By Joanne Rae Ramirez
She was once listed as one of the 3,870 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the Philippines (as of this writing).
But that is not the news. Chuchi Serrano-Villar is also one of the 96 recovered patients in the country.
She is a walking miracle because the enemy she battled was unseen and lethal and had vanquished 82,000 people around the world.
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“I used to call myself invincible,” admits Chuchi, a stylish wife, mother and grandmother, who was recently released from the hospital where she was confined for two weeks due to COVID-19.
Before she started feeling ill, she was at the top of her game — accomplished, popular, beautiful, well-connected.
As a member of the board of the Philippine International Convention Center, a realtor, and an indefatigable socio-civic leader active with many civic organizations, her days and nights were a whirl.
She described life pre-COVID as “board meetings and civic duties during the day and partying all night long.”
Until one day.
She experienced dryness in her throat, muscle pains in her arms and back, fatigue and low-grade, on-and-off fever.
When she started to cough, she took no chances. “I went right away to the hospital for a chest X-ray and results showed I had pneumonia.”
Not too long ago, she was walking down the ramp in a splendid long gown, and now she was being wheeled along the corridors of the ER in a hospital gown.
“I was told I had Bibasal pneumonia, and should go right away for confinement and be tested for COVID-19… I couldn’t believe it, my beautiful world just crumbled before me.”
The “curve” was rising and she was right there in the incline.
“At first I couldn’t believe it,” repeats this survivor. She remembers going to many events, but, as many of us bravely thought a month ago — you and I weren’t the vulnerable ones.
After the incredulity, came the acceptance.
“As I was put in isolation, I told myself this is something tough and I need to be strong.” Indeed, she needed a psychological armor of steel to face her assailant.
“My dry throat wouldn’t go away even with a lot of water intake, my skin and lips were cracking due to dryness, I couldn’t lift both arms because they would really hurt, I couldn’t read well as my eyesight was blurry. I had excruciating back pain that I first thought was due to a bad sleeping position — but I realized then it was already the pneumonia developing even when I was still home.”
But Chuchi points out that physical pain and discomfort are not all a COVID patient has to overcome.
“There was still other real stuff that I had to deal with — the fear that one day you may just be gone, all alone without your family and loved ones; the things you have still left unsettled, because you didn’t expect this to happen. But now you need to be real about it, that it could really happen.”
For Chuchi, the realization was “a cross between being real and staying positive.” Hoping for the best every single day but bravely preparing for the unthinkable.
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But then she had the armor of impenetrable faith and family support.
“I have always believed that God is in control and I trust in Him. If so, all would be in Divine Order, no matter how scary it may feel. Secondly, I had family support. Each and every member of my family had his/her assignment on how to take care of me in coordination with my doctors and nurses. We would video chat each day… just to make me feel they were around. My beloved family is my best gift from God, if not for their love and devotion, I would not have made it through.”
Her ordeal also showered her with blessings from people who were once strangers. “I am grateful for so many blessings during this ordeal. First of all, I thank St. Luke’s Quezon City, its infectious disease doctors, my pulmo doctor Mae Campomanes, nurses, staff — these frontliners who took turns in taking care of me the best they could, always with their big warm smiles.”
Faith was her beacon as she tossed in a sea of uncertainty. It was the light that guided her to shore.
“Dealing with it spiritually, I believe, is the most beautiful thing this virus has ever done to me. It gave me ample time to reflect, pray and meditate. I got to think and ask, why did I have to go through this? What is God trying to tell me? Most of the time I found myself talking to Him, seeking forgiveness, asking for guidance, reliving my life to see where I did well and where I should still try to change myself to be a much better person this time… that is, if I make it…”
And she made it.
“In all this, I knew it would all be in His hands, so I released all my hopes and fears in prayer to Him, whatever His Will is… and after a lot of our conversations, I knew I was ready whatever His Will would be.”
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Back at home now, and in the safety of the shore of recovery, she has not forgotten her darkest hours.
Her confinement “was a time I made a lot of resolutions and promises to God, which I pray I can fulfill. It was a time I prayed hard for my family and loved ones and begged God to give me another chance to still be around and build more memories with them.”
It is not that Chuchi has lived a life centered only on herself. In fact, I met her during one of her life-altering advocacies many years ago.
“I am one person who has gone through life with a bunch of advocacies — some I have accomplished, some I pray I could still fulfill. I may appear to be a carefree person, but honestly, I just can’t imagine life without purpose.”
Chuchi believes that the coronavirus crisis, painful as it is for those who have lost loved ones (she herself has lost dear friends), serves a purpose we may not discern yet now.
“God has a way of making people see who and what truly matters more now in life. Even powerful nations realize it is still God who is the ultimate Power. And one day as we all unite, people and all nations, it will be a wonderful world once more, and even lovelier than ever.”
Editor’s Note: The article first appeared in the Philippine STAR on April 14, 2020.
