Life after stroke
How the 3S Foundation was born and is now helping hundreds of stroke survivors
By Alysa Manzano
Contributor
He was playing golf when he suddenly felt he was dragging his right foot. What followed was an episode so rapid and severe. The next thing he knew, life was never the same.
Ed Tolentino was 51 and a lawyer in his prime when stroke struck him. It left him with a dead arm, a bad temperament, and a cane. Soon, he lost his clients, his earnings, and self-esteem. He was naturally devastated.
"Why me and what did I do to deserve this?" were his thoughts. For weeks and months, he chose to be left alone, trying to ascertain what would become of him after the stroke.
But if he would not help himself to recover, who would? That question was to be Ed's turning point. When shock wore off, he found himself "looking for something beyond the four corners of my room."
"I said, 'Perhaps there is still life out there,'" Ed relates.
A friend brought up the idea of putting up a foundation for stroke survivors. The next day, Ed found himself recruiting members from his rehabilitation group at the Philippine Heart Center (PHC).
"I still had a cane then. I talked to them and said: 'Maybe, we can still do something productive. Let's get back to our old selves, recover, and have a business."
That signaled the birth of the 3S Foundation Inc.
3S, short for Stroke Survivors Support Foundation, started with no name, office, or telephone. But when it got its certificate of incorporation on September 19, 2002, everything started falling into place.
The PHC, through director Dr. Lutgerio Torres, provided 3S an office on the eighth floor of the Medical Arts Center building. It even lent its training room and doctors to speak at the various stroke seminars 3S organized. The St. Luke's Medical Center also did the same. Therapharma Inc. later donated equipment, sponsored the members' transportation, and worked on 3S's web site (www.3sfoundation.org.ph)
The wife of a member who is a linguist adapted the motto Sanctifico in Infirmitate or Sanctification in Infirmity.
3S aims to educate stroke survivors on the treatment and prevention of stroke and provide business opportunities for them. Its officers include Ed as president; Jim Nibungco, vice president and chief executive officer; Alma Angeles, secretary; Carmen Nibungco, treasurer; and Francis Lee, PRO. The Board of Trustees is composed of Ramil Cabrera, Esperanza Calalay, Crus Ragudo, Cora Lagman, Cely Ragudo Abelardo Torres, and Ross de la Vega.
Since 2002, 3S has been instrumental in providing livelihood seminars for stroke survivors on how to make their own tocino and longganisa or sell fishball, quekiam, and siopao.
"Except for money, which we don't have, we help them start their own small businesses by teaching them how to get started. We give them the training, the opportunity, and even introduce them to persons who can help them with financing," Ed says, adding "that way, they can be assets rather than liabilities to their families."
Aside from livelihood seminars, 3S also offers art therapy for stroke survivors to express themselves through drawing or painting.
Stroke often causes physical disability. But for Ed, "My physical capability may be limited but not my mental ability," he says. He staggers when he walks and has a dead arm dangling by his side. But his speech is never slurred. He thinks clearly and gets his point across. But what is fascinating about the man is his desire to make a difference in the lives of stroke survivors.
"There are victims who were left behind by their families. I hope 3S, through donors and partners, can find ways and means to help them by giving free services like physical rehab for those who cannot afford it."
Eight years after his stroke, Ed is unstoppable. "I now look at life with a positive attitude. I can drive again, take a bath and dress on my own, go to office, have business, attend to my farm," he proudly says.
What else could make Ed happy? "Seeing that we have more members around the country and have established local chapters."
He is now looking forward to 3S's first ever convention in August in Santiago City, Isabela.
"Hopefully, we can also come up with a brochure on how to prevent stroke that can be understood by ordinary people."'
Ed is proof that disability is not a hindrance to making a difference in other people's lives, be they stroke victims or not.
The man is pregnant with dreams, one of which is to see that all stroke survivors get back to the "land of the living." Yet the biggest of them all is to see that stroke cases reduce dramatically.
Ed says it may not happen in his lifetime. But he is comfortable enough knowing somebody else would continue what he has started long after he's gone.
One need not be a stroke victim to be part of Ed Tolentino's dream. 3S Foundation is just a call away: +63-2-9252401 ext. 326.
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