For the last 2 months, I have been doing work for the Department of Tourism at our International Airports. Since, tourism activities are not allowed during ECQ, serving our arriving overseas Filipinos is a welcomed opportunity because it still allows me to interact with guests.
Last September 10, me and fellow DOT frontline Lara were assigned to Terminal 3 assisting 2 arriving flights. One from Dubai and the other from Quatar. Our duty went smoothly until an elderly passenger was taken to our desk. He was a 73 year old Navy Veteran from the US. He is suffering from early stages of alzheimer, not knowing his whereabouts on certain periods of our encounter. We need to constantly remind him that he's at the Manila International Airport, and only then will he be able to remember his trip and journey. He seemed to have lost his mobile phone and ipad, and only a small note bearing a number is our contact to his final destination in Samar.
As part of the protocol for arriving tourists, RT-PCR test is done upon arrival and a negative result is required before his connecting flight to Tacloban. He needs to stay at a hotel Quarantine Facility to wait for his result, but the Airline personnel was worried that he might not remember his flight if left without a companion. His money was just enough to pay for the private swabbing and got only 1000 pesos from his ATM account, not enough for a night stay.
The DSWD can only offer to escort him, but with his frail condition, we don't want to risk leaving him in a hotel room by himself, because he can barely walk and would not touch the food we gave him.
Our initial plan was just to let him stay at the airport, under the custody of the Philippine Coast Guard while being monitored by the medical team at Terminal 3 so that he can easily catch the earliest departing flight to Tacloban leaving the next day. The Bureau of Quarantine issued an exemption and expedited a fast release of his result.
During our conversations and the search for his missing devices and phone book, we stumbled upon his medical kits for Diabetes. Its only at that time that we realised that he's not been taking his insulin shots since he started travelling. That explains his heavy breathing and the medical staff immediately checked for his blood sugar levels.
With Lara's conversation with his deceased wife's relative, although they know of his pre existing diabetes, they were not aware that he's experiencing Alzheimer. They offered to care for him here in the Philippines since it's here that he feels he has family and he cannot afford to pay for his nurse in the states anymore. Lara was in tears after the phone call.
His blood sugar was high, and his pulse rate extremely low. The doctor on site recommended that he'd be taken to a hospital to get proper care otherwise risking him getting into a coma. He even administered his own insulin shot, but his condition did not improve.
With no money, the Undersecretary of Transportation Raul Del Rosario offered to pay for his bills while coordination with the US Embassy was undertaken.
Because of Covid, we had a hard time looking for a hospital that would take him. We called 6 hospitals until eventually Manila Doctors Hospital accepted him.
It was past midnight when he was taken to the hospital.
The following day, we were informed that his SWAB test result came out negative and he made it safely to Tacloban.
As of this writing, he's now in the care of his wife's relative undergoing home quarantine in Samar.
I have never seen kindness to strangers exemplified in this manner. The relatives wanted to extend their gratitude to the Airline staff who did not leave his side until his connecting ticket was issued. The airport porter who took him in his wheelchair at every stop, even when he got mad because it was not his home toilet he was taken to when he wanted to visit the restroom. To the Philippine Coast Guards who made sure he's safe at the airport even escorting and staying at the hospital. To the DSWD staff who made sure the relatives are informed of what's happening and ensuring he'd be picked up upon his arrival in Tacloban. To USEC Del Rosario for not hesitating to take care of the hospital bills and remotely staying on top of everything. To Lara for searching for the hotdog sandwich (Jolly Hotdog) he requested and coordinating with every agency involved.
I was merely a spectator as I watch this story of kindness unfold, apart from making him feel comfortable with small chats. It was these people who went beyond their call of duty for this man.
We all had the same mindset, that if this would have been our relative or us in the future, we're hoping people would still extend the same treatment.
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