A 92-year-old widow is seeking help for her daughter with autism spectrum disorder in Fairview, Quezon City.
According to Mariz Umali’s report on “24 Oras”, the mother and her daughter caught the attention of the netizens after their video went viral on social media.
Despite having a big lump on her breast herself, the elderly mother is deeply concerned about the situation of her adopted child.
“Syempre, pag nawala na ako pano na siya? All my sisters are in States, wala akong mga kamag anak dito. Ewan ko if they will accept it kasi sila may pamilya rin. Hindi ko alam kung sino lalapitan ko. Kanino ko ihahabilin?” the mother said.
(How will she be when I’m gone? All my sisters are in the States, I have no relatives here. I don’t know if they will accept her because they also have families. I don’t know who to approach. To whom shall I leave her?)
She said her sisters had offered her a better life abroad but she chose to stay with her adopted daughter.
“Ang gusto nila nung araw ‘pag nakikita ako give her up and I will go to States with them. Pero di ko naman magawa. Napamahal na sakin ang bata,” she said.
(What they wanted before was for me to give her up and I will go to the States with them, but I couldn’t do it because I already love the child.)
The 90-year-old mother has boarders at home but they could not take care of her and her daughter for 24 hours.
“Yun lang po yung wish namin na magkaroon siya ng taga-alaga talaga kasi kung kami may trabaho po kami,” boarder AC Diego said.
(That’s the only thing we wish for her, to have a caregiver because we have jobs.)
Her daughter recently had a stress attack and suddenly hurt herself.
Fortunately, there were barangay officials and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) responded and brought her to the hospital.
The 90-year-old mother was also brought to the hospital for a check-up.
“Kung sakali man pong dumating ang pagkakataon na kailangan na rin may mag alaga sa kanyang anak ay nandito naman po ang pamahalaan para alagaan po at ‘yung problema po ni nanay, ‘yung kanyang predicament ay kami po ang aalalay,” Barangay Fairview captain Jonel Quebal said.
(If there comes a time when someone has to take care of her child, the government is here to take care of her and the mother’s problem, her predicament, we will take care of it.)
The DSWD said it was their mandate to support the needs of the vulnerable sector for them to live a good and normal life.
“Ang inyo naman pong DSWD ay merong tinatawag na mga residential facilities ano na kung baga nagbibigay ng tulong dun sa assisted living kung baga nursing home po ng ating mga kababayan na may special needs din,” DSWD spokesperson Rommel Lopez said.
(As for DSWD, there are so-called residential facilities that provide assisted living or nursing homes for our fellow Filipinos who also have special needs.)
The 90-year-old mother and her child were taken to the Veterans Memorial Medical Center.
“Ideally admission is best. Pwede namin sila pauwian ng gamot to address the pain na nararamdaman niya ngayon but of course para malaman natin talaga kung ano ang dahilan kung saan nanggagaling ang sakit may iba pang pagsusuri na kailangan,” VMMC spokesperson Dr. Glenda Pereira said.
(Ideally, admission is best. We can send them home with medicines to address the pain she is feeling, but of course, other tests are needed so we can determine the cause of the pain.) —NB, GMA Integrated News
