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Being a father third time over is one of the happiest moments of my life. After 2 girls, God had given me a boy. Melvin was born on May 5, 1989. One day after the natal day of my wife.

My aunt who is taking care of my eldest daughter had to go back to province to finish something personal. Nimfa who is taking care of Lanie decided to get married. Finding no one to care for the youngest addition to our family, my mother-in-law volunteered to care for him even for a couple of weeks until my wife could regain her strength. She was already resigned from her job as a Branch Manager in a photo development company.

I was assigned in my present job in our Branch in Taytay Rizal. I was happy with all this development when one night, barely a week after Melvin’s birth, my brother-in-law comes knocking at our door. It was past 11:00 pm and we are soundly asleep. He had to throw a stone in our window to wake us up because we are sleeping in the second floor of the apartment.

Melvin is suffering from LBM and they are afraid something is terribly wrong from the child. Seeing the state of my child’s appearance brought chill in my spine. I know that something is very wrong. Evelyn stayed home. He would throw up the milk that you give him. Some would come out from his nose (”suka-tae ” in tagalog).

Bringing my child to a children’s hospital at an ungodly hour had my mind wandering and sorting things over. Why is this happening to me? I have been God’s good follower and done nothing wrong against other people. I have obeyed the Ten Commandments and helped other people.

I was brought back to my senses when the Doctor told me that we had to take blood, urine and stool sample to a clinical laboratory (I had to do this every three days to determine the cause). When my mother and sister arrived to help me out, we discussed how to watch over him. They would take turn in the morning while I would be there at night after work.

Melvin is not responding to the medication that was being given to him. The Doctor told me that the passage of his small intestine and large intestine were not big enough to accept fluid and if ever there were some that could pass through it was being rejected by his body (so an LBM occur). It was a rare disease. I was dumbfounded.

My Routine:

From work, I would go straight to the hospital. The next day I would go home, take a shower eats my breakfast and goes to work. Each day that my wife and I would see each other and she would ask about the condition of our son, I would tell a different story. She has no courage to visit our child and see the agony that he is going through. Her constant prayer gave her strength.

On the third week, my mother sensed how troubled I was and talked to me. “My son never lose hope, God is great, seek His guidance and blessings. Have strong faith in the Lord.”

Feeling tired, weak and seeing how my son’s condition of deteriorating health, I accepted the fact that maybe God is telling me something. That maybe God had other plans for me. I went straight to the chapel located near my son’s ward. There I talked to Him with all my sincerity. I am so sorry if I questioned His wisdom. That I accepted the fact that if my son is not really intended for us that He must take him as soon as possible. I asked God not to prolong the pain and agony that I, members of my family and Melvin’s were going thru. I am submitting myself in total surrender to Him. I have fall asleep maybe due to exhaustion and lack of sleep and was awaken by the Nurse on duty that I have to assist her in the blood transfusion that will be done.

I have to count 25 droplets of blood and to shut down the control valve after and call her. I am crying but felt relived that God is on my side watching over me (this happened twice).

The next day, when my wife asks me again, I find the courage to tell her every single detail that I had gone thru. Feeling angry and hurt for not telling her the truth, she hit me with her two-closed fist in different parts of my body. I let her do it because I know it was my fault. Then she stops hitting me, begun to cry and felt weak. I thought she would lose her consciousness. It is her turn to question the motive of God. But at that moment, it also gave her the strength and courage to visit our beloved son. She began to join in watching over our son, openly accepted our fate a few days later.

When you are against the wall and feel nothing to lose, you’ll listen to every suggestion that was given to you. They told me to change his name so that “they”(spirit) would leave him. We called him “Bengga”. Then another told us to have him received the sacrament of Baptism. With a couple of friends we braved the heavy downpour to have him baptized. We have to sign a waiver that the hospital will not be liable should anything untoward would happen to my son. I never think twice and signed it.

Melvin is so thin that looking at him seems to be looking at a child with very advance state of malnutrition. All skin and bones and eyes seem to pop out. A child from Ethiopia and would die of hunger anytime is a likely description. He had swollen wounds from his head, hands and feet. It serves as a reminder where needles were inserted for fluids to run on his body. The biggest of which is in his left ankle wherein a part of skin came off when the part became swollen again and the needle had to be removed to be transferred to another part.

On the forth week, my Doctor told me that every thing is turning up right and within a couple of days we can take him home. He also told me a miracle had happened.

Tears of happiness trickled from our eyes. I thought my tears have dried up for crying every day and would only show courage when in front of other people especially my wife.

It seems that the entire angels in heaven were rejoicing and I am being brought to heaven. We dashed to the chapel and cried while thanking God profusely.

Melvin was able to recover fast and become a chubby little boy. He is now in his 2^nd Year of college taking up Marine Transportation. Every one in my family, my friends and relatives up to now can’t believe he survived his ordeal. But I know God had all the explanation.

Up to now, thinking this incident in my life could bring tears of joy in my eyes. I must have passed the test with flying color.