August 8, 2026
Nerves, relief, and gratitude for medical mission’s surgery patients
By Joy Rojas
Hernias and goiters may not be life-threatening conditions, but they can be uncomfortable, painful, and cause health complications down the line. As such, surgery is recommended to repair a hernia or excise an enlarged thyroid gland (goiter), procedures that can set a financially challenged patient back by tens of thousands of pesos.
Now 55, Merlyn Abad of Dilawa, Piñan, Zamboanga Del Norte, has had her goiter for more than half her life—29 years! When asked why she hadn’t had it treated earlier, the mother of 10 children (five boys and five girls) said she couldn’t afford it. A private hospital quoted a fee of P30,000, an exorbitant amount for Abad, whose husband had a stroke.
Then she heard from her local health center that the Tzu Chi Foundation was organizing its 292nd medical mission in Dipolog City on August 6-8. Upon learning that she could undergo the procedure for free, she moved quickly, securing an interview with the medical team of Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center, then undergoing laboratory tests, an ECG, x-ray, and ultrasound for clearance.
Approved for surgery by the volunteer doctors of Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) on August 6, she had a successful thyroidectomy the following day.
At the recovery area, a fellow patient translated for Abad, who spoke in Visayan. “She is so happy. She thanked the Tzu Chi Foundation.” For TIMA doctors, seeing her finally free of the tightness and pressure of the large lump on her neck is thanks enough.
Emy Bularo, 51, experienced mixed emotions before her goiter surgery. “A little nervous, but very happy,” she said.
The latter was more evident, given her warm smile and the glow in her eyes. The mother of five—among them a policeman and a future nurse—she was prescribed medication to reduce the size of her goiter. Still, she sought out surgery to ensure the total removal of the lump. Like Abad, she found out about Tzu Chi’s medical outreach from the rural health unit of Godod, Dipolog City, and after submitting requirements, was cleared for the procedure on August 6.
Ten years ago, TIMA doctors performed goiter surgery on Maria Ofelia Daguinotas, 60, at the Corazon C. Aquino Hospital in Dipolog City—though you wouldn’t have known it unless you looked hard enough. The incision that runs from left to right on the front of her neck is barely visible, a mark of a TIMA doctor’s expertise.
From that outreach, Maria Ofelia received an ang pao from Dharma Master Cheng Yen, a token of good luck and happiness. To this day, it is a treasured possession, a reminder of the kindness and care she received from doctors and volunteers whose only goal is to extend compassion and relief to the sick.
With her positive memories of Tzu Chi, she didn’t hesitate to bring her husband Geremias to the foundation’s latest medical mission.
At 68, Geremias has hernia. Originally scheduled for surgery, he was told that it was not to push through due to his weak heart.
“Doc,” he asked and pointed to his stomach. “Is my illness fatal?”
The TIMA doctor pointed to his compromised heart. “This one is fatal,” he said.
Though the Daguinotas left the medical mission without receiving the surgery that Geremias had hoped for, Maria Ofelia takes comfort in knowing that doctors exercised sound judgment, and were not about to risk her husband’s life to correct a condition that didn’t pose a serious threat.
For that, she remains grateful to Tzu Chi.
In addition to providing consultations and treatment for general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatric medicine, ear-nose-throat medicine, ophthalmology, and dental medicine, Tzu Chi’s 292nd medical mission in Dipolog offered surgeries for thyroid, hernia, and minor procedures. On Day One, TIMA doctors performed 19 thyroid surgeries, eight hernia surgeries, and 16 minor surgeries. Thirty-one thyroid surgeries, 13 hernia surgeries, and 15 minor surgeries were performed on Day Two.
Prepped for their respective surgeries, Tzu Chi medical mission patients wait for their turn at the Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center.
Merlyn Abad (right) has had her goiter for 29 years. Thanks to Tzu Chi’s medical mission, she can have the lump removed for free by expert surgeons.
“A little nervous but very happy” is how Emy Bularo describes her feeling before her goiter surgery.
Maria Ofelia Daguinotas (right) underwent a successful (and barely noticeable) thyroidectomy through Tzu Chi’s medical mission at the Corazon C. Aquino Hospital in Dipolog City, Zamboanga Del Norte 10 years ago. At Tzu Chi’s 292nd medical mission in Dipolog, she had hoped her husband Geremias (left) could get surgery for his hernia. Doctors, however, did not push through with the procedure, given Geremias’s weak heart.
Tzu Chi International Medical Association (TIMA) doctors perform surgeries simultaneously at the Zamboanga del Norte Medical Center.
Sterilized surgical instruments are ready for use.
A goiter is finally removed.
Doctors pause briefly from a surgical procedure to have a photo taken.