We lose a colleague and friend; we lose part of ourselves.
Cristina Fernandez-Marrero was born in Bacolod City but had settled in Baguio City where she practiced as an anesthesiologist in 1998 until her demise on March 29, 2023.
She graduated from the Saint Louis University College of Medicine, then went to train in Anesthesia at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute. During the last six months of my own training on kidney diseases in the same institution, I stayed with her in a dormitory just a few steps behind the hospital. I came to know that she was good cook, and we all loved her pork steak.
When we did the first kidney transplant in Baguio on Nov. 19, 2001, Cristy, as she was fondly called, was the anesthesiologist of the donor, Samson Tee. Her late husband, Dr. Andres Marrero, also a graduate of SLU and NKTI, was the urologist who did the donor nephrectomy. The procedure was pro bono. Cristy and Andy did not charge any professional fee.
Cristy was an able anesthesiologist, and a big loss, especially in the specialty field of transplantation. She was also the anesthesiologist of Kimberly Aquino who donated her kidney to my patient, Ryan Tungay, in October 2022 at the Notre Dame de Chartres Hospital.
Cristy left behind a daughter, Xandie.
Farewell, Cristy. You will be missed.
Holy Week and its message of love and good health
In Christianity, when we look at the cross and see a crucified Savior, a friend who willingly suffered humiliation, rejection, and physical pain for the sake of people who choose him as their Savior, love Him and choose to follow His teachings. In the cross we see a Christ whom we have to thank for his great love and extreme sacrifice.
The happy news of Easter is that Christ has overcome all the trials and sufferings, and has conquered death. May we all be inspired and feel strengthened by this unparalleled show of love.
The knowledge that we are worth the sacrifice naturally translates to a healthy love of self. This love of self is manifested in consistent self-care: a strong will to make oneself healthy and fit. Our tasks as healthcare workers become easier when a patient willingly participates in caring for himself. Patient complies with instructions on his medications, instructions on diet and lifestyle modifications are followed.
May Easter remind us that we are all loved and truly worth the sacrifice.
As we observe the Lenten season and the holidays, this information shared through Medscape Medical News may help. A study co-authored by Dr. Aedin Cassidy of the School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland and published online in the Journal of the American Medical Association Network open of more than 120,000 middle aged adults followed for over 10 years in the United Kingdom Biobank showed that those who consumed a healthful plant-based diet with higher amounts of foods such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts and lower intake of animal products, sugary drinks, and refined grains had 16 percent lower risk of dying during follow-up compared to those with lowest intake of healthful plant-based foods.
Wishing everyone a happy and blessed Easter.
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