Kris Aquino diaries: Her last days with President Cory (Part 1 of 5)

In the weeks before former President Corazon Aquino passed away, her family chose to stay quiet, leaking only the status of her health to media via bulletins to keep the public from speculating the worst.

On August 1, the day Cory died, the family held a press conference regarding her wake and funeral. Even while the country mourned - and burned for details - not much was said about Cory’s final days battling with colon cancer.

Then on August 2, Cory’s youngest daughter, TV host-actress Kris Aquino, broke her silence in showbiz-oriented TV show, “The Buzz.”


Declaring for it to be the “first and last time” she would speak lengthily about her last days with her mother, Manila Bulletin Online chronicled everything Kris said in this five-part story.

“July 1, Wednesday. Mom was still in the surgical ICU unit when I asked Dr. Francis at 8:30 in the morning, ‘What time frame are we looking at?’

“Sabi niya, ‘How much can you handle?’ I said, ‘I want the truth so ano man ang sabihin mo sa akin, ma-ibabahagi ko sa mga kapatid ko.’

“[He said], ‘Based on the last test scan - because of the fluid build-up sa tiyan ng mom [mo] - gumagrabe na.’ Ang ibig sabihin daw noon ay, the cancer was spreading rapidly…meaning not only her colon was affected but her liver as well.”

“Actually, [at] the time it [the cancer] was diagnosed, they told us it [the expected remaining time] was three months. But when they studied kung saan yung primary cancer, sinabi sa amin [that] we’re looking [at] one year, 18 months, two years. Unfortunately, stage 4 cancer na si mom at that point, so wala nang gamot yung cancer. We could only alleviate the pain and, hopefully, extend her life.

“So I asked Francis, ‘Tatagal ba [si] Mom hanggang August 21? Are we looking at a few months?’

“And he said, ‘Weeks. I can’t promise you a month, Kris. We’re looking at a few weeks.’

“I asked [him] kung ano ang magagawa namin bilang pamilya. And he said na sa pamilya daw, there are stages.

“Yung una [ay] yung knowledge, yung malalaman na ito yung sakit. And then dadaan ka dun sa hope. You wish and you pray and you try everything to cure [the disease].

“And then you’ll accept. You’ll accept that you’ve done everything that you can.

“The last part is letting go—giving it to God. Ibibigay mo sa Diyos na Siya na ang bahala.

“At tinanong nya ako, ‘At what point are you?’. And I said, ‘If I’m talking about my family, kaming apat na babae, andun kami sa letting go. Pero si Noy, wala pa dun.’

“He said, ‘Importanteng mag-usap kayo.’ Kasi sa maraming pamilya daw, when difficult decisions have to be made, [ay] nagaaway, nagkakagulo. That night, nag-usap-usap ang mga kapatid ko, but I chose to stay with mom.

“After her colon surgery - but before the radiation therapy sa liver nya - ang mom nagsabi sa ate [na] “Ate, I’m ready to join Dad.” And Ate said, ‘Mom, we’re not ready.’ And that was the end of the conversation…kasi it was so difficult to hear that.”

“And I have to share with all of you na, si Ate - from the time my Dad died - [she] was my mom’s secretary, she was her right hand, [and] she was there every single day with mom. Noong nagkasakit ang mom,kay Ate siya tumira. Among all of us, Ate knew mom best. At si Ate ang shock absorber ng lahat.

“After midnight, nag-‘SNN’ [Showbiz News Ngayon, one of Kris’s TV show] ako. Nakwento ko pa kay mom, ‘Mom, alam mo, yung media, ang nakunan sa akin, wala akong pera sa ATM kasi walang lumalabas [na pera]!’

“Sabi niya, ‘Why do you need money?‘ Sabi ko, ‘I want to buy Starbucks.’

“And then she said, ‘You drink too much coffee - and I have money in my wallet.. Kumuha ka na lang.’

“Thursday, July 2. We were moved permanently to our home on the 9th floor of Makati Med [Makati Medical Hospital]. Yung nutritional feeding, ni-continue. Tapos siguro dahil dun sa comment ko about needing money, my mom said, ‘Tawagan mo si Ate, ha? Make sure lahat ng mga tao sa Times [Street, where Cory resides], naswelduhan. And make sure yung allowance ng mga guards, naibigay.’

“That’s the kind of person my mom is. Everybody who has worked for our family, years ang tinagal. May 47 years. Her driver, Norrie, was there since I was four [years old] so that’s 34 years. Her two closest body guards, si Mel in particular, was with her sa Malacanang [Palace].

“July 3, Friday. Birthday ng Lolo Pepe ko. So pumunta ang Auntie Paz, pumunta si…Mom was trying to tell them, ‘Huy, I’m better. Tingnan mo, ang fluid sa tiyan ko, kumokonti.’ But when I left with them [Auntie Paz], the nurse told me that my mom turned [away] and started crying.”

“She [had] never wanted any of us to see her crying hard.. And at that point I knew, she wanted her siblings to still feel na matapang siya, na kinakaya niya.”

“July 4, Saturday. This was one of our happy memories.. The kids were with me the whole day, and sinabi ni Mom na si Josh [Kris’ eldest son] is marunong ng mag-behave pero yung maliit [referring to Kris’ other son, James] ang ingay [daw] talaga. Kasi Baby James was trying to wake her up. Yung talagang ‘Lola! Lola!’ You know, the innocence of childhood talaga.

“I remembered then that when we first found out that mom was sick, she said, ‘I want to be around for the first birthday of Baby James.’ And if people remember, it was during that celebration that she was able to thank everybody because that was about one month from the time we disclosed she had cancer.

“And then pinilit niya [Cory] talaga na she was okay for the second birthday [of Baby James]. But for Josh’s 14th birthday, nagka-dengue ang mga anak ko. And because they were sick, they couldn’t be with mom.

“But for our last time together, she made sure may cake si Josh na ma-blo-blow nung dalawa [with James]. It was a belated birthday celebration for Josh. Ang sabi ng mom, mag-order [daw] ng mga food cart na favorite ni Josh. That’s the kind of lola that she was.

“July 5, Sunday. That was when nabahagi ko sa lahat [in ‘The Buzz’] about what we were going through. I told everybody how grateful we were but I said, ‘Sana maintindihan nyo kung hindi muna kami magkwento ng [tungkol sa] lahat.’

“The next day, [July 6, Monday] nag-shoot ako ng commercial. Super happy ako. Kasi sabi niya [Cory] na [with] every new commercial, she would feel...na parang…alam mo naman sa bayan natin, pag may endorsement ka, you’re a big deal. So parang sinasabi ng mom na pag nalalaman niyang may bagong endorsement [ako], na-se-secure siya for me.

“July 7, [Tuesday]. I went to the supermarket. Namili ako ng mga gamit para di na ako ever kailanganing magpabili ng kape. Nagdala na ako ng coffeemaker sa loob ng kwarto niya and our schedule was set. Nag-usap kami na [tuwing] Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, dun ako matutulog. [Kapag] Thursday [na] umuuwi ako, si Noy ang nagta-takeover. Then hanggang ‘The Buzz’ [on Sundays], di na ako umaalis [sa tabi niya]. My sisters would take turns being there [at the hospital], day time.”

Source: http://ph.yahoo.com

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