April 12, 2024
This Tzu Chi doctor was saved by Tzu Chi doctors
By Joy Rojas
In the sea of volunteer doctors, nurses, patients and their companions at Tzu Chi Foundation’s 262nd medical mission, held from April 4 to 6 at the provincial gymnasium in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Dr. Remegio Magan was relatively easy to find. At the section assigned to eye checkups, the medical mission’s only ophthalmologist saw all 826 patients in the three-day event, providing each with quality attention and expertise, whether it was for a consultation, reading glasses, or cataract surgery.
“I’m used to it,” he says good-naturedly of how he managed the high volume of patients all by himself. “This is my daily routine, part of my job description. For me, I’m like a soldier. I don’t complain. It is what it is. No job is too big or small if you like what you’re doing.”
But his willingness to accommodate as many patients as he can isn’t just because of his dedication to his work—it’s also his way of giving back. Over 20 years ago, he too was a beneficiary of Tzu Chi’s medical assistance.
Dr. Magan, who trained in ophthalmology at Zamboanga City Medical Center (now Tzu Chi Eye Center) from 1997 to 2002, met Tzu Chi Zamboanga Liaison Officer Dr. Anton Lim through their common friend, Dr. Rey Usman, an ophthalmologist and Tzu Chi volunteer. “At that time, we were doing cataract surgeries on their referral patients,” he says.
Unexpectedly, Dr. Magan would find himself on the receiving end of Tzu Chi’s kindness and generosity. On October 31, 2002, he contracted ciguatera fish poisoning, a life-threatening illness caused by eating contaminated fish.
With no personal resources for treatment and paralysis from the toxin slowly taking over his body, he assumed the worst. “As a medical practitioner, I was resigned to my fate. I guess my life was coming to an end,” he says.
Not quite. Upon learning of his condition, Drs. Rey and Anton flew him to Manila and had him admitted at Chinese General Hospital and Medical Center (CGHMC). There, he spent nearly two months recuperating under the watchful eyes of CGHMC’s Dr. Willy Dy and Tzu Chi International Medical Association founding member Dr. Jo Qua.
To raise funds for his medical expenses, Tzu Chi volunteers from Zamboanga (who didn’t have much themselves) went caroling from house to house. The effort yielded P1.8 million, roughly the cost of a fancy car at the time. This explains how the ophthalmologist got the nickname “Dr. Pajero.”
Why would Tzu Chi volunteers go all out to help a relative stranger?
“When we met Dr. Magan, he was just starting his career as an ophthalmologist. But we already saw his heart. Skills can be acquired, but a good heart is more important,” explains Dr. Anton. “We also saw how he deals with his patients. He may be on his way out, but if a patient asks to see him at the last minute, he’ll make time.”
“To us, it wasn’t a choice of whether we would help him or not, but how we could help him,” he adds. “We knew that if he survived this trial, he could save a lot more lives.”
Humble and unassuming, Dr. Magan felt unworthy of the kind-heartedness that was being extended to him. “If you think about it, who was I to them?” he says. “Instead of spending P1.8 million on one person, they could have spent it on so many other people.”
When his condition worsened, he tearfully apologized to his benefactors. “He thought that the money should have gone to someone else and said he was sorry he couldn’t pay us back,” says Dr. Anton. “We told him, ‘Don’t worry about it, you’re worth it. Just fight.’”
And fight he did. Upon his return to Zamboanga, he struggled with the effects of his illness. His hands trembled and he could hardly walk. But as the days, weeks, and months went by, he gradually overcame his condition. Today, he sees as many patients as possible in his clinic and performs eye surgeries. A dedicated husband and father, he welcomed two more sons to his brood. Now, one of his three boys wants to get into pre-med.
More importantly, Dr. Magan made good on his word to give back and serve in whatever capacity he can. “My gratitude to Tzu Chi is part of my life,” he says. “As long as I live, when I’m called upon by Tzu Chi, to the best of my ability, I will be there.”
And so, when Dr. Anton invited him to join the medical mission in Sultan Kudarat, he didn’t think twice. “How can I help?” he asked, like a true Tzu Chi volunteer.
That’s his goal in his second lease on life. “I see to it that I am of help to others,” he says. “I would also like to adopt Tzu Chi’s virtues of charity and of sharing what I have in my own way.
“There’s the saying that if you help one, the reward will come ten times or even a thousandfold. Maybe it’s true. But even if it isn’t, the fact that you’re helping somebody else is a reward in itself. It’s the feeling of fulfillment.”
Twenty-two years after Dr. Magan’s life-changing experience, Dr. Anton is reminded of Dharma Master Cheng Yen’s thoughts on affinity. “If he didn’t volunteer with Tzu Chi, we would not have known each other—and he would have been dead by now,” he says. “But because of the affinity he created while helping other people, he was blessed. And we are blessed as well because the one person that we helped continues to practice and help more.”
Despite being the only ophthalmologist in Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, Dr. Remegio Magan provided quality attention and expertise to all 826 eye patients. “This is my daily routine, part of my job description. No job is too big or small if you like what you’re doing,” he says. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Many took advantage of the free eye checkup from Dr. Remegio Magan during Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, from April 4 to 6. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Many took advantage of the free eye checkup from Dr. Remegio Magan during Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, from April 4 to 6. 【Photo by Matt Serrano】
Many took advantage of the free eye checkup from Dr. Remegio Magan during Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, from April 4 to 6. 【Photo by Matt Serrano】
Many took advantage of the free eye checkup from Dr. Remegio Magan during Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, from April 4 to 6. 【Photo by Harold Alzaga】
Many took advantage of the free eye checkup from Dr. Remegio Magan during Tzu Chi’s 262nd medical mission in Isulan, Sultan Kudarat, from April 4 to 6. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
Tzu Chi Zamboanga volunteers donated 900 sets of reading glasses for the medical mission. 【Photo by Harold Alzaga】
Patients sample reading glasses with the help of a Tzu Chi volunteer. 【Photo by Matt Serrano】
Patients sample reading glasses with the help of a Tzu Chi volunteer. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
A patient’s visual acuity is tested using a standardized eye chart. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
A patient’s visual acuity is tested using a standardized eye chart. 【Photo by Marella Saldonido】
A patient’s visual acuity is tested using a standardized eye chart. 【Photo by Matt Serrano】
Tzu Chi Zamboanga Liaison Officer Dr. Anton Lim assists a patient in a visual acuity test. 【Photo by Harold Alzaga】
Dr. Remegio Magan in a quiet moment in between patients. “My gratitude to Tzu Chi is part of my life,” he says. “As long as I live, when I’m called upon by Tzu Chi, to the best of my ability, I will be there.” 【Photo by Harold Alzaga】