The cycle had to stop and I was the only one who could put an end to it…

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A few months back, Jinoe asked me to send in my “before and after” pics, coupled with a story of how running changed my life. I mentioned in that short write-up that I have what I call a “weight cycle.” It’s a cycle where I start off with normal weight then I balloon, followed by a period where I shed all the excess weight again… Only to be followed by another period where I gain everything back again. It’s really an awful cycle.

NOTE: photo courtesy of TAKBO.PH (2008 Running Yearbook)

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Before I started running, I was at my peak of being overweight in 2006. It was the most unhealthy period in my life. I found myself at 215lbs with a waistline of 38″. Looking back, I attribute that period to all those late nights studying, being inactive due to very tight schedule in law school, and a poor or improper diet. Living in a condominium for almost 2 years, I didn’t have the luxury of having a full length mirror to realize I was increasing in size, up until I found myself with one pair of jeans left to wear. When that lone pair couldn’t fit anymore I decided it was enough.

NOTE: Photo courtesy of Ralph Doval-Santos. Taken at Room 200, Malcolm Hall, UP College of Law

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My first real race was the ADIDAS-GK RUN FOR LOVE in October 2007. I ran-walked-ran-walked-walked the 5k. It was probably the first time I had joined a real race. Little did I know that it was going to be the start of my “running story.”

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Come November, I was already really desperate to lose weight. I’d jog around the Ateneo Campus after class and kept myself active. I even went on a vegan diet for a period of almost 3 months starting with the month of December. To most people, it would’ve been the hardest time to diet – Christmas! BUT I was really determined to lose weight. I had also quit smoking (and have maintained it too!) so that I could breathe better when I ran. Come January I had amazingly lost 25 lbs. I had broken the 200 lb barrier.

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Feeling good about myself, I started the year by joining the ICTUS Century Run (Jan. 13, 2008). It was my first race for the year and I did 5k. It was my “pre-Subic” run which was held the Sunday after.

The Subic International Marathon was my “running turning point”. It was also my first 10k run. My offical time was 1:15.26. Not bad for my first 10k… or so I thought. It was at this juncture that I decided to take running seriously. Never did I have the discipline to wake up really early for something (not even school), nor travel hundreds of kilometers just to attend an event that would last for less than an hour. There was just something fascinating about the effort that I put in, the preparations, the crowd that I was with, the thrill of being part of something big. It was a feeling that I wanted to experience over and over again.

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TO BE CONTINUED…

Therese was born 12 years ago, to a couple full of hope and dreams to raise a “family that would be like a small church, a community of love where, by loving our children, we can teach our children the love of God and bring them closer to the Father”. Wawel and Mila Mercado were 10 months into their blissful marriage when Therese came into their world. “Ang sarap ng may baby” (It feels good to have a baby), Mila said, clutching their precious daughter for the first time. Little did they know that those were going to be her last words and the last time she was going to be able to embrace Therese… for after a few minutes, Mila slipped into coma.

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Wawel was in a daze, witnessing his beautiful and affectionate wife reduced to someone helpless and unresponsive. Mila suffered a brain injury after childbirth due to amniotic fluid embolism. After 44 grueling days in the hospital, he was able to take home Mila. Although by some miracle, Mila was able to wake up from her comatose state, the brain damage caused her to lose motor control and consequently made her unable to speak, eat, move and care for herself. It was very painful for Wawel to see her in this state. No one deserves to go through such sorrow. Expectedly, he grieved for the loss of the Mila he knew. He felt angry, disillusioned and desperate.

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His whole life transformed as he immersed himself in taking care of Mila. He became her main and ultimate care-giver, knowing just about everything there is to know regarding the medical and rehabilitation aspects of caring for her. He struggled with feelings of humiliation and rejection as people viewed them as “being not normal”. It was very difficult and he continuously begged God to grant him the miracle of Mila’s physical healing. Although it was not in God’s master plan to grant him this, God’s blessing came in another form. God gave Wawel the grace of acceptance, and the grace to love Mila as a father would love a child, unconditionally, without expecting anything in return. God gave him the gift of appreciating the simple joys in life – seeing Mila laugh or smile, reading inspirational books to her, and being comforted by praying the holy rosary together. God led them to a community where they felt they belonged, where “God used their presence to touch people, that despite the absence of physical healing, their love allowed others to experience the healing love of marriage.”

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When it rains, it pours. God continuously showered them with blessing upon blessing. Therese, who is now 12 years old, has grown to be a very loving and caring child. Even at a young age, she has been Wawel’s partner in helping care for Mila. In more ways than one, Therese is blessed just witnessing Wawel’s unwavering faith and love for Mila.

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It was about 6 years ago when Team Mila was formed. Wawel was inspired to join fun races with Mila on a stroller when he learned of a 60 year old man who joins regular races pushing his wheelchair-bound son with cerebral palsy. He ran races with Mila to be able to raise community awareness regarding disability and acceptance for persons with disabilities. They have joined several fun runs as a couple, including the Milo Marathon and Pinay in Action event. He organized a unique race where able-bodied runners paced with wheelchair-bound participants. His special advocacy inspired him to build ramps in churches to make them accessible to persons with disabilities.

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Unfortunately, because of Wawel’s foot injury, he stopped running for a while. This summer, upon the prodding of Therese, he started to train again. The invitation to run in the “M.O.V.E Manila Run 09” this July 19, 2009, 5am, at UP Diliman feels like “an answered prayer” for Wawel. He has started running again this summer with an end goal to join a race soon. He believes that “this is a tailor-made event for us. It may be God’s way of telling us to run again.” At the “M.O.V.E Manila Run 09”, Team Mila will be composed of three members – Wawel, Mila and Therese. They will run with wheelchair athletes, persons with various disabilities as well as with able-bodied runners. The benefit run caps the celebration of the 31st National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week. It supports the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM) Fund for the Needy Disabled.

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Team Mila continues to dream and hope… to live and believe… that God runs the race with them.

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Story contributed by Freckleface through Dr. Melissa Zamuco-Mercado.