Greatness Starts @Home Indeed: A Tribute to Mom

I believe that experiences during childhood at home have a great impact in what one will become someday.

My mom died 30 years ago at a young age due to kidney failure when I was eight years old but she has a great influence on me until now.

My mom

She had Autosomal Dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD), a genetic disorder characterized by numerous cysts in both kidneys which may cause hematuria (blood in the urine) episodes of back pain, flank pain and abdominal pain. 

Polycystic Kidney (Figure courtesy of  NIDDK).

I was told by my father that when I was born, my mom had only one kidney left (after an operation removing the other one) which also had cysts. She frequently had fever and pain perhaps because of recurrent urinary tract infection. But despite the difficult condition she is in, all I can remember is her love and dedication to teaching her children, without any complaints.

Despite the pain and the stress she might be in, knowing she had "bad" kidneys, she was a hands-on mother to me. She accompanied me in field trips, brought me to school, sat me in her lap as she taught me the ABCs and the DoReMi's while assisting me in my homework. We also enjoyed watching Ernie and Bert at Sesame Street together.

Her efforts were not wasted. I was a consistent honor student during her time and even way past her demise, I was high school valedictorian and medical school scholar.

The image of her always by my side as a mother and a teacher at home lingered on.

Fast forward to the present...

I now have a Masters Degree in Health Professions Education which made me better equipped in my teaching profession.

UP Manila Chancellor Arcadio handing me my diploma for my Masters

Yes, I am now myself an educator and it all started at home. 

Following my mother who never got tired of teaching me at home, I became a medical doctor who loves to  guide future medical students despite also having PKD myself. 

I also educate my readers online spreading PKD and public health awareness as a blogger from the comforts of home.

Thanks to my mom, I appreciated the value of teaching early. Thanks to her, I got to love teaching.

And thanks to my mom, I now get to enjoy my greatest moment of achievement  --- witnessing the beginning of greatness of others, my former students as they become successful doctors.

And it all started with the greatness of someone at home --- MY MOM.

If you have a story to share regarding your greatest moment of achievement, then write a blog post about it and submit the link as a comment to the Greatness Starts@Home Blogging Contest Page by Globe Tattoo and get the chance to win great prizes including Samsung Champ phones and Samsung Galaxy Tabs. On the same page, details regarding the contest as well as the criteria for judging are indicated. Stories will be featured on the official Globe Tattoo Facebook page the day after submission. Contest will run from February 25 to March 17, 2012.