Upon the instructions of Ma’am Ardy, I immediately took out my recorder and started to playback what was recorded during our visit at Mary Joy’s place, especially our interviews with the girl and her mother, Laura.
I was wondering what portion of the recorded interview became the interest of Ma’am Ardy. That part where Mary Joy related to us how her sister was brutally hacked (allegedly) by her stepfather? That part where Laura confessed that she did not anymore want her live in partner back? That part where Mary Joy whispered some statements to Ma’am Ardy?
I wanted to ask Ma’am Ardy what exactly did she want to know from the recording, but I did not dare. I just sat back and listened to the playback. I closed my eyes and finally wanted to take a nap. I did close my eyes to rest for a while.
It was almost dusk when we arrived in Tagbilaran City. Before I alighted from the van of Ashira Properties Dev’t Corporation, Ma’am Ardy whispered to me something. She was very positive about it. She was very definite about it. Her statements gave me some sort of inspiration to carry on with the story of Mary Joy. But Ma’am Ardy said: “Let us run the story as we know how it happened. Let us bare the facts. Let us pave the way for people to help Mary Joy. However, let us allow it [the story] to die down a bit. Let us allow time to take its course and to heal the pain. In the meantime, let us give Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital the chance to do its best to help Mary Joy, too. You know, Mary Joy earnestly requested me something. It will break my heart if I will not give it to her. Let us help her regain her morale without destroying her capability to have her hands back and use both to move normally. I know this will be very possible. How? I do not know. But I am very confident that Mary Joy will be in good hands and believe me, in a few months from now, the heavy rain in the life of Mary Joy will stop, and she will bloom.”
I was struck with the declaration of Ma’am Ardy. So I asked: “Do you mean to say Ma’am that we will start with our story and in the middle of our publication, we give it a rest?”
Ma’am Ardy replied: “Yes, We will give it a rest and believe me, something big is going to happen, in favor of Mary Joy. We will run the story for several months, then, we will let it stop for a while – to get some results and reactions – and come back with a BIG BANG! I am keeping my fingers crossed.”
True enough, we ran the story of Mary Joy for 28 Sundays and we rested for several Sundays after. In the meantime, we continuously prayed for the heavy rain to stop in the life of Mary Joy and for the flower to bloom after the rain. We learned that good results were coming in.
FAST FORWARD. Two weeks ago, we received a call from our companion to Mary Joy’s place in Pilar, Bohol. His name is Jeff Real, a physical therapist. We featured him in one of our episodes as the person who helped make/create the temporary artificial hands of Mary Joy. He called us for the BIG BANG!
Yes, let us go FAST FORWARD – to the time NOW!
Now is the last day of the month of October 2021. Now is the time for everyone to know, from our conversation with Jeff Real, that the month of October is a real good month for Mary Joy. By the way, after the incident that almost claimed the life of Mary Joy, she tried her best to live normally. She went to school under the new normal status and she was and is still doing well in school.
She is fortunate to have gotten some help from kind hearted individuals. The local government unit of Pilar has been supporting her, too, and true enough. Mary Joy, together with her mother Laura and her other siblings still live in the small house built for them through the help of people from her town and through the funds given by Gov. Arthur Yap.
And where is the BIG BANG?
Just this week, I, Dave Suan Albarado of The Bohol Tribune, finally met Mary Joy again. Her looks have changed a lot. She now has grown her hair shoulder level and she already beams with happiness and excitement which are very clear despite the face mask that covers half of her countenance.
Just this week, Jeff Real invited The Bohol Tribune team to the launch of the GCGMH’s Rehabilitation Dept.’s Functional Upper Proximity Prosthesis Center.
It was in this event where I saw Mary Joy again, in her victory and fame.
- I saw her with my own eyes as the first beneficiary of GCGMH’s Rehabilation Dept.’s Functional Upper Proximity Prosthesis Center.
- I saw her and I also saw how the people from GCGMH trained her to catch a ball, shoot a ball, and even pour some water from a pitcher into a plastic cup.
- I saw her each time she showed her new capabilities to the people inside the room at the GCGMH.
- I saw Mary Joy radiating with her happiness!
- I saw her finally being able to move independently, very much different from her actions immediately after she lost part of her arms, and both of her hands.
- I saw her regain her strength, her peace, her confidence!
I SAW MARY JOY AS SHE RAISED HER TWO NEW “HANDS” AND TWO NEW “ARMS”.
My instinct as a reporter got a hold of me as I wanted to ask her about more questions of the past and the present — but I kept my silence because I believe everything was part of the moment for a new beginning—the moment for moving forward. I thought that talking about the case might open up wounds and defeat the purpose of being in the moment and savoring the decisive point in time where all should move on and face the more colorful future waiting ahead.
The way Mary Joy was raising her arms to show everyone her new pair of hands—speaks of a a thousand words and those words are filled with gratitude for those who labored intensely to help her.
People from the different departments of the hospital approached her and they had a group photo with Mary Joy. It seemed that the young lady became an instant celebrity. She was the star of the show after all. Mary Joy’s new pair of hands is a testament of the dedication and drive of the folks at the GCGMH. Mary Joy is only the starting point as there are others like her who need to get prosthesis for them to function normally and become independent.
We don’t want to dig deeper as to the who, the how, the when, the why and the what not of the success of Mary Joy in getting a new pair of hands. The only thing we want to focus on right now is the reality that the rain has stopped and the flower that is Mary Joy is now blooming and very determined to move on.
Yes, the rain has stopped and the flower now blooms.