September 1, 2008

Dear Everyone,

Firstly, I want to thank everyone who has been praying religiously for my friend, Tara. I just pray that whatever Tara has gone through in this month will open the eyes of everyone about the reality and in their faith. May her story serve as an inspiration to all of you, that God is indeed almighty and He never neglected Tara even for a second, that this thing happened for a reason and whatever purpose it is I believe that every bit of His plan for Tara and for us will bring forth the Glory of His kingdom with grace and love.=)

Tara
(This version, my version, is more direct and accurate somehow because I was there and I got to talk to her doctor, nurses, mom and witness Tara myself.)

Tara can open her eyes already! PRAISE GOD! Actually only her right eye most of the time  'cause her left eye is still sore but less bulged. (the bullet went just on top of her left eye.) Whenever Jac, Rina or I made movements or talked loudly, she'd open her right eye and move it to where the sound or movement was coming from. She also yawned too! I was talking to her then suddenly she yawned as if she got bored with my stories. Her neurologist would press her left foot and Tara would feel tickled. That's a good sign too. Her coma scale definitely went up. Sometimes (very rarely though) she would open both her eyes without anything being done to her, just out of the blue.

Miraculous improvement from the last time I saw her when the gunshot hole was newly stitched, her eyes were covered with patches, her forehead was swelling too because her skull was shattered were it got hit. Now the bump is almost gone and her eyes are not covered anymore. They will be checking if she can do without the machines for breathing completely soon after the treating of her pneumonia is finished and successful. The doctors also already suggested for home care.

And yet there are still fragments of the bullet in her head! Nothing indeed is impossible with GOD!


Donations

Donations are still being graciously accepted. Again, the bank account is under Anne Marie F. Santelices, Banco de Oro, SA 2140-06220. On Wednesday (September 3), it'll be her fourth week in Medical City so you could just imagine (or cannot imagine) how much the medical bill is already. Thanks to people from Canada who sent money through Rica (Caoyonan). Jac has deposit slips but she doesn't know the exact amount of donations so far. Ate Malaine (Joee's sister) also has money from gigs. RockEd too has been raising money for Tara. A lot of other people too are organizing gigs and stuff. Just make sure not to sensationalize what happened. I hope sincerity remains intact. Peace.

Case

Regarding the case, my friend only gets updates from her friend Cha Ilagan, who's the daughter of Mayor Mon Ilagan of Cainta. She's regularly updated by Col. Torrecampo, Cainta's Chief of Police, who's handling the case. I cannot disclose any details about this but just to be safe, there's progress. Even though things aren't moving as fast as we would like it to be, there's progress. I guess we should appreciate that. Cha also told my friend that they have already submitted a proposal to allot some amount for Tara from the city budget to help with the medical bill. She's also trying to solicit funds from other Cainta officials. And according to Tita Anne, when a DZRH DJ called up the mayor's office on air, it was promised that the municipality is working on the street lighting. Let's just hope and pray it'll happen soon because similar incidences happened again after what happened to Tara. Whoever did this to Tara is definitely not stopping coz of continuous reports with the same suspect.

Petition
(update from jac)
And while I'm writing this, I also checked on the online petition. There are 6171 signatures already, which is something we can feel good about. Although some comments are a bit off/foul/annoying/unnecessary, I guess we should be glad that people are becoming aware of what happened to Tara and what should be done about it. I don't personally know Tito Larry's friend, Chito Iriga, who created the petition so I don't know what the next step will be. Maybe someone can print the 6000+ signatures and show it to people who can help with the funds or with the case (aka people in government, people in media, people who are rich haha). Justice is such a grand thing to demand from people but little ways, individual efforts, small acts of kindness go a long way. If you can do something, do it. If you know someone who can help, ask that someone to help. MAKE THINGS HAPPEN.

Rumors

It is so frustrating and sort of annoying to always hear rumors that Tara is dead already. I often get the news from people that are far from the circle(and this always gives me a nervous breakdown whether or not its true!) SO please if u hear any rumors like that, please ask the people who are directly connected to tara or ask me...ayt?? And if u guys value my sanity somehow please be careful with spreading the news (hehe). SHE IS ALIVE OKAY!! AND SHE IS FIGHTING. THE LORD IS FIGHTING WITH HER. She has always been a strong fighter. We fight til the very end. That's what we do.

Visiting

If you want to come and visit her, just ask me through text the room number. I cannot publicly announce the room she's staying in but visitors are always welcome. Whether you are a good friend or you just heard the news and want to see how she is doing. Just make sure you're free from sickness, not coughing, not sneezing. Also, if you're commuting come before 10pm because security at the Medical City is strict. Tara looks so beautiful than ever, as if she is just sleeping normally.

Thank You

Hmm, that's it. Let's keep on praying for Tara, for her family, for more generous people, for the case to be solved, for everyone's safety and for malicious rumors to die down. Thanks to all those who have visited Tara, given money, attended gigs, spread positive information, forwarded messages, signed the petition and prayed for Tara's recovery. And to loosely quote Ms. Abaya (our 3rd year CLE teacher), we can become the answers to our own questions. Many of us ask why this happened, where the criminal is, what Cainta is doing about it, where the money will come from--an infinite amount of questions. Let's become Answers. Let's make things happen.And let us help each other be the answers to our every question.

Let us continue praying for Tara and for justice to be served so that more people will be saved from this dreadful incident. Let us pray for the day when Tara will be the one to share her own testimony of life and faith.

"God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine." -Ephesians 3:20