Friday, July 29, 2016

2016 June 20-30

June 20, Monday, Feria
  
     A poor hungry guy fell while pruning a tree and lost consciousness.  He did not have family in Gensan and the owner of the tree was equally poor, who could only give him food in exchange for the work. They begged the mission for help.  He was rushed to the emergency room of the city hospital. Fortunately for him, the xray showed no fracture.  He woke up exhibiting no sign/symptom of brain damage. Nevertheless he stayed in the hospital for observation.  He was discharged without any bill.

June 21, Tuesday, St. Aloysius Gonzaga
      A weak patient suffering from difficulty of breathing due to lung infection asked for medicines.  He used to be a driver with a satisfactory income but when he got sick, he became too weak to work so he has to beg for medicines which he cannot afford to buy.
      A patient with extrapulmonary tuberculosis from Camiguin begged for help in paying for laboratory tests and medicines.
      A patient with fluid in the lungs was assisted for CT scan.
      The patient with vascular mass behind her knee finally had her turn at the operating table.  She was thankful for the successful surgery.


June 22, Wednesday, St. Paulinius
      In Gensan:  a mission staff processed the hospital discharge of a patient who had CT scan (admitted because of breathing difficulty secondary to the accumulation of fluid in the lungs).  Dr. Dickes suspected that the cause of the fluid accumulation is a malignant growth outside the lungs.  The doctor who managed her wanted to rule out pulmonary tuberculosis; Meanwhile, at the mission clinic, a staff dispensed medicines for a man who suffered cardiogenic shock and pneumonia while constructing a hospital in South Cotabato.  The hospital owner did not charge him for the hospitalization cost but he could not afford the medicines that he needed to continue taking at home so his wife begged at the mission for the medicines.  Two other patients were given medicines as prescribed for diabetes mellitus and heart disease.  
      Other mission staff were in the mission village in Sarangani Province to prepare the area for the patients who will be receiving the Sacraments during the feast of St. John the Baptist.
      In Tacloban, a widow with three little children asked for help in surgical removal of a uterine myoma hoping that after surgery she could already work and earn money to support her children.
      
June 23, Thursday, Vigil of St. John the Baptist
      A 57-year old male patient with cataract was operated and was given medicines.  
      Medicines were supplied for a patient in Diagan Hospital who had undergone removal of vascular mass behind her knee and for the patient who had just been discharged from the hospital after removal of lung fluid and CT scan.
      Final preparations for the mission feast in Kawas, Sarangani Province.

June 24, Friday, Nativity of St. John the Baptist


      
      Angie Village, Kawas, Sarangani Province:
      Baptism of 19 children and adult - most of whom are beneficiaries of the medical mission - followed by Holy Mass, Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and Benediction by Fr. John Timothy Pfeiffer, Prayers were offered for perseverance and conversion, and for the intentions of the mission benefactors .
June 25, Saturday, St. William
Village feast in honor of St. John the Baptist

  
      A patient in her wedding dress ready for the bridal march. She received Baptism on the previous day after having attended catechism lessons for a year.  She sends thanks for the mission benefactors for the medical and spiritual help given to her and her family.  After the wedding she and her husband were received in the Militia Immaculatae.
fiesta game for the fathers of families

TO ALL BENEFACTORS AND MISSION VOLUNTEERS, 
THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF OUR LIVES!!!

June 26, 6th Sunday after Pentecost
      Seven patients lined up for medicines after the Holy Mass.  Two families from Sarangani Province were given food assistance.  
      In the afternoon, the staff worked on translating catechism materials to Waray for use in the medical mission in Samar.

June 27, Monday, Feria
 Samar mission preparations:  editing of tracts for distribution.  Transfer of medicines and supplies.
      In Gensan, a woman with swollen armpits and breasts came to beg for help.  She was evaluated by a doctor and scheduled for mammography the following day.  Another woman with chronic abdominal pain was assisted for ultrasound.  A man who had finished three months of antituberculosis medication was assisted for xray.  The result showed that he still had minimal PTB and was referred to the municipal health center of Alabel for continued treatment.  A man with enlarged prostate was given medicines to help him excrete urine.  A surgical patient assisted by the mission for the removal of adenocystoma
      A girl from Sarangani was brought to the mission after being bitten by a dog.  Her mother begged for anti-tetanus and anti-rabies shots.   
      Three other patients were assisted dental extraction, medical consultation and surgical evaluation.
      A religious Sister in Marbel sent a message asking for help to be discharged from the hospital where she was confined due to pneumonia.  She was advised to call her relatives first and ask if they can help her before the mission can step in and send aid.  Fortunately for her, she was able to manage on her own and asked the mission only for medicines.

June 28, Tuesday, Vigil of Sts. Peter and Paul

     Five Minutes Too Late ! Mission staff Mark John Hugo brought boxes of medicines from the mission stock in Gensan to support the medical mission in Samar.  He wanted to take the 6:00 PM bus because it was cheaper.   He was  not happy about missing it. 
      Along the way, he realized how lucky he was to have missed the bus when he saw that it had slipped sideways and crashed   One passenger died on the spot while thirty two others were rushed to the hospital with injuries.  They had to pick up the stranded passengers who were shaken up but unharmed.
   
     In Gensan, a patient from Sarangani came to beg for medicines.  She had liver cirrhosis secondary to schistosomiasis.  She worked in a banana plantation in Sarangani and had to wade through muddy plains in the nature of her work.  She had 10 children and although 3 were already working, they were all helping to buy the food and send their siblings to school so they could not afford the medicines for their mother.  

June 29, Wednesday, Sts. Peter and Paul
Samar Mission Day 1
      The medical mission served 108 patients (92 medical and 16 dental).   
      Fr. Tim Pfeiffer gave a spiritual conference to 39 soldiers in the morning and to 22 soldiers in the afternoon.  
      A patient in Tacloban (cancer) begged for food because her equally sick husband (PTB) was having trouble looking for work.  In Gensan, counseling was provided for the son of a patient debilitated by disease to guide him in adapting to his new role as the decision maker and provider for his mother and siblings.  Three other patients were assisted.

June 30, Thursday, Commemoration of St. Paul
Samar Mission, Day 2


      Fr. Tim Pfeiffer offered Holy Mass at 7 AM.  He had another conference with the soldiers.
      Father heard Confessions too.  Towards the end, the soldiers received Miraculous Medals and the Brown Scapular and became soldiers of Mary.








      In Gensan: A psychiatric patient asked for anti psychotic medicines because her income as a house helper could not buy her medicines.  A patient with mental disability slipped and sustained injury. Her parents brought her to the mission. She was sent to the public hospital, confined and treated for the hematoma.  In Tacloban:  A surgical patient asked for assistance in paying the laboratory tests needed prior to surgery.