21/09/2020
โPWEDE PA BA?โ
4 people, yes 4, asked me that in just a matter of 10 days.
This pandemic has made it a lot harder for them.
2 of them I do not know personally, referrals. 2 are acquaintances.
All of them diagnosed with critical illness. Cancer and kidney failure.
3 of them relatively young, late 20s and 30s. The other one, early 50s.
You see, I know itโs hard for them. Itโs hard for their families.
It really pained me to tell them,
โI am so sorry, kaso hindi na pwede since youโve been diagnosed already.โ
They are now uninsurable.
I asked them, โWere you able to get any health insurance before?โ
All of them answered me, โNo.โ
Lahat sila walang coverage.
Isa sa kanila nagsabi, โWala nga akong nakuha dati. Ngayon ko na-realize na mahalaga pala.โ
โNahihiya na kasi ako sa parents at mga kapatid ko kasi sa akin napupunta yung kinikita nila.โ, sabi naman ng isa.
Ouch. But, what can I do?
I would love to help. I really do.
If only I had met them earlier. If only I asked.
If only.
I also take it upon myself because I never tapped the 2.
Letโs get real. Hospitalization and medical treatment are not cheap especially when youโre caught unprepared.
Just the thought that I could have done something for them - to ease the pain, to lessen the burden...
But then, I DID NOT ASK.
And that is on me.
I was afraid. That people I know will tell me, โNo, I am not interested.โ
Or worse ma-seenzone ako. Or worst, they never talk to me again.
I thought so much of what they will think of me that now I cannot be of any help to them.
Had I known. Had I known.
But of course, no one could have known.
No one would ever know when, how or why weโre going to get sick.
We are told cancer is an intruder to be fought. Like a thief in the night.
It does not bother to knock.
Thatโs why planning is important.
Defense. That's all it is.
We donโt plan on getting sick. We plan to take charge of our lives if anything happens.
So that this thief of an illness will not take away everything we worked hard for;
So that our families can continue to live their normal lives;
So that we can, at least, win half the battle โ which is financial stress.
I know kaya nila itong lampasan with Godโs grace!
Kaya sa mga kasama ko sa industriya, never be afraid to ask. You can change lives or you can help extend it.
We were given the license to be catalysts of that. Use it and use it properly.
These experiences have kept me up for a couple of nights.
I realized, not using this license to reach out to people makes me more of a curse than a blessing.
Oo, alam ko, mahirap ma-reject. Masakit.
Pero ang mas masakit pala ay yung malaman na sana nakatulong ka, kaso ngayon, wala kang magawa.
And to you, who are young and healthy, I hope you consider getting yourself that security.
Build your game plan.
If someone asks you if you can listen to them, I think 15 minutes wonโt hurt that muchโฆ
but it might be enough time to save you 15 years-worth of your savings if the doctor tells you youโre sick.
We can only do so much.
Still, your health buys you insurance.
Let me help you author your future! ๐
