All the funds raised through this endeavor will be used to provide medical assistance to patients in the Internal Medicine (IM) Wards of the Philippine General Hospital.
Why PGH?
Contrary to perception, not everything is free at the charity wards of the PGH. While the basics – doctors’ fees, accommodation, standard supplies, and food – are free of charge, medicines and most diagnostic tests are not. Patients who are confined here as well as their families must be very resourceful. Some pawn their most valuable possessions; some write to the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or to their favorite congressman for help. Or they turn to their relatives in far-flung provinces with dim hopes of receiving assistance. And if it does arrive, it is usually too little and too late.
Why the Internal Medicine Wards?
Simply put: they need the most help. A lot of the other wards in PGH get a lot of help from charity foundations and organizations. Not that the help is ever enough. But the IM wards barely get any help at all. Based on information I got, most deaths in the IM wards are due to tuberculosis, pneumonia, and sepsis. Which is quite unfortunate, because with the right help and the right medication, people do not need to die from these conditions.
A lot of patients in the IM wards are breadwinners. They are also wage-earners. If wage-earners get sick for a few days, they are unable to earn money needed to provide for their families. A few more days of being ill with no source of income, and their pockets are emptied, leaving them with no means to pay for diagnostic tests and medicine needed to help them get better.
Some thoughts…
Early last year, I got really sick. My doctor told me I had upper respiratory tract infection. I wasn’t able to work for nearly two weeks. To make matters worse, the medicine I was taking for the first week of my illness wasn’t making me better. So the doctor prescribed a really strong antibiotic. It cost me almost P2,000. I pull out my credit card to pay for it and reminded myself that I could reimburse this through my medical plan at work.
And yet a lot of people in the IM wards can’t even shell out P200 to pay for medicine to help save their lives.
A very depressing realization. But it also strengthened my belief in what I’m doing and in my cause. There are so many people in the world who need help, but I believe that there are enough people out there who can provide assistance to everyone who needs it. We just need to be willing to lend a hand and believe that together, we can make a difference.
Marathon for a Cause 