Wounded warriors

I recently received a copy of a statement issued by the Philippine Alliance of Patients Organization and it reminded me of all those patients who have had to form their own lobby/support group just to get people to help out. So, for today, I’d like to share what I’ve discovered from the patients themselves:

Unlike real soldiers, they don’t get to take home leaves or finish their “tour of duty.” They are stuck there. Many of them don’t have a “logistics division” meeting their every need, and very few can rely on medics and base hospitals for medical attention.

Many of them did not train, volunteer or “Sign-up” for active duty. They simply found themselves fighting the fight of their life or standing in the gap for their loved ones, trying not to end up as casualty or statistics. The rest of us can only send help by way of supplies, cash, care packages and lots of prayers.

We too get scratched or bruised, but they are the “wounded warriors” fighting the different types of cancer, the “one in a million disease,” the heart disease from birth, the genetic imperfection, the mental health challenge, visual impairment or loss of sight, that those in the “normal” world don’t see, don’t know and can’t understand.

The reason is because we don’t talk enough about it, we are uncomfortable discussing such grave, life-threatening medical issues. The media and government only celebrate or observe and feature diseases as special days in a week or a month.

We talk about the disease like a science class presentation in high school. How to recognize, how to treat, etc., but rarely do we talk about the physical, mental, emotional, financial even spiritual struggles of a person with such life-threatening condition. Sadly, the patient’s family and caregivers are overlooked and left on their own.

I don’t know how many patients’ organizations there are in the Philippines but what I discovered is that most of them are DIY, set up by patients or family.

Establishing a patients’ group creates a platform where attention and solutions can be focused on each rare or life-threatening disease, but legislators are totally ignorant and the DOH is already overwhelmed with the “normal” everyday diseases and is low on funds. Ultimately, patients realize that they have to act, make all the noise, practically harass the powers that be for attention.

Their stories are not easy on the ears and heavy on the heart, but each one makes you understand the intensity, frustration, deep hurt and fear every patient and caregiver lives each day. If you haven’t heard or know about PAPO and Patient’s Rights group, now would be a good time to Google their membership to know the battles they fight every day.

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Incidentally, the umbrella organization PAPO or Philippine Alliance of Patients Organizations recently took the lead ahead of bigger organizations and stated their position concerning vaccines, dengue and disinformation and I include the key points below:

We support the Department of Health (DOH) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in promoting public health and safety through the rigorous evaluation of innovative strategies to control and prevent dengue, such as newer vector control measures and new dengue vaccines.

We recognize that vaccination saves lives and in 2021, PAPO launched the ‘Bakuna Now Na’ campaign to support the government’s Covid-19 vaccination roll-out by encouraging Filipinos, especially those with comorbidities, to get vaccinated against Covid-19. PAPO also believes that improving health literacy can lead to informed decision-making and can be achieved by:

• Accessing reliable sites on vaccine related information such as the website of the World Health Organization (WHO), the DOH and medical societies;

• Prevent spreading disinformation that can affect vaccine confidence;

• Discussing with medical doctors and other health care professionals the benefits and risks of getting vaccinated to come up with an informed decision.

We deplore all forms of vaccine misinformation and disinformation that has affected vaccine confidence to the detriment of Filipino children. Such disinformation has impacted national immunization coverage, leading to the 2019 measles outbreak of 47,871 cases and 632 deaths and over 1,000 pertussis cases in children in 2024. We call for stronger action against such malicious actions that have jeopardized the outcome of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Lastly, PAPO joins the Philippine government in supporting the WHO zero-dengue deaths by 2030 by advocating the multi-pronged approach to dengue prevention and control that includes diagnosis and case management, integrated surveillance and outbreak preparedness, sustainable vector control, future vaccine implementation and basic operational and implementation research.

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When I wrote about doctors and leaders in public health deciding to join the 2025 elections as candidates, I mistakenly placed Dr. Minguita Padilla as a senatorial aspirant. My BAD. Dr. Minguita Padilla is running for a congressional seat under the BHW or Barangay Health & Wellness Party-list currently represented by Rep. Natasha Co.

The BHW agenda is urgent and vital because barangay health facilities and workers are “the frontliners for all seasons.” They are the first responders on the ground in every barangay but have not been prioritized in terms of funding, manpower and infrastructure. Let’s keep that in mind and not forget their hard work during the pandemic.

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Mr. Chinkee Tan, the well-known wealth coach and entrepreneur, reached out last week to ask for help to warn people about online scammers using AI and images of public figures for fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes where an initial investment of P15,000 can supposedly grow to P45,000 almost instantly.

“Let me make this clear, these are nothing but fabrications, designed to fool the public. None of these reputable public figures are involved in endorsing any such investments. This is a blatant scam and it’s crucial to remain vigilant and critical of what people come across online – Chinkee Tan”