Very special thanks to Rosario Iday Gonzaga, the youngest of the 13 siblings, who trustingly and openly shared the story the personal fight of Trelle with the Big C. Honored and humbled to be your friend, colleague, soul mate and second mother to my children. She said what is the use of sharing my Big C when we cannot do much anyway but cry among ourselves. Willing and committed to be with and help others in need but will not let others help her to lighten her load. Trelle passed on in her home in Cavite, Philippines in the early morning of March 22, 2014. So during their visit to the funeral place in February 2014, the staff asked who will be cremated. I can imagine the severe bone pain (as the Big C spread to her bones) she suffered during her terminal phase She even made the arrangement of her funeral including arrangement her own cremation. She selected and preferred alternative healing than the traditional chemo-therapy. Till the end she herself almost single-handedly went through her fight with her own BIG C. Trelle during this time was full of Life without a hint that she herself was suffering with Big C She volunteered to take charge and coordinate the celebration of Life of Lorna when the remains of Lorna was brought back to the Philippines in May 2012. Trelle even shared with Lorna and me materials on facing cancer and hospice situation when she herself was already fighting her own battle with the Big C. When my Hayk - Lorna - was battling the Big C - Cancer, Trelle was starting on her own struggle with her bout of the Big C. Trelle at times was their second mother when Lorna and I were on our trips out of the country especially when Lorna was struggling with the Big C. Christina Labayen provided the personal tidbits which her Auntie Trelle Gonzaga shared with her and Yllah Labayen and Lei Labayen. My tribute will focus on her as a friend, colleague and soul mate. Having known her I think she will be the one among the very few who can pull this feat through. How she balanced almost single-handedly providing support ot her 12 siblings and establishing a successful career in community and public health is a mystery or even a miracle to me. Had joined the group (with Lorna and me and others) in the pioneer interdisciplinary approach to community health and later we became associated with the International Institute of Rural Reconstruction, a master's degree in public health in a university in Israel, involved in the pioneering ladder type medical curriculum of the University of the Philippines and a professor in a private university college of medicine teaching her passion - community and public health. She built and established a reputable and highly recognized career in community and public health. With such a burden I was urging her to pursue a hospital-based career abroad (was easy in the mid to 1970s) to have adequate resources to sustain her support to her family.īeing Trelle, she decided to relentlessly pursue her passion in community and public health while fully knowing that it will be a great struggle in continuing to provide support to her family. Our frequent topics of discussions was how can she be able to support her family with a relatively low income while pursuing her passion of a career in community and public health. I had the privilege to become a soul mate of Trelle even when I was already married to my Hayk Lorna S. With her mother, Estrella Abelido Pacuan Gonzaga, Trelle as the eldest of 13 siblings (4 women and 9 men) place on her shoulder and literally struggled and "crawled" to provide support to all her siblings.
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