coastal road treasures
Until a few days ago, I hadn't even heard of a hospital called Our Lady of Peace (not really surprising since it's a small hospital). There are only 100+ beds, and it's located on the coastal road right next to the toll gates in the cavite/parañaque area. I got to talk to Dr. de Villa and Dr. Velmonte, two maxillo facial surgeons who devote two days each week to this charity hospital. I even got to sit in on an operation on a 1 and a half year old boy with a cleft palate.
Hospitals have charity wards, but Our Lady of Peace is a CHARITY HOSPITAL. Patients pay only for medicines; everything else is taken care of by the hospital, be it the doctor's PF (who doesn't charge anyway) for a major operation or monthly consultations. That's a big deal for those who have trouble even raking in money for bus fare to go to the hospital (cases which these doctors have come across many times).
Great work, Dr. de Villa and Dr. Velmonte! And thank God there's Our Lady of Peace Hospital to enable such doctors to deliver real service to those who need it but don't have the money to pay.
Hospitals have charity wards, but Our Lady of Peace is a CHARITY HOSPITAL. Patients pay only for medicines; everything else is taken care of by the hospital, be it the doctor's PF (who doesn't charge anyway) for a major operation or monthly consultations. That's a big deal for those who have trouble even raking in money for bus fare to go to the hospital (cases which these doctors have come across many times).
Great work, Dr. de Villa and Dr. Velmonte! And thank God there's Our Lady of Peace Hospital to enable such doctors to deliver real service to those who need it but don't have the money to pay.
posted by sunnyday at
1:05 PM
4 Comments:
its heartwarming to know that despite the commercialization of the medical profession, individuals as mentioned in your articles are here to remind us that its not all about money. may their tribe thrive.
By
DearestWarrior, at 3:24 PM
i wish for the same thing, warrior. there are more of them, i'm sure, but seeing these two at work and knowing what they would really want to do is heartening as well. one of them even said, "when a patient is poor, the more it is necessary to perform excellent surgery because he has no money" for a corrective surgery--which is needed in cases where the first one was haphazardly done.
By
sunnyday, at 3:55 PM
Medical heroes...
this is a true conversation between a 14 yr-old cleft-palate kid and a mother:
child: why won't you have me 'corrected'?
mother: we (father & i) are afraid, you might die on the operating table like the other kid.
child: what's the difference? i die everytime i fail to do something because of this syndrome.
These heroes are not just giving better speech and better facial looks to a child, they are giving him a "life".
Thank you for writing about them and their noble deed.
By
AsianSmiles, at 2:55 AM
Hmm, I never thought of it that way. That's an eye-opener.
I also realized that for people with this kind (or worse) oral deformities, getting to take a hefty bite of a sandwich, or even smile uninhibitedly, spells a major difference between their pre-surgery and post-surgery life.
Btw, that sandwich bit was mentioned also by one of the doctors, recounting an experience she had with a young patient.
By
sunnyday, at 2:26 PM
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