JR’s dream come true

Thanks to Make-A-Wish Foundation (MAWF), McDonald’s Phil. was able to make a little boy’s dream come true. The little boy is JR. On August 23, his wish became true. He had wished for a birthday party with clowns and magicians. He said, "Clowns na nagma-magic, Ronald McDonald and cake and madaming regalo and balloons."

Yes, Ronald McDonald, the clown, was at his party. There was plenty of hamburgers and soft drinks, balloons, a cake, and magic. As for toys, his dream of having a toy car just like his neighbor’s, came true. He was given one by MAWF volunteers, and he played and horsed around and cruised around in his new twist car with Ronald McDonald beside him.

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JR is the son of Mrs. Imelda Tiangco, a public school teacher who is the sole support of the family since her husband Arnel, Sr. had suffered a mild stroke that has affected his speech and memory and made him unable to go to work. Arnel, Jr. or JR, is the third of four kids; his siblings are Elizabeth, 8; Arturo, 7, and Aaron, 2. JR. turned four August 20, but the McDo treat was held August 23.

JR, who has yolk sac tumor (cancer of the liver), used to be a patient at the Philippine General Hospital, going from one doctor to another, the last one being Dr. Balatbat. The TV program "Bisig Bayan" last year sponsored one of JR’s chemo sessions. His last demo was a year ago, but was discontinued because of lack of funds.

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Then JR was taken by his mother to the East Avenue Medical Center. After many tests, Dr. Mon Severino said it was imperative that JR undergo another series of chemo treatments ASAP and possibly an operation in due time. The Tiangcos were devastated; how could JR have more chemo treatments when they don’t have money to pay for them? But God answers prayers; Kythe Foundation, a cancer support group based in EAMC, will from hereon take on JR as one of their Kythe kids and find donors and sponsors for his treatment.

A MAWF volunteer says that JR seems like a normal, happy and healthy kid – "so malikot" – but what he has is actually Stage 4-cancer. "He’s such a sweet boy. After the check-up at EAMC, he never let go of my hand while we were walking to a nearby KFC for his mini-birthday blow-out that we gave him. My wish-teammate, Fritzie Plamenco, and I first met the Tiangcos on August 20 (JR’s birthday), as a sort of prelude to the actual birthday wish-granting that we were working on."

Mrs. Tiangco, according to MAWF volunteer Nizzi Regalado, "has her hands up in the air, literally and figuratively. She kept saying, when we met her, ‘Pinapasa-Diyos ko na ang anak ko,’ simply because there’s really no money for medication or treatment. They are still in debt from the previous treatment at PGH, and with looming expenses from another round of chemo, she simply doesn’t think they can manage it, besides the fact that there are three other kids – healthy, thank God – to consider. She has tried going from one charity group and government agency to another to look for money, but she cannot do that forever lest she lose her teaching job which is the sole source of family income. She’s thankful that her principal is considerate and allows her to be absent every now and then.

"I hate to be in the predicament she’s in, having to choose to let her sick go (ok, die), just so the rest of the family can survive. Euphemistically of course and resigned to her son’s fate, she says, ‘I’m offering him back to God.’ She is hesitant to go through with the chemo (considering the expenses involved), and the needed operation. She risks her job by being absent from work frequently as she has to look for sponsors. And besides, what concrete guarantee is there that JR will survive. It’s a moral decision, but who are we to judge?"

But with MAWF brightening up her and JR’s bleak world, a birthday party for JR would be "a last gift," as she puts it. "If I cannot give him medical care that will cure him, at least I can make sure, through you (MAWF), that I can make him happy this one last time while he’s with us."

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MAWF’s wish team has made that birthday party wish come true, thanks to McDonald’s. The team, made up of Nizzi, Fritzie Plamenco, Chili Reyes, Jill Uy, Butch Mercado and Nicole Jacinto who raised the funds from Manila’s Five Loveliest (c/o Love-14 Foundation) did the proverbial legwork in putting the wish together. Says Nizzi: "First thing was to contact McDonald’s Philippines – if not for actual sponsorship (which request was graciously accommodated), at least to make sure that Ronald McDonald would be at JR’s party. Then we shopped for the toy car that JR wanted and small tokens as well for the siblings, the parents and the lola."

Make-A-Wish Foundation is the world’s largest and most respected wish-granting organization. It grants one wish – any wish – to children, 18 years old and below, with life-threatening illnesses Œin order to enrich the human experience with hope, strength and joy," says Nizzi. Currently, the foundation has over a hundred chapters in more than 20 countries.

The Philippines joined the International Make-A-Wish family in October 1999 and was recently awarded affiliate status. Since its creation, MAWF-Phil. has granted close to 100 wishes of selected, wish-kids due largely to the dedication and dynamism of its volunteers.

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(My e-mail address is [email protected])