A doctor's life: Hilot vs Doctor

Special persons who are naturally endowed with the talent to treat sick or injured people sans any training or health education, reside in certain places in Mindanao and most notably in areas where there is no doctor. The hilot differs from a faith healer in the sense that the treatment doesn't involve faith, special potions or oils and herbs that were taken from holy sites.

A hyperactive toddler was vacationing with her grandparents in Davao City when she accidentally slipped on the floor, with her butt and lower back absorbing the impact. She did not complain or cry out in pain, but in a few days her grandparents noticed that she wasn't walking like she used to. It seemed that there was some abnormal straightening of the lordotic curvature at the lower back. Her doctor at the Davao Doctors Hospital was consulted and some x-rays were taken, but there was nothing found that could explain her queer posture and gait. Another doctor was consulted and he ordered some tests to see if infection was the cause of the problem and nothing conclusive was detected, but just the same she was started on an antibiotic regimen. This was rather baffling to her parents and so after 2 months with no improvement they decided to bring her home to Landasan.

After a few days back home the parents were informed that there was a hilot in the village whom they could consult. This posed a problem because the kid's father was a doctor. Yeah, that's me, and it took me a while to process the prospects of admitting to the community that medical science had reached a dead end, was giving up and is now seeking the help of a hilot. First I was determined to get the identity of this hilot - Dodong Butalid. He was a medium built, muscular man in his early 40s who was employed at the plywood factory. He was just an ordinary guy to whom the community would consult when they had sprains, joint and muscular problems or illness that was lingering. Since I had nothing to lose I decided to bring Kukie to him.

In the living room of his modest house, the hilot asked Kukie to walk so he could see the problem. Then he placed her on his lap and tried to feel her back bones. He shook his head and said that Kukie had a dislocated spine that would need some painful manipulation. I told him to go ahead, because I was convinced by his explanation. He assured Kukie and me that he would not press too hard, but while observing him I became concerned, because it looked like he was pulling on Kukie's neck too hard while holding her ankles. Kukie grimaced in pain once in a while, but didn't cry and this emboldened the hilot to pull even more. After feeling her back again he said that it was almost done. His last maneuver was to hold Kukie's neck with one hand, her ankles with the other while pressing his big knee on her small back. This alarmed me and I stood up to intervene, but Dodong assured me that he would be done in a few seconds. He felt Kukie's back once more and smiled. "Walk to your papa," he told her, and she walked across the floor to me like she never had a problem at all. 

I was teary-eyed and choking with emotion when I embraced Kukie. Dodong instructed her to walk some more and to move about and I was thinking in my mind - this is a miracle. We walked home that day and I was a changed man. I knew that God used this event to teach me some lessons on grace and humility.