We all have a reason for being here, for being alive. Sometimes we don't know what that reason is until it slaps us on the back of the head.

In 2000, my wife was involved in a car accident which split her forehead open about 2 inches. Well, she had to sue the insurance company for the other party because they only wanted to cover the hospital bill and that was it. Our car was destroyed and my wife received a permanent scar. Whether suing the insurance company was the right thing to do or not is not important. At least not as important as what the money she received ended up being used for.

In 2001 (I think, memory's hazy), two of my brothers-in-law were shot to death a few meters from where my house stands today. A third was critically injured. It took every penny and then some to pay for the multiple surgery sessions to keep him alive. That's where her insurance money went. He had to have abdominal surgery and that involves the intestines, colon, whatever. He lived with a bag for a year.

In the Philippines, if you do no have any form of health insurance and if you don't have any money, you will die before you get treated at a hospital. This is not the United States. The hospitals are not subsidized in any way and most people live below the poverty level and cannot afford to pay anything. There is no government assistance for the poor. No welfare, nada, zilch, zip.

My brother-in-law, Joshua Jr. (June) is alive and well today (with a lot of scars) because of me and my wife. In fact, we are still supporting him, his wife, and his two daughters. A portion of my pension is given to him when I receive it every month. Do I or my wife ask for anything in return? No. Really. He does things for us of his own volition, but not because we ask.