My friendship with Gie goes as far as year 2000 when we both worked for the same company. She was hired a month after me, and we hit it off right away. We were constant lunch buddies and we would cover for each other whenever there's a need to..hehehe...After a year, I transferred to a different company but our friendship remained. Through the years, I've seen how tough she is - taking care of a "special child", making occasional trips to the doctor for her kid's check ups - yet she never complained. I saw her strength all the more when a couple of years ago, she was diagnosed with a lump on her breast and had to undergo an operation. I was in constant communication with her through text this time because seeing her personally was not possible because of our busy schedules and knowing Gie - she would only advice us about what she went through when she's done with it.....And that was what happened....One day, I got a surprise txt message from her saying "hi friend, please pray for my fast recovery, i just went through an operation"....Shocked as I am, I replied "yes, will pray for your recovery, hope everything goes well" ...and indeed she had a very fast recovery. Her operation had made our barkada - all four of us, RB,Moi,Wins and Gie- more closer. Along came with it was the change in Gie's lifestyle, particularly with the food she ates...I can clearly remember how Gie would have a lot of questions and instructions on how she wants her food to be prepared - less MSG or none at all, separate chicharon on the pinakbet, very little soy sauce and no meat.....We would even tease her that our food might not taste anything because it looks like there are no more seasoning or flavoring left on the food....hahahha...Almost two years ago, RB was about to migrate to the U.S. and we had some despedida lunch for him...Just as we expected, the pizza that we ordered was all meat, so, since Gie was there, she scraped off all the meat on her pizza and gave it to me, and she ate the veggies and crust instead...It seems like every thing's ok for her, haven't seen her in about a year, until last month, when I forwarded her a Mother's Day greeting she replied, a day after -that's soo Gie- and the message said "gud pm frriend, thanks for the mother's day grtg dat u sent ystrdy. I truly appreciate it. Nsa mla k b? I undrwnt open heart surgry 2wks ago, April28,excision of left atrial myxoma. haus nko, may4 p ko nadscharge,am betr nowand stil recovrng.Praise God! Succesful yung operation & not cancerous yung myxoma."...And that was a bomb! I told her "yes, i'm n manila..grabe, you surprised me na naman with your txt, will pray for your recovery..take care"...Amidst all these, Gie, still manages to smile and look at the brighter side of life. Not once did I hear her cry out asking why such things happens to her, even when she was wearing bandanna because her hair was falling from the laser treatment she underwent in her previous operation. These things never seemed to bother her. she takes them lightly and always with a smile. Today I checked her she was fine, in fact she can even make a joke about her recent operation already ....in her recent txt to me she just told me "i'm ok..recovered na, one month nako nadischarge, may tahi nga lang sa dibdib"....and I laughed. I haven't told her this but what she doesn't know is I look up to her for her strength, when I'm down in the dumps, I just have to think about how she handles life's trials and I'd be alright. Of course, it is a bonus for her that she has a very supportive, loving husband and two wonderful kids.Way to go Gie! Continue inspiring a lot of people.Mis ya my friend=)
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