“Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted. To understand, than to be understood. To love, than to be loved. For it is by self-forgetting that one finds.”
– A prayer by Saint Francis of Assisi
Towards the end of 2019, Angelo Ortiz was saved by a team of angels, “I was brought to the hospital in the middle of a heart attack. I remember asking my doctor if I will still be ‘normal’ after my surgery and she took my hand and said, you are in good hands, we will do everything for you.”
Her words gave Angelo hope. Despite the complications of his surgery, Angelo was given a second shot at life. This story made me realize that life is indeed a gift.
“I consider all the nurses in the ICU as angels. They were always smiling and assuring me that everything was going to be alright,” Angelo recalled.
Now that he has fully recovered, Angelo felt it is his time to give back to medical workers as they face the challenges of Covid-19.
“I want to be there for them the same way they were there for me when I was alone in the ICU. They took care of me and gave me hope.”
Angelo, who lives alone, continues, “I chose to self-isolate because my parents are senior citizens and I wanted them to be safe even if it caused me extreme loneliness.
“But it also made me think of our front liners who cannot go home to their families and be with them. I also reflected on what they are going through: going into the battlefield with little to no equipment and focusing so much on saving lives that they forget about themselves.”
Equipped with just one frying pan and casserole at home, Angelo took it upon himself to cook a hundred meals daily to serve a hospital located in his area. Aside from the hospitals, Angelo also provides food to the military and police protecting city borders, “They are our front liners too.”
Angelo recalls the first time he gave his prepared food to the medical team, “When the person in charge met me to get the food, I saw how exhausted he looked, and it made me tear up. He thanked me for the support and how much it meant to them.”
It was in that moment Angelo felt like he was able to return the hope they gave to him just a few months ago.
“More than the food, it is the thought that inspires them. It reminds them that they are people cheering them on and people who are grateful for the work that they do.”
Angelo is also in the process of setting up a Go Fund Me account to raise money for the manufacturing of PPES for those in the midst of the battle, “It’s the least we can do to ensure that they are protected as they continue to fight.”
And as we celebrate Easter from the comfort of our homes today, let us continue to pray for the brave ones in the battlefield as well as for those who are sick, hungry, and alone. May we also find ways to spread love and light — we are all in this together.
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