A Generous Heart

The father of a good friend of mine from high school died last week due to pneumonia. Her father had a liver transplantation about a year ago and because of the anti-rejection drugs he had taken his immune system weakened and he became susceptible to infections like pneumonia.

My dad too is a kidney transplantation recipient. I remembered that last year, we swapped emails about our anxieties about our fathers' condition and I found relief that I can share my apprehension with someone whose going through the same thing that I was.

I visited her father's wake at Filinvest 1 last Saturday and it was the first time we saw each other again after almost sixteen years. It was a sad occasion to see each other  and to catch up on each others lives. 

But what amazed me is that even if I haven't seen my friend for that long, the bond I have formed  with her years ago is still there. It feels like we've grown so much over the years but our friendship remained even if  we haven't communicated as regularly as possible.

Last Wednesday, I received an email from her asking me about my father's medication. She told me that her father had left many medicines that could be of used to my father. I know that both our father were taking Certican. Certican is anti-rejection drug that cost P200.00 per piece, so if she would give me the medicines her father did not use it would mean that we will be able to save a lot from my father's medication. So I texted her all my father's med including the dosage, it turned out that Certican is the only drug that both our fathers used but her father's dosage is higher than that of my father's. If I will take the drug and cut it in half, the dosage will be lower than what my father usually take, so I have to refuse her offer.

Even if she wasn't able to share her father's medication with my father, I am still grateful because of her generous offer. The thought of having a friend who is going through a lot yet still have time to think of other people's need is something admirable.

She informed me that she would donate the drugs to the National Kidney and Transplant Institute to a patient who may be of need of it. It was a good thing though that my father is a member of  the Kidney Transplant Association of the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, I was able to give her the secretary's number. She could just coordinate  with the secretary and hopefully, the secretary will be able to give her a member of the association who might be in dire need of those medicines.

I am blessed  that I have a very kind and generous  friend like her.