Wish Stories

Two Wishes in Cebu

Two patients of Philippine Orthopedic Center through KYTHE were granted their wish to go to Cebu thanks to Gift Gate, Air Philippines and Maribago Beach Resort. Wish kids Mirsol Contillo and Paula Baluyot both have Osteosarcoma or cancer of the bones. Among all forms of cancer, this one is reputed to be the most painful. Both wish children have had one leg amputated. Below is a diary of their stay in Cebu:

DAY 1 (Friday, February 14, 2003)

The families of Mirasol Contillo and Paula Baluyot arrived at the Domestic Airport at 7 am together with MAWF volunteers Miggy Dy-Buncio and Eddie Boy Santos. Wish kid Paula lost her luggage on the way to the airport and vowed that nothing would ruin her journey to Cebu and was determined to fly come-what-may. The entourage was ushered towards the check-in area by a representative of Air Philippines. Thrill and excitement were etched on their faces as both wish families had never traveled on an airplane before. The plane departed promptly at 8:15 am and headed for the Queen City of the South.

As soon as the Air Philippines plane landed, a representative of Maribago Beach Resort waiving a "Make-A-Wish" placard welcomed the contingent. The families then boarded two vans and arrived at the resort thirty minutes later. Welcoming them were the staff greeting them with shell necklaces, welcome drinks and great big smiles.

The wish families each had a two-bedroom Royal Bungalow overlooking the white sandy beach and blue waters of Cebu. The kids were in total amazement as they have never seen such a serene environment.

By night's fall, the swimming pool area was transformed into a festive reception area celebrating Valentine's Day. The families were treated a sumptious buffet while the staff of Maribago performed romantic song numbers from past and present. In turn, MAWF-volunteers presented red roses to all ladies at their table to the sheer delight of Mirasol and Paula.

DAY 2 (Saturday, February 15, 2003)

While the kids were swimming as early as sunrise, a special event was in store for the wish families after sunset. The concert of Martin and Pops were the hottest tickets in Cebu as it had been sold out three weeks prior to the concert. Martin had continuously sent messages via text to Make-A-Wish to ensure that his special guests were to have the best seats in the house and greeting the children. We were later informed that there was a mad scramble for front seats as all 5,500 tickets of the Waterfront Convention Center were sold out to the rafters.

The family was ready for the concert by 4pm and headed to the concert venue. A massive crowd had assembled eagerly trying to get seats as early as 10am. The wish kids and the volunteers were wearing Make-A-Wish shirts easily recognized by many Cebuanos in the long queue. In fact people were talking to the two volunteers giving kind words about the foundation and how touched they were to have the wish kids visit Cebu as their wish.

A near riot was averted when alert ushers prevented the enormous throng of concert-goers from invading the seats reserved for VIP sponsors and Make-A-Wish. By then, the volunteers realized that the value of the tickets Martin so kindly donated to the Foundation was more than gold because scalpers themselves were offering to pay two and a half times the amount for a P 1,400 ticket - and there weren't any offering to sell. Martin's staff had to escort the wish kids one at a time to prevent others from pushing them as they made their way inside the concert venue.

Virtually every big name in Cebu graced the affair. Seated near the Wish families were Annabelle Rama and Eddie Gutierrez, Congressman Raul Del Mar and Family, Mayor Garcia, Governor Osmena, the Lhullier and Chiongbian families and many others.

Martin announced mid-way in his concert that he had special guests from Make-A-Wish. Soon the entire audience gazed towards the front row where Paula and Mirasol were seated. A thunderous applause greeted the wish families when Martin mentioned that the wish of the two kids were to go to Cebu City made possible by Make-A-Wish.

The highlight of the wish experience of the two young ladies was when they were to hand over roses to Martin and Pops. As they approached the stage, Martin jumped down surprising Mirasol and Paula with a big kiss. The crowd of ladies "gasped" in envy towards the two teary-eyed teen-agers. The concert ended at 11:30 pm and the kids were on cloud nine after watching the concert.

DAY 3 (Sunday, February 15, 2003)

It was a bitter-sweet morning for Mirasol and Paula because they head back to Manila in the afternoon. They spent the morning swimming and making the most of their stay. By lunch time, the group went to a nearby hotel in the city proper for a lunch buffet. The owners recognized the group as that of Make-A-Wish, it turned out that the family also watched the event from the bleacher section and was shocked how the group got front row seats.

After lunch, Miggy and Eddie Boy brought the wish families to the palengke to buy danggit and other pasalubongs for their loved ones. By then the whole car including the group smelled like daing na bangus and speeded their way back to the hotel to freshen up. The staff of Maribago had been so accommodating. In fact, some of them had a tinge of sadness when we were about to depart. They asked to take a souvenir shot for posterity.

At 5:15, the Air Philippines plane bound for Manila departed Cebu exactly on time. "Ba-bye Cebu" exclaimed Mirasol and Paula. It had been indeed a joyous weekend for the party of twelve. Both volunteers were surprised at the cheerful attitude of the two kids despite losing their legs to bone cancer. The whole time they were teasing, joking and strutting around as if they were normal children.but then again, they are normal children. As the Mirasol aptly put it "we are no different from you because we are all handicapped in more ways than one.the only problem is you can see ours." How can you measure the power of a wish? How about two of the biggest smiles you would ever see in your lifetime - those of Paula and Mirasol's.

Make-A-Wish expresses its profound gratitude to Air Philippines, Maribago, Young Entrepreneur Society, Ray Concepcion, Martin Nievera, Maxi-Media, Jennifer Casimiro, Margie Musnayac, and a host of many gracious donors who made this wish possible. Despite being fully booked due to the Valentine's Weekend, they still had time to accommodate Make-A-Wish.