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Remembering: Lolo Eddie died in a casino
2 kidneys? I’ll take them! By Menchu De Luna Whew! What a journey! When my transplant did not push through in the Philippines in August of 2019, I thought that I was done! When the doctors told me that they cannot do my transplant anymore, I felt that the world fell on me, and I […]
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Creations from a crisis: Handbags with matching scarves, face masks
When Blue Dreams USA, a small farm boutique located in Frederick, Maryland was temporarily closed due to the pandemic, Imelda Roberts and Jeff Snively, co-owners, decided to find creative ways to sustain their business. To power up its online site, Blue Dreams USA is introducing a new product line called BSM-ART Wear by Imelda Roberts, […]
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Queens neighborhood gets free COVID tests
On a frigid January 30 morning, Rosalia Lapena walked two blocks to Monarch Clinic on Woodside and saw a line forming. The long-time Queens resident was among the 50 people who got tested – or swabbed — for free for possible Coronavirus infection by way of a PCR COVID-19 test. “This is a very much-needed […]
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Student nurses use art to heal through the pandemic
By Gretheline Bolandrina As the number of infections with the new COVID-19 variants continues to rise, frontline workers are being pushed beyond breaking point. Coping with the stress and anxiety is a struggle for many health care workers as it is for nursing students who are just getting their feet wet. In an online collaboration, student […]
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‘Filipino nurses are highly regarded in the UK’ – community leader Gene Alcantara (Part 1)
By Cristina DC Pastor British citizen Gene Alcantara has lost three friends to COVID-19. A sister-in-law has tested positive and is isolating. With a new and quick-spreading Coronavirus variant discovered in the UK, he voiced muted confidence that, “we will endure no matter what.” Alcantara, a community leader who has his own immigration consultancy practice, […]
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‘The threat to my health and life has led to anxiety’
By Femarie Clarete-Bedona, RN As a Critical Care Nurse for 27 years, I had the opportunity to serve and render nursing care to patients with different kinds of illnesses. I was confronted with the most challenging and threatening part of my career when New York City became the epicenter of COVID-19 since March of 2020 […]
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Former consul unable to speak, walk is diagnosed with rare neurologic condition
By Cristina DC Pastor A video showing former Consul Khrystina ‘Khrys’ Corpuz Popov suffering from a neurologic disorder was received with shock and an outpouring of emotion throughout the Filipino American community. The video, showing Khrys tearful and clinging unsteadily to her husband Dmitry ‘Dima’ Popov as the two of them stand in the middle […]
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Kids groan the discomfort of wearing masks but warn ‘COVID can give you tummy aches’
By Cristina DC Pastor Kids say the darndest things; they also dispense the wisest advice. Zed Alexander Payumo, 7, stressed the importance of wearing a mask because “COVID can make you sick and give you tummy aches.” A second grader at Success Academy Hudson Yards, Zed, however, is a little bummed that people have to […]
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COVID descended on Belle Villafuerte, RN’s family and claimed her husband
By Cristina DC Pastor It happened in the home of a Filipino American nurse. A registered nurse, her husband, and son all tested positive for the Coronavirus. Belle Villafuerte, RN and son Drew survived, but Al, a respiratory therapist and patriarch of this Rockland County family, passed away in May. It was quite sudden, by […]