A doctor's life: Goodbye

One thing that became urgent as the years went by in Landasan was the fact that the kids were growing fast and soon would need to get into school, which Landasan lacked in terms of the quality of education and child upbringing. We were praying for God's leading on this concern and the reply to our prayers came one morning in the person of 2 gentlemen who were my close friends in college: Enrique Ramas and Ricardo Abordo. They said that they represented the administration of Mountain View College in Bukidnon, and that they were sent to convey to me the invitation to manage the school clinic there. I asked for a month to process this offer and promised to reply as soon as my decision was final.

Talk about timing! Apparently there was an unseen hand that opened doors in my life just at the right moment. I relayed the news to my partners in the business and they didn't like it. My reason for moving - the education of my kids, was easy to match, they said. In a few days I met with them and they offered to get a piece of land where Jo ann and I could build another hospital and that we wouldn't have to think about paying back the money until operations in the hospital have stabilized. The place? Polomolok South Cotabato, were they said was a prestigious school by the Dole cannery - a multinational company. 

About the same time my classmates who were by now done with their residency training at Davao Doctor's Hospital urged me to join the surgery residency training there. They already drafted my letter of application that only needed my signature, and they said that the acceptance was not difficult since they would be part of the approving body.

Here I was at the crossroads of life trying hard to weigh my options. Utmost in my mind was my kids' upbringing, which I wanted to have a direct and personal involvement. After much prayer and thought, my wife and I decided to answer the first invitation and make the necessary preparations for the big move, and this included saying goodbye to Landasan.

Breaking the news to the community that you have come to love and where the people have given their trust, love and support was really difficult. The "despidida" party actually took a week to get done. It took place as parties in different households and different organizations, with all the speeches, gifts, hugs and tears. Patients would come to the hospital to cry and express that they would lose their beloved doctor and his family. The tennis club scheduled a whole-day affair on the court with every gimmick that they could imagine. The final farewell party was at Kabacan - a town halfway to Davao city, where my partners in the business organized a lavish party. They were resigned to the fact that their offer didn't work well with our plans and so they wanted to let go of us by hosting an unforgettable whole day and night affair, which turned out to be very emotional. Jo ann was the most affected by the weeklong heartrending goodbye parties that she developed gastritis and had to be admitted and her nerves calmed down when we finally got home in Davao. The move to the mountains of Bukidnon was next and she had to be ready for another phase in our lives.

Landasan - where an exciting and action-packed chapter of my life was wrought.