Saved by grace

“Siyempre tuwang tuwa ako kasi makakadugtong na ng buhay ko yun,” this is the reply of Ms. Grace Sibayan, a dialysis patient and Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO) beneficiary, when asked how she feels about the government giving her financial assistance.

It was in 2012 when she first felt the signs – swollen face, neck pain, nausea and vomiting, high blood pressure, etc. So, she immediately went to a doctor to be checked up. The doctor’s prognosis and the laboratory results showed an elevated level of creatinine which can lead to a malfunction or failure of the kidneys.

Since then she has been undergoing dialysis twice a week. Carrying the burden of having a chronic kidney failure and a not-so-bountiful life, she put walls around her and refused to talk to anybody. She lost weight and she was beginning to feel that she was not having quality life anymore.

However, her outlook in life took a 180 degree turn when one time, while waiting in line at the Isaac and Catalina Medical Center (ICMC) for her dialysis session, she had a talk with the other patients who were also waiting in line to undergo dialysis. Through them, she learned that the government offers financial assistance to dialysis patients in need. So immediately after her session, she went to the PSWDO to seek help.

Processing the necessary documents, she said was smooth and hassle-free, and so since 2013, she had been receiving the financial assistance she needed, which played a big role in the change in her perspective of the life she was on.

“Sobrang laki ng tulong, kulang na lang halikan ko si Gov.,” she jokingly said. I saw it in her eyes and felt it in her laughter that she was really grateful to the government for programs like this.

Currently, she is receiving P5,000.00 every 3 months. She said that if before, she used to think that when someone undergoes dialysis, that person is already about to die, but now, she looks forward to her dialysis sessions, she even feels some sort of excitement because she knows that every session means another chance to live, and what’s more, not a single centavo coming from her pockets.

Positive attitude, plus efficient government service, plus faith to keep her moving, indeed lead Grace, a resident of Brgy. Camacho, Balanga City, married and a mother of three, to a longer and happier life. She saved herself from being miserable, she is saved by concerned people, and she is saved by God.

Grace is indeed saved, by God’s loving grace.