Esmeralda

1

"I hate to be the bringer of bad news, but you have ALS."

"ALS?"

"It is also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. It is a progressive nervous system disease that affects your nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord causing loss of muscle control. ALS often starts in the hands, feet or limbs, and then spreads to other parts of your body."

I felt like a part of me died a little.

"Doc, is it curable?" Malungkot na ngiti ang nakita ko sa mukha ni Doc.

"I'm sorry. We don't even know what's the cause of your disease. Although all we know is that, in some cases, it can be inherited."

"How many years do I still have?"

"The average survival time is 3 years, about 20% of people with ALS live 5 years, 10% will survive 10 years, and 5% will live 20 years or longer. Although Stephen Hawking is an exception. He lived for 50+ years right after diagnosis." I feel like crying.

"Uhh, here's some tissues..."

"Huh?" Hindi ko namalayan na umiiyak na pala ako.

"Signs and symptoms of ALS vary greatly person to person, depending on which neurons are affected. Isa na rin sa symptoms ang inappropriate crying, laughing, or yawning."

"What are the other symptoms?"

"Cognitive and behavioural changes, muscle cramps and twitching in your arms, shoulders and tongue, slurred speech or trouble swallowing, hand weakness or clumsiness, weakness in your leg, feet or ankles, tripping and falling, difficulty walking or doing normal activities."

I wiped my tears and accepted my fate. Kahit masakit at di kapani-paniwala. My doc and I discussed a lot of stuffs regarding my disease, and after that, I went home immediately.

I wept and wept and wept till I'm finally asleep. I woke up from my phone ringing.

"Good morning, Sir Arciaga. I'm on my way to your house. Are you ready sir?"

"Pasok ka lang pag andito ka na." I ended my call with my secretary. After 5 minutes, nasa loob na siya ng bahay ko. Pagkabukas niya ng kwarto, kitang kita sa mukha niya ang pagkagulat

"S-sir?"

"I am not going to work for today... or maybe for a week... or a month. I don't know. Just be there for me for the meantime. Okay?"

"Uhm, okay sir. Sir, okay lang po ba kayo?"

"Hindi. Hindi ako okay." Pagkasabi ko nun, bigla nanaman akong naiyak.

"Don't mind me. Its just this damn disease."

"May sakit po kayo sir?"

"Unfortunately, yes. ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease. To summarize it, mapaparalyze ako unti unti dahil humihina muscles ko. It might be the cause of my death as my lungs might not cooperate with me which I hope never happens. I might only have 3 years to live. And to be honest, that's lengthy."

"S-sir..."

"Don't cry, Mark. I hopefully have 3 more years to live if nothing bad happens. What are my appointments for today?"

"Signing some contracts from international products and sponsors and 4 meetings with interested investors. Shall I postpone the meetings, Sir?"

"Bring me the documents so I can see them, and no. Don't postpone it, I'll be there through Skype."

"Okay, sir."

"See you and take care." Nginitian ako ni Mark. Si Mark, my secretary at si Nelson, my VP, lang ang malapit sa buhay ko ngayon. My parents are dead. Mom died just to bring me to this world, whilst Dad died from an accident when I was 6 years old. My grandma was the one who took care of me. She also died 3 years ago. I have relatives but I feel like I don't have any cause they are so distant which works pretty well for me. So if I die, I won't have to worry about leaving anyone cause wala naman talaga akong iiwanan. If I die, Nelson is there to look for my company.

I stood up and took a bath. After I took a bath, I went downstairs and saw my secretary cooking.

"Ah, sir. Sorry po if ginamit ko kusina niyo. Nagluto na po ako ng pang almusal niyo."

"Thank you, Mark. And can you please stop calling me 'Sir' when we are not in the company?" It feels really weird.

"Okay po." Mark is younger than me for 2 years kaya napaka formal niya.

"Have you eaten yet?"

"Di pa po."

"Halika, sabay ka na sakin."

After naming kumain, hinugasan muna lahat ni Mark ang nagamit namin at saka na umalis. I went to my entertainment room and watched some movies.

Without knowing, nakatulog pala ako. I looked at the time and it says 3:45. I opened my window and saw the beautiful weather. I went downstairs and took my car keys. I want to go to the beach and watch the sunset there.

The beach is not too far from my home. Mga 16 km lang ata ang layo niya.

"Since the weather is perfect, I'll drive one of my cabriolets." Cabriolets are perfect for this kind kf weather.

While I was driving, I suddenly can't feel my legs. Totally numb.

"Shit. Shit. Shit!" I was looking at my legs and started pinching and punching it with my left hand. When I looked up, I saw the stop light blinking red, and a lady was about to cross the street.

"Fuck!" I lifted my left leg towards the foot brake and stomped on it with the force coming from my hand. I was able to stop the car. I looked at the lady crossing the street and all I can see is the top of her head. Konting konti na lang mababangga ko siya.

Naisandal ko ulo ko sa manibela ko.

"Thank goodness. Whew. I made i-"

"HOY GAGO!"