Written By: Mikee Pasaporte
I believe that people in the good ole days never imagined that we would have to pay for the basics in life. We pay a good amount of money to drink potable water. About 25 pesos per liter, depending on the brand. If your palate is selective and craves for artisan water, then you’d be paying more for a bottle of water than a liter of gasoline for your car. There used to be this joke about having to pay for air one of these days. But did you know that some people have to literally pay to breathe?
We have a 43-year old female patient who is diagnosed with Acute Respiratory Failure and TB Bronchiectasis. She has a tracheotomy tube and is dependent on oxygen. Day in and day out, the air we take for granted is the air they have to acquire for her to live. Despite this condition, she thanks God. She thanks God for a supportive family; for a husband who cares for and loves her; for her children who help her out in their free time after school; for each stranger who gives financial aid; for friends she has made along the way. She is thankful because through the midst of her condition, she is still loved.
There have been clinical studies in 2011 (Fredrickson), which according to the author, when people open their hearts to positive emotions, they seed their own growth in ways that transform them for the better. *
Love is in the air that she breathes in…Love is in the air she breathes out. For every breath, there is hope. Hope to make a difference in someone else’s life. Their family has been active in supporting fundraising activities (like benefit concerts, since her husband’s friends are band members), not only for her, but also for other patients who need medical aid.
*The complete clinical study is found at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3156028/