Patient Stories Series
(No. 4)
She gets her strength from others like her – battling chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) – with a firm determination to emerge victorious in the end. This gives her a sense of purpose and meaning in life, despite being diagnosed with the disease in 2012. Through her active interaction and involvement with her friends, who have collectively called themselves the “CML Warriors,” they have banded together to support one another throughout their leukemia journey.
Norma D. Mallari, fondly called by her loved ones and acquaintances as “Nanay Norma,” is also thankful that she is able to access affordable medical care through the Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital in Pampanga. A native of Santa Ana, Pampanga, Nanay Norma has three children with her former partner, who passed in 1985. She singlehandedly raised them, with the help of her relatives. The eldest daughter already has a family of her own, while her son and daughter are already grown up, and finding their respective places under the sun, so to speak.
Although the children visit Nanay Norma often, she longs for their regular company, and wishes they were still with her in their ancestral home, which is also home now to her siblings’ children and grandchildren. Her younger children check in on her, and provide for her needs, including her medical expenses.
Nanay Norma is grateful that through her involvement in the activities and events of the EPCALM Foundation, such as the Family Huddle, she gets to engage with other serviced patients, albeit remotely. She is also thankful for the support of her dedicated hematologist, as well as the open lines of communication with her children. Her good nature, brave, and friendly attitude are the attributes that she needs to keep her going. And most likely, these will make her win the fight against leukemia. (By Ralph Vale Joshua I. Solidum)
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