When Your Presence Is Enough
By Tim Liwanag
Broken within, my mind whispered "to live or not to live." I took a deep breath, washed my shaking hands, and looked at the exhausted little boy facing me. His tired eyes poured out clear beads, offering hopeful little tears yet helpless and unable to bring back his almost lifeless mother on the cold operating table.
It's not his fault that she was eight thousand miles away. His prayer was his only connection with his sixty-four year old Mom. And they blocked him from deciding for her incapacity. He mused, "Why would they exclude me?"
It was surprisingly difficult for him to accept from a text message that her Mom had been admitted in a hospital, unconscious, and with a blood clot in her brain. That August 8 text for him was the most upsetting news in his entire life. The once brave and strong teacher of values had suffered a stroke, they said, and from there left him much enfeebled.
He was a very worried son, I know, haunted by broken phone calls and accused by voices that would become his tyrant devils. So powerfully appointed were their role that even the demons of his delusional sister would cower in fear.
And as the pestering rolled, so did his reality of how his Mom had been separated from him.
His first defense was to call Wal*Mart Supercenter. He was listening closely to what the store manager confirmed. That his Mom was absent from work, that he only received an email indicating Glory was taken to an unnamed location. No other word, only a reminder that there was no specific date when his mother was rushed to a hospital. They made sure that no one would know an awol's whereabouts. By his own means, the boy found out that his Mom was missing. It was between 9:30-10:00 AM, August 16, 2009.
She wasn't taken to an isolated room, but she might have been only inaccessible. How could the boy ever forget the cry of his Mom when he was forced to listen to an unexpected call? He heard, "Why are you not letting me speak to my children?"
I was shocked! Confused and traumatized.
Did they really take her to the hospital? Or, did the 911 paramedics take her from home?
The boy was right! There's a cover-up abroad of the exact details about his Mom's status.
That same day of August 16 at 2:25 PM, he received a phone call from an uncle. He thought he would reassure him about his Mom's condition; instead, the old man from Virginia threatened him not to make phone calls to the hospital.
Earlier, this poor kid was able to verify that his Mom was confined in room 5 David 3 of St. Joseph Medical Center in Washington State. Can you believe that something supernatural was leading him to investigate his Mom's situation?
The next days were the hardest, the boy and his sister became orphans. September 14, they received a proof from Washington Court that their Mom was "deceased" since August 27, 2009.
If Glory was truly dead, why would the legal document mention the role of court-appointed guardians? Why give September 15 as an appointment date?
My mind again whispered, "To live or not to live."
Then it spoke unkindly, "Ah, stupid, look for proof of life!"
Did anyone even care about giving true witness?
Is Glory really an alleged incapacitated person (AIP) or forever resting in peace (RIP)?
After six months, I began to feel a divine hand, quite strange my left cheek got goose pimples. It was February 18, 2010.
The boy, through Facebook, was given four photos of Glory inside a nursing home:
• Photo 1 showed Glory in a wheelchair
• Photo 2 showed Glory in a wheelchair with her "Ate Dely" sitting on a bed beside her
• Photo 3 showed Glory in a wheelchair, seemed to be looking at the floor
• Photo 4 showed Glory in a wheelchair, seemed to be reaching for her foot
The four pictures gave me an impression that they were meant to correct an error stated in the court papers. Yes, Glory, a former fulltime front-end cashier of Wal*Mart Supercenter was alive, never deceased!
I think that my mother's siblings did not provide complete information about my Mom's condition. What actually happened the night of August 8, 2009 in Federal Way, Washington remained a mystery.
July 13, 2011 at 1:51 AM
Dear Tim,
I don’t know if it is possible for you to travel to the USA, but if it is, I believe you should come here yourself and find out what is happening with your mother first-hand. My prayers are with you and your mother. May God bless and keep.
Sister Elizabeth
July 14, 2011 at 9:42 PM
Sis Elizabeth, thanks for your encouragement. I'm not able to travel abroad because of my condition now. The only thing that I'm waiting for is for my mother to overcome her present situation & free her self from that guardianship – only a miracle can remove her from this.
So I put my hope in God because with God all things are possible.
God bless you too.
Tim
Nine years of my life were without anguish and trouble. My mother was in a comatose state and, legally, was declared dead. When my US immigrant visa came out I had an incapacitated petitioner. My father had totally abandoned us. My sister was a victim of abuse. We lost our house. I was slowly losing my mobility too. My wife almost had a ruptured appendix. We were buried in debt and became instant nomads.
Yet I and my better half had witnessed Abba's never-ending love. My Mom woke up from coma. Five years passed and we were reunited.
Since 2016, I am waking up each day thankful; forever appreciative of Mom who is now living with us.
My heart, this time, whispered, "Live life. Be alive."
So I continued writing.
Behind every composition there were thoughts and behind every word was a unique spirit. Sorrow was there, so was solace. Shame was forcing itself in, yet esteem was guarding every door and window. Scorn may have gone deeper, but unfeigned love would cast it out.
Sorrow: "Death happens all the time."
Solace: "In truth, you hoped for a way out. I see change."
Shame: "You lose someone so easily because you're happy-go-lucky!"
Esteem: "I'm not where I used to be. Thank God!"
Scorn: "Everyone conspired against you. You're too complicated!"
Love: "Flawed, yes, but no other feeling is final. I'm complete no matter what."
And what is it that I have written? Well, I am ever grateful to have published a book about "the end of the world." But guess what? I realized that the world is changing all the time.
He, the poor kid, would know that, eventually.
So divine intervention, I fully believe, has been happening between the years 2009 and 2018. Even though we were experiencing hardship, it's all suffering and comfort side by side. We know that God was always there for us and we understand, more and more, He would remain with us.
Being a boy, a nobody, and yet in God's eyes rather an object of mercy, has helped me focus on His abiding love. Every circumstance, every affliction and consolation, simply everything has rekindled my passion for a fulfilled life.
Mom Glory, much more aware of my presence, called my name this morning. I went to her limping a little, hurting a bit but suddenly, a moment of magnificence encouraged me to gladly care for her needs. Then I took a deep breath, washed my countenance, and looked at the grown up boy facing me.
Stay complete!
*My entry to Jerry Banfield's Supernatural Writing Contest
On August 27, 2009, Glory, a front-end cashier of Wal*Mart Supercenter was legally declared deceased. What followed was a nine-year battle outside the courts between the cashier's son, Tim, and those who robbed them their rights in fulfilling their American dream. It's a story about deceit and despair and how hope, courage, and love for family triumphed over the worst conditions in life.
Disclaimer: This is a work of nonfiction. No names and events have been changed. Only the author's recollections and retelling have been modified to accentuate real and possible scenarios.
