I DID not realize that falling in old age can have its plus and minuses. The first time I fell was in my 60s after walking from my office on Arnaiz Avenue to Greenbelt.

I fell on an uneven surface which I failed to notice. That fall cost me my writing career for years.

Aside from hurting my teeth which were all natural that time and making me pay the dentist a huge sum, it also crippled my little finger which I thought was a minor thing.

I was stubborn. Initially, I did not want to go see my orthopedic doctor nephew who was busy operating on people and so I just let that little finger be. I would find out later I could not write straight anymore.

Hurting my hand

My secretary who has been with me for years had a hard time reading what I wrote. Even short notes were hard to write and people would notice that my penmanship has changed. Ten years later, I find myself writing again.

I write my articles and even notes by hand and I would find out later I was writing not straight but in very crooked lines. It took me ten years before my little finger would allow me to write again. Now I could write in straight lines.

My little finger is now flexible but I did not have to wait that long really but maybe psychologically I also wanted to retire from writing as I retired from being president of a PR company then.

But since I kept on falling many times my knees which would fall with me got affected severely. Recently I felt I couldn’t walk straight anymore. I would fall at the slightest provocation and the first persons who got worried about me was my immediate family – my husband Ric and my daughter Mariel. 

I could feel how they care and love me now that I have bodily aches. My husband is always worried I would fall in the bathroom. He has assigned someone to be with me whenever I go out. I remember we were at our farm which had a small river in it and a guest insistently asked me to go with her there.

When my husband saw me approaching he started loudly calling my attention and warning me not to go to the river. “No hon, you can’t come here, he said in a very loud voice”. There are sharp stones underneath and you might fall”. 

When your husband does that you can strongly feel the care and concern he has for you.

Canada trip cancelled

My daughter Mariel who was supposed to travel with her father to the USA and Canada decided to give up her trip because she said “who will take care of you if Papa and I were not around? I said it should not be any problem “we have a lot of doctors in the family. They are a call away. What she said really touched me – what if they’re asleep at night who will take care of you? God forbid, who will rush you to the hospital, if ever?

Speaking of doctors, my brother Disraeli Europa, an internal medicine doctor and his son, Giancarlo Europa, an orthopedic doctor are my specialists and so is his daughter, Lauren Europa, a cardiologist who looks after my heart. They take care of all my medical needs. So my getting sick has become a family affair and I thank God that they are around to take care of me.

Team millennials

Even my 17-year old nephew Isaac Europa takes care of me when we go out. He holds me, takes my bag and walks with me hand in hand when inside the mall. So these are the benefits of having family when you are sick. Now I know they love moves in times of need.