Don’t Miss The Opportunity To Say “I Love You”

December 6, 2017

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  Good day, DJ Chloe!

  Please call me “Guy”. An avid listener of this awesome station and of course and Chloe’s Inbox. I’ve been an active reader and commentator of almost every letter sender in your program. And it never occurred to me that I’ll be writing to you too, until now. Panglima ako sa anim na magkakapatid, three boys & three girls.

  And sa mga kapatid ko, pinakaclose ako sa ate ko na panganay namin. She just turned 50 last September, and I can say, marami na rin siya napagdaanan. She didn’t finish college, nakapag-asawa ng maaga, she’s been through so many ups and downs. And after bearing three kids, she and her husband separated due to my brother-in-law’s womanizing ways. Pero naging mabait ang ate ko, DJ Chloe. Napatawad nya ang estranged husband nya, although against kami sa naging desisyon nya, wala rin kami nagawa nun. I don’t remember anyone na nakasamaan nya ng loob o nakaaway ng ate ko. All those struggles that she’s been through, I never heard her complain or never saw her give up. Itinaguyod nya mag-isa ang tatlo nyang anak. And she was able to give them a good life. Nakikita namin na hirap siya sa buhay nilang mag-anak.

  Palipat-lipat ng bahay, paiba-ibang trabahong pinapasok. May mga sidelines din para kumita lang ng extra. Ganyan kasipag ang ate ko, walang reklamo, lahat kinakaya. ‘Di kami perpektong pamilya, ‘di kami ganun ka-close sa ibang kapatid namin. Lalo kaming napalayo sa bawat isa nu’ng nagkaroon na kami ng kanya-kanyang pamilya. Naging busy na rin lahat sa work kaya wala naring oras para magbonding. Minsan nagkakatampuhan pero ‘di naman dumating sa puntong grabeng awayan. May mga nasasabi akong nakakasakit sa kanila, may nasasabi sila sa akin na sa una’y ‘di ko maintindihan. Minsan nga, namimisinterpret nila si ate sa mga ginagawa niya. At some point kasi, our eldest sister wear clothes na para sa kanila, inappropriate para sa edad niya. Kadalasan din pinapagalitan siya dahil ‘di sya naiintindihan. Of all these harsh things they said to her, she remained cool and patient. As for me naman, go lang kung san siya komportable at masaya. Kaya nga kami nagkakasundo kasi pareho kami ng hilig pagdating sa genre ng music. Both of us loves the 80s & 90s music. She was there for us nu’ng nagkaproblema kami ng asawa ko. Andun din siya whenever we needed her help. Ganun kami ka-close, DJ Chloe. Until December last year, she was diagnosed to have stage three lung cancer. Shocked kaming magkakapatid pati mga anak niya. At that time kasi, kami lang magkakapatid at mga anak niya ang nakakaalam ng sakit niya. Kahit ang aming ina, wala ring kaalam-alam pa. ‘Di kami makapaniwala sa nangyari sa kanya. Siya na walang kahit anong bisyo, dinapuan ng ganung klaseng sakit. I cried in front of them when I learned about it. When she finally learned about it, nabigla din siya at naiyak. Pero naging matatag siya and told us and the doctor that she’s eager to fight the disease. She also said, tanggap niya kung ano plano ng Diyos sa kanya. She’s been in and out of the hospital since then, DJ Chloe. Daming chemo at iba’t ibang procedures ang pinagdaanan niya. Kita namin ang hirap niya, pero nagagawa niya pa ngumiti at magpakita ng katatagan sa amin. Dahil sa ipinamalas niyang katatagan, we, her siblings, regained our strength to fight for her, fight beside her, and fight with her.

  Nagkaroon kami ng bonding time magkakapatid dahil sa kanya. Naging close kami lahat sa isa’t isa. We were a family again because of her. And we saw her, despite her pains, naging masayang muli. So we stood by her in everything: chemos, procedures, etc. Sinasamahan namin siya every check-ups, even sa pamamasyal. We felt the love for our family then. And we were so happy. We even gave her a surprise party last September, her 50th Birthday. All is well and good back then. Until, for the nth time, she was again rushed to the hospital due to shortness of breath. At that time, our mom was also confined in another hospital due to a freak accident.

  And I was the one attending to our mom’s needs. Nagkaroon ako ng time dalawin siya noon. Except for our elder brother who was out of the country, nandun kami lahat magkakapatid. I saw her desperately catching her breath. She was conscious then, so I whispered and told her that I love her so much. “Ate, tuloy ang laban,” sabi ko. I massaged her legs and feet like I used to. After that, dahil kailangan ko na bumalik sa kabilang ospital para bantayan ang nanay namin, nagpaalam na ako sa kanya. Only to find out a few hours later, na ‘yun na pala ang huling pagkakataon na makikita ko siyang buhay. Her eldest daughter called me crying and told me that she already gave up. Just like that, and she’s gone. Wala na ‘yung ate ko. Iniwan na niya kami. Iniwan na niya ako. It broke our hearts. It broke my heart. It will never be the same again. We’re going to miss her. I’m going to miss her. But like what they say, “Remember how she lived her life and not how she died.”

  Guy

  Hi Guy,

  Sana nasabi mo sa ate mo how much you appreciated the fact that she is/was your sister.

  Kaya nga never miss an opportunity to tell your loved ones how much you love them, your kids, how much you love and care for them. Your siblings, your parents, kasi sa totoo lang we do not know when our time here on earth will be over.

  Kaya forget the hatred and just always love. Kasi walang natatalo sa nagmamahal.

  

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