfect place to settle, for a while... that is.

It seemed like I’ve gone through this before, just like a song, and each time it’s different.

This time it’s more painful, because then you know what is happening but you simply do not have the power to do something for someone you love. Even if you want to, when every part of you is crying out to people to be more compassionate.

There were mothers, daughters, relatives of the sick at the ICU who have endured days of uncertainty, waiting, hoping and clinging to the last vestiges of hope for their loved ones whom they cannot even be close enough.

But this is reality. Our health system is boon for the corporate business in health but bane for the poor who need real health services.

I have written about this topic over and over based on personal experiences and God knows not a few people have different reactions with what I have shared.

The poor can only grieve over the loss of love one’s lives because of circumstances that could have been avoided and could have been helped by our health system.

But sad to say under a capitalist system our health services will never serve the interest of the poor... For now, I will let it be…

They say when one dies, peace comes automatically. My fervent wish is that my sister Joselyn Ann finds eternal peace wherever she is now. May all of us who are living continue to work for genuine peace by doing what we need to do to make a better world possible. Because the BAD in society continues to wreak havoc when good people do nothing…