Dr Philip Cruz

Dear Sir or Madam,

Just a few days ago, a very good friend told me, "When doctors cry, you know it's time to do something". Inspired by her words, I am now asking, in fact I am begging, on behalf of the countless sick children we   serve, for you to do something.

Allow me to introduce myself. I am Dr. Philip Cruz, I speak for all doctors who find themselves in a similar situation to myself. I would like to make an appeal and ask you to take a moment to consider being our partners, our allies, in saving the lives of our children.

Each day, each week, each month, many children die in our wards. This is not because our doctors are unskilled or incompetent. You know, most of the time the children are not too terribly sick. Mostly these children die because they are poor.

The 'reasons' are numerous. Mostly, the families cannot afford medicines. With the umber of patients coming in, the hospital cannot provide for all of their needs. We double and triple up on the beds in

the Emergency Room, we have been known to reuse needles. Of course we don't have enough room inside an incubator for 5 children. No one expects us to let our children share a life saving ventilator - but the thought has crossed our minds.

We cannot afford to buy new equipment with our reducing budgets. We can hardly manage to get stocks of cleaning supplies. We have a few pieces of equipment that families can 'rent'. But they simply cannot pay the respirator at 600 Pesos each day or even the 90 Pesos each blood test.  We cannot supply VP shunts to save a child from suffering needlessly. We cannot stock antibiotics and we cannot give away chemotherapy drugs.  The list is endless. The answer to most of our problems lies in you - can you help us save lives? Say you will.

We need your help to overcome the struggle to get basic supplies. We need your help to put into place the most fundamental of equipments. We need your help to save lives.

Sometimes I think it makes no sense. Our best and brightest are helping the poorest, sickest children of our nation. And, yet they do not have the tools they need nor the minimum supplies required. Our doctors end  up fighting poverty instead of working hard to be the instruments of the miracles that can happen, the miracles I've witnessed.

What would t take to get you to help us so that we can save hundreds of young lives each year? Our capital campaign is set to run for the next year. Imagine what we can do in just one year. Just think of the million and one ways we can change the face of health care provision in this nation by just caring some more.

We are asking for much needed supplies, medicines, and equipment. Your gifts during this campaign will remain with us for many years, helping doctors and nurses provide care for the sick, and very importantly helping families face this most tragic and trying of times.

We welcome all kinds of ideas. Your suggestions will be appreciated. All you have to do is make this your personal mission, to rise to the challenge and answer the question - How can I help?

The stories are unique - Raymond who swallowed potassium cyanide, Marcy with a hole in her heart, Jericho with advanced malnutrition, Marvin and Darwin with leukemia, Justin with meningitis. Hundreds of children a month go through our hospitals.

What I find frustrating is that more often than not, the endings of these stories are not so happy. Most of the times, it comes down to a rudimental question; 'who can pay for it'. I call it the 'economic' miracle. Somehow, some way, a donor, a gift, a moment of saving grace comes and allows us to keep the child alive. We are extremely grateful for each and every 'economic' miracle that comes our way.

But we should be able to save the lives of poor children without counting on these 'economic' miracles. The stories of the many children whom we are not able to save are also unique. Manny with a bad pneumonia, Hector with advanced hydrocephalus, Nannette with oxygen deficiencies in her blood.

The upsetting fact is that maybe we could have saved them. But there were no 'economic' miracles that morning. We need a system of getting the necessary medicines to these children. We are proposing a system that will ensure that miracles are always there for our kids.

Complete families are left devastated because they cannot afford the costs of medicines, a ventilator, or the expenses of the blood gas tests or the ultrasound exam. We need medicines, ventilators, incubators and our own ultrasound machine.

Won't you please help? We can tour you through our wards so you can get a picture of how it really is. We can come see you so we can talk some more. The bottom line is, we want to involve you. Don't you think it's about time we as a community stand up and do something before it's too late? If we don't set out to set things in better order, one can see the situation in the wards spiraling downward. Help us now to build up our capacities.

Consider this, in the three months that this campaign has been able to support us with simple hygiene supplies the patient mortality rate has dropped from close to 35% to 23%. This is an awesome 'economic' miracle.

A few months ago someone came to visit our wards. They saw the conditions in the emergency ward. They heard the stories of how doctors get sick just serving there. They noticed that the air wasn't circulating, that the fans were all dilapidated and broken. They had new fans installed within a few weeks. Viola! Doctors are not getting sick, they work in better conditions, they are thus better able to look after our kids.

Two new incubators, gifts pooled together from several small donations. Each and every time I walk into the ward, my heart is filled with joy. The tiny baby lying there now has a great chance for survival. The incubators are bright and shiny, but the tiny life inside radiates its own incredibly beautiful life light.

We treat so many premature babies - one gets quite tired of seeing the bundled ones who have passed on simply because we couldn't keep them warm.

Now, joy fills my heart, hope is ever present and as I walk in, I see the future of PGH in such a positive light. But, we need more.

An account at Banco De Oro - Give a Life, Account number 043-007724-6 is established to facilitate donations. This is a wonderful 'economic' miracle in itself. I am eternally obliged. It is a true gift. Due to this, we can run this campaign the way we need to - 100% of all funds raised go towards saving children.

Other events are planned and you too are invited to participate. Just drop us a note and let us know what you would like to do. The system is in place for helping, all we need is you!

So I invite you to come and see for yourself and figure out what you can do, how you can help. Commit now, choose a target and do it. Do it for your corporate responsibility program, do it for your community outreach, do it to build leadership and team work in your own organization, do it for Halloween, for Christmas, or for the New Year - whatever. In truth, you don't even need an occasion to go ahead and give especially if it means saving 1 more life.

GIVE A LIFE ! 899-1000

Doctor Philip A. Cruz,                       

Give a Life Foundation

P.S. Bear in mind that whatever you do will help. Come and see us, anytime, you will know what to do. You will see how you can  Give a Life.