1. Eli. he's six years old. a malnutrition patient who has the longest nguso i have ever seen. no, it's not a physical defect. he extends it every time he feels like doing so, which is like every 10 minutes. hehe. he is a very makulit kid who loves to play with our ID straps. His imagination is so vast that he said he'd like to be Superman. or he thinks he is Superman.

2. Annie. she's six. the little girl with super long eyelashes. she is so energetic and playful that you wouldn't think that she is a cancer patient. she used to have a shiny bald head but her hair is starting to grow now. she loooves the camera. when we took our pictures with her, she immediately pulled her mouth mask down and showed a large and pacute smile. she was being nebulized when we left. talon kasi ng talon kaya ayun, biglang napagod.

3. Jennifer. she has a huge lump between her eyes, bigger than her little 5-year-old fist. she has been confined in the UST Pediatrics for almost a month now and i think she'll undergo a surgery. the first time i saw her, she reminded me of my little sister when she was also five. i think it's because of the hair. kiara used to have short hair like Jennifer's. but i finally found the similarity with the way she talks so softly when around people and how she turned from a snob to an enthusiastic kid when she was handed her own coloring book and a box of crayons.

4. Erickson. he's only eight months old. a mestizo with deep dimples on both of his cheeks. Frenie described him as "the next heartthrob". his intestines are inside his chest, making it hard for him to breathe. i told his mom that he doesn't look sick at all but she said that sometimes, he turns blue in color. he will undergo a 4-hour operation this monday and i wish that God would be with him all throughout the surgery.

5. Nicole. she has the same illness as Jennifer's. she's only nine months old. she and her mom came all the way from Pampanga (or was it Nueva Ecija?) just so she could get treated. when we reached her bed, she was still sleeping. but after a few seconds, she awoke and her mother lifted her so she could stand. she was a bit groggy and her head was positioned on her right side. hehe. her eyes were very very pretty. the shape was like that of a hazelnut's. she is a very beautiful child.


when i left the hospital, i carried the memories of those five brave children. they are not like me who is weak and a trypanophobic. i would never have imagined myself going through the horrendous times when nurses would get blood samples and would have some drugs injected in me. i admire those kids. really. they may be afraid of a lot of things but they are fighters.

they brought out every bit of courage left in me. i want to be like them. i want to face the challenges in life without fear. i want to share to people that there is always hope, that giving up makes us bigger LOSERS. i want to be able to recover from the illness of materialism and prejudice and come out a renewed person.

there are just so many things that children make us realize. they may all be just kids but their perspective of life is much more mature than that of a 60 year old. Eli, Annie, Jennifer, Erickson and Nicole aren't a bunch of ill children. they are angels who would continue to inspire more people as they have done to me. God bless all of you!