My Life: I Survived Meningo

LUCKY BIRTHMARK
My name is Emer, I was born on Jan. 5, 1969, in Manila, Philippines. My mother, Clemencia, was an elementary school teacher in our barangay in Nueva Ecija, a rice producing province north of Manila. While my father, Numeriano, was a civil engineer at the Department of Public Works and Highways. I am the youngest of four siblings.

My parents told me that I was just an ordinary, healthy baby when I was born. Although they already noticed that I have a egg-shaped protrusion in my lower back, doctors in the barrio thought that it was just a birthmark. Some folks even thought that this would bring good luck to the family, so they were against removing this protrusion. But as months passed, this egg-shaped protrusion grew larger and larger, and I became sickly. So my mother decided to bring me to Manila to seek professional help. It was then that they discovered that I have a condition called Myelomeningocele.

Myelomeningocele or meningomyelocele is a neural tube defect commonly associated with Spina Bifida. It is congenital defect that occurs during the early stages of fetal development, wherein a certain part of the spinal cord failed to close properly. Nerves and cerebral fluids are displaced in this opening causing it to protrude. The result is paralysis of the lower extremities including loss of urinary bladder and bowel control. Patients who have this defect will also develop scoliosis or deformity in the spinal cord later on in life unless corrected early. Recent studies have shown that the main cause of this defect is Folic Acid deficiency.

But even the doctors my mother consulted were not unanimous in their diagnosis. Some say that I would not be able to make it through surgery, as the protrusion has grown so fast and so big, that it was risky on my part. While others, just outrightly sentenced me to death without even trying. It was a young doctor that my uncle referred, Dr. Bienvenido Aldanese, a Neuro-Surgeon, that gave my family a flicker of hope.

But that flicker of hope, came at a very high price. My parents were made to choose which part of my body they wanted saved. My lower extremities but I would have a damaged mental faculty or a regularly functioning brain but without the use of my lower extremities. Naturally, my parents chose the latter. So on my eighth month, my fragile and weak body underwent a rigorous twelve-hour surgery at the Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Manila.

Up to now I could still recall that fateful day when the lights above the operating table were like passageways to a different world and the doctors surrounding me were like gods as I lay helplessly in that very cold room. While my family patiently prayed and nervously waited for a positive outcome.

EARLY YEARS
My early years were spent going to the hospital often for physical therapy. It was very difficult for me, specially when I had to wear a leg brace that was heavy, for the very first time. I remembered waking up at night crying because I could not bear the pain and the inconvenience of the cemented splinters that doctors placed to correct my bones. Then there were the constant fever due to infection because I had lost bladder and bowel control, for which I had to wear diapers for the rest of my life.

What was even more difficult was the fact that I got separated from my family since my therapy was in Manila and my parents lived in the province. The only reason I was able to deal with the pain was because of my aunt, Belen, my mother's elder sister and also my godmother who took very good care of me and treated me like her own son. In fact, my cousins even got envious because of the special treatment I got from my Mommy. While my parents would alternately visit me weekly and provided me with all my needs. Slowly, I have learned to cope and lived with my condition. I have accepted my fate.

SCHOOL LIFE
My very first school experience was attending a makeshift class at the Orthopedic Hospital where I went for my regular physical therapy. I fondly recall my classmates were mostly paraplegics. Some were even in hospital beds. Our teacher, a volunteer nun, taught us how to read and write using an improvised blackboard. When my Mommy Belen saw my eagerness to study she enrolled me in kindergarten school the following year.

My preparatory year was my strong foundation in my pursuit for knowledge. My teachers treated me well, that is why it inspired me to study very hard. They even made me play the part of Santa Claus during our Christmas presentation, which was very memorable.

Elementary at Lourdes School of Quezon City, proved to be a more daunting task than I expected. I realized early on, that I had to double my efforts if I were to compete with my fellow students. Every simple task was a big challenge for me ever since. Like climbing the stairs, we had to hire a janitor just to carry me to the upper floors of my classrom. I could never forget Mang Bernard, who patiently carried me for seven years, even when at times my pants would be all wet because my diaper was already leaking. Also, realizing that I was different from everyone else and being teased by other children were hurdles I had to overcome. But despite the challenges, I was able to land consistently in the top ten of our class which made my teachers and family proud.

At the end of every schoolyear I went to our province for a grand vacation. There I played with our neighbors which I was not able to do in Manila. I spent some very precious quality time with my family. In the province, I felt I was free, I felt I belong there. The happiest time of my life was during summer time. But when summer break was over and I had to go back again to Manila for my schooling, I felt like I was leaving home, my paradise. I could still imagine the pain my mother went through everytime we had to say goodbye. It made me so sad that I cried the whole night. Not even the frightening voice of my uncle could stop me from crying, until I fell asleep.

High school life like with any other teens was a period of exploration. I began to meet well meaning friends. Socially, I was shy because I became conscious of the fact that I could be a "kill joy" to my peers. But despite that, one wonderful feeling about high school was having an admiration for someone. That someone was my Algebra teacher. It was really an admiration more than anything else, because of her "beauty and brain" not to mention how challenging she was in handling her students.

One memorable moment about high school was when I took the National College Entrance Examination, a pre-requisite in entering college then. I took that exam while I had a very high fever due to my Urinary Tract Infection (UTI). I was almost dizzy and nauseated but it was all will and prayers that carried me all throughout the exam. My mother and cousin were waiting outside the campus very much worried. The following day I was rushed to the hospital and I had to undergo surgery in my urinary bladder. Luckily I still got a score of 99% in that exam.

At the University of Santo Tomas, where I graduated with a degree in Bachelor of Science in Commerce, I was just an ordinary student with an extra-ordinary will to succeed. Five months before graduation, my father suddenly passed away due to cardiac arrest and pulmonary complication. I did not know where to go from there but I knew it was God's plan. And life has to go on.

Although I did not receive any award, I guess the standing ovation and the thunderous applause I got from my fellow students, parents and faculty, when I received my diploma at the Philippine International Convention Center was more than enough recognition for me, for my life long efforts and my greatest accomplishment in life.

I have proven that disability was not a hindrance to achieve my dream. Despite the seemingly insurmountable odds, as long as you have the determination, the attitude of never giving up, and the desire to better yourself, there are no mountains that cannot be conquered . But that dream would not have been made possible without the love, care, support, generosity, perseverance and dedication of my family and loved ones, for which I am eternally grateful.