God is Chipping at My Brain Tumour.

Headache can occur without any warning, anytime. It does knock on my head--sometimes first on the line--in the morning, after a long and restful sleep. I conveniently refer to it as migraine. It gives me the sensation of round pebbles rubbing loose against each other and knocking down all the live cells all around within my head. Until they knock me down to sleep very still, with nary a move or tilt of my head, or the pebbles will knock me down convulsing in pain.


For someone like me who has been coddling grainy pebbles in my head and surviving it for decades, headache is no cause for alarm. Until last January 24, 2007, when a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance angiogram (MRA) exposed a tiny alien growing from the membrane covering my brain located somewhere deep from my dura matter in between my brain hemisphere. It is a brain tumour medically described as intensely-enhancing well-marginated extra-axial mass involving the right posterior frontal parafalcine region, called meningioma and measuring 1.6 x 1.1 x1.5 cm. Said MRI/MRA also reveals sub-cortical white matters usually associated with migraine.


Now, my miracle--fully documented.

My neurosurgeon, having my best interest in mind, insisted I should have it removed within a maximum period of 2 months. He said it could grow big fast enough, press against the healthy brain cells and casuse damage which can be permanent or could take time to cure. All the neurologists and neurosurgeons I consulted were one in saying my tumour was likely to grow bigger. And the earlier I have it removed, the better. Not one of them said it could be neutralized except by means of gamma knife or radiation bombarding the tumour from the outside of my skull for approximately 7 hours. It could cause side effects like inflamation of the surrounding cells which will have to be managed with the use of steroids.

I kept my faith in the Divine Physician and placed myself at God's disposal. I prayed for Divine Guidance for the right direction towards a healing and cure that will not involve the use of man-made machine such as the gamma knife or the human hand in a brain surgery. It's not that I distrust medical advances and medical personnels. I believe they are God's gift and their vocation to heal is also God-given. But I preferred to first ask God to do me the favor.

God uses people to send us help. A dear friend, Agnes Chan who has always been God's generous instrument, led me to a healing priest, Fr. Efren (Momoy) Borromeo. Through Fr. Momoy, the Lord agreed with what I asked for in prayers. He told me not to undergo operation and invited me to his healing Masses every Monday morning at the Delaney Hall of the University of the Philippines at Diliman, Quezon City. Fr. Momoy is gifted by the Healing God with what can be called Divine MRI. As he laid his hand on my head he gave a description of my tumour which fits almost exactly with the MRI/MRA result.

On my fifth healing session, sometime mid- April 2007, Fr. Momoy declared my tumour already a scar. During the period of healing, I felt better & better, from head to toe. Even my migraine has become sweeter & lighter. When ever I sense it dawning, I down a cup of ice cream- pistacchio flavor- go to sleep and wake up really feeling pleasant and light.

The following Oct. 24 I finally had the courage to undergo another diagnosis with the same hospital, the Cardinal Santos Memorial Hospital which is located along Wilson Street at San Juan, Metro Manila. I enjoyed its MRI laboratory. It is clean & cool with friendly staff. Last October, their simple, yet elegant Christmas tree reflected a soft glow. It kept me focused in prayer and subdued my anxiety while waiting for my turn.

The comparative result shows my brain tumour has shrunk. The shrinkage is not much - 1 mm on three sides. From 1.6 cm. x 1.1cm x1.6 it is now 1.5cm x 1.0cm x 1.5 cm. But the fact that it has shrunk is for me, perfect miracle enough. The prognosis of all doctors was that it can stay the same or grow bigger, at a rate not one could predict with 100% accuracy.

Indeed, the Divine Healer is alive and present in all of us. Even my meningioma has become a a fleshy yet concrete proof of God's presence deep within my brain hemisphere. I can feel the Divine Hand chipping at it so lovingly in a way only my God can do.