‘New Normal’ Stories of Grit, Resilience and Perseverance

It has been 8 months since the Philippines recorded its first case of coronavirus on January 30, 2020. Everyone’s life is at stake to become infected. As registered cases increase, so does the level of anxiety and depression. Many companies are losing revenue; workers lost their jobs; Unemployment and poverty follow, students adapting and coping with their current learning methods, and of course the frontliners and healthcare workers risking their lives. All people around the world are affected and adapting to this so-called “new normal”. Every movement has its limitations, wearing those pesky face masks or face shields and observing social distancing. And we haven’t developed a vaccine for 8 months. While everyone is complaining, stay in their homes and pray; There are those who chose to fight despite the situation. These kind of people are the kind of people we should always have on our side. These types of people are the source of hope and inspiration. Your strength, determination and resilience to the pandemic is something we should all have.

For today’s article, we’ve chosen to feature three different people with their stories of courage and resilience despite the pandemic.

First we have dr. Carmina Fuentebella, she is one of those countless brave healthcare professionals who fearlessly set out and battled with Covid-19. At the UST hospital, where she works, she has seen exactly how the virus can destroy the human body and how patients suffering from Covid-19 need care. After all, she fell ill herself before her 27th birthday, which she celebrated as a Covid 19 patient. There she was placed in an isolated room very similar to her patients during care. In her interview with INQUIRER.net, Dr. Fuentebella on her struggle to survive and defeating Covid-19. She recounts how hard it was in an isolated room where she felt like she was being slowly killed, she could literally feel the clock ticking every second. She almost lost hope and even asked God why she had to suffer such a misfortune – because she was only doing her job as a doctor. She almost gave up.

On her 27th birthday, she said she had no expectations, but when she woke up in the morning, she saw nurses hanging a banner on the walls that read “Happy Birthday”. And her friends got to make cakes, and residents in the same ward even came and sang a “Happy Birthday” song, fully clad in their PPE. She also received many video greetings as her past birthdays.

dr Fuentebella was also asked if she could return as a frontliner after her recovery and she said yes, saying it is a doctor’s job to look after their patients but it takes more than just medical knowledge to fully heal those , they suffer. And with empathy, she hoped to let her patients know that they do not bear the burden of their illness alone, that there is someone who will fight with them – just like all the people who have done it with her. There she prayed for a faster recovery and was thankful for her friends, relatives, family and other people who are always there for her. Now she had already recovered from the coronavirus and regained her strength to fight again.

The way she risked her life fighting Covid-19 just to be with her patients and take good care of them is a story of perseverance, determination and resilience.

Next on the list is Ms. Lorena S. Mendoza, a 46-year-old public school teacher at Langkaan Elementary School. Ma’am Mendoza has been teaching the Filipino subject for 26 years and has mentored various generations, some of whom are already descendants of her former students. A typical homeroom teacher, but her younger peers would always admire how her dedication to the profession hasn’t changed over the years. In March 2019, Ma’am Mendoza was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent medical surgery in April of the same year and took 7 months vacation to recover. In January 2020, she was reinstated from the service, despite going against her family’s wishes. According to her, the pain of suddenly being in a weekday class while on vacation is harder to bear than any medical procedure she had undergone. The morning silence is more deafening than the student noise she has become accustomed to for decades.

As Langkaan Elementary School adapts online and distance modular learning modalities for the 2020-2021 school year, Ma’am Mendoza has initially enrolled among those who will undertake the modular teaching. In their opinion, using technology or gadgets as a reason for choosing modular learning would be difficult for them. Your health is at risk. Soon she would be loaded with various printed modules on her hard drive, forcing her to switch to online learning.

Ma’am Mendoza had put his name on the list of students who will deliver online. She knew it was going to be tough. She was inspired by her younger colleagues and challenged herself to study persistently with her mobile phone and laptop, to supplement departmental and school training with self-directed learning. She would also ask her tech-savvy kids for help.

After seeing the brilliance of the technology, Ma’am Mendoza proudly shares her findings with her peers. In this way, she gained respect for her deep and sincere commitment as a teacher.

And there, Ms. Mendoza, a veteran teacher who is currently battling cancer, is doing her best in learning with the use of technology to ensure the continuation of learning for her students.

In times like these, we need people like Mrs. Lorena S. Mendoza. Her dedication and dedication against all odds for the love of teaching is outstanding. This is another story that speaks of determination and resilience.

Finally, we have Louie Animas – a 10th grade student at UP High School in Iloilo who sold cashews to buy equipment he will need for the upcoming school year. He shared how he was overcoming the effects of the pandemic and how worried he was when he heard on the news that the upcoming school year will be online and distance learning. He doesn’t have the equipment for such a learning arrangement and they aren’t financially stable either. Instead of seeing it as a problem, he sees it as a challenge.

He said he needed to be upbeat and productive, then he finally decided to start selling cashews with two goals – first, to raise funds to buy the tools for this upcoming online course, and second, to help his buyers boosting their immune systems as a way to fight Covid-19.

His sales journey wasn’t easy, but then he was persistent and determined to achieve his goals. Initially he has about 5, 18, 20 kilos of cashew nuts for sale and has sold for a massive 75 kilos.

He was also grateful for the generosity and full support of his family, friends, trainers, anonymous donors, ASTROFIL Spain-Philippines and the UPV community, who gave him the strength to continue his project on its path and make it a success.

The above stories of determination and resilience can encourage and inspire us at times like these. Everyone was not born a fighter, but chose to be one. Necessity made them warriors. If they can, then you can.

have hope try harder And succeed!

Thanks to Larry Icabandi Nabiong | #Normal #Stories #Grit #Resilience #Perseverance