Still mentally sharp at 102
Many people her age are battling Alzheimer’s, dementia, hypertension and cancer. But lawyer Michaelina Ramos-Balasbas, at 102, has none of these scourges of age. Her only major hospitalization was in 2018, when she had hip surgery at 95.
One early morning on New Year’s Day, Lalang, as she is fondly called, slipped while tending her garden. Everyone was asleep. Her children, who rushed her to the hospital, were scared. Lalang was at an age when doctors reject surgery for patients due to poor health. But a lifestyle focused on a diet of fish, fruits and vegetables, along with daily walking and gardening, saved her. Her doctor, St. Lukes’ Antonio Tanchuling, Jr., examined her, checked her laboratory tests, and pronounced her fit for surgery. She was discharged from the hospital days three days after.
At home, her daughter, lawyer and Philippine STAR contributor Dot Gancayco says her mom never took maintenance medications, just multivitamins and a popular nutritional powdered drink. Thus, her kidneys are in tiptop shape.
At 99, she contracted COVID during the pandemic when a caregiver caught the virus, but was not hospitalized.
She nurtured her mind, body, and soul the way she nurtured her children — with fierce devotion, joyful discipline, and unconditional love. At 102, she is not just surviving, but shining.
She stayed in the comfort of home, which she shares with her youngest child, Benny, niece Sally (whom she cared for since birth) and two grandchildren. Another daughter, Marge del Prado, lives in the same Quezon City compound (besides Dot, Marge and Benny, Lalang has three more children—lawyers Mareyca Sadang, bar topnotcher Fortune, who passed away at 52, and engineer Cresencio Jr.).
For her part, Mareyca created a Viber group—Lalang’s Wellbeing— which lists everything caregivers must check and report on every day: blood pressure, pulse rate, how many minutes of walking, sunshine and gentle massage, oxygen level, glasses of warm water consumed, bathtime, TV, Mass/rosary, and frequency of urination and defecation. The children, caregivers and Sally are part of the group.
Mareyca even had a CCTV installed so her siblings can check on Mom and the caregivers 24/7. Marge, a pharmacist, checks on Lalang’s diet—only healthy food, serving size (small portions six times a day) and her daily dose of vitamins.
Because she’s the busiest of the sisters, Dot’s role is that of materials provider—food, alcohol, face masks, hand wipes, flowers, etc.
Each time she comes home from a trip abroad, Dot visits Lalang. Dot asks her mom, “Who am I?” The quick, agitated reply: “You’re Dot, who else?”
Dot attributes this mental sharpness to her mom’s love for books and learning. Lalang used to read three newspapers a day from cover to cover. The living room was so full of books, it looked like a mini-library, with Readers’ Digest, four encyclopedia sets, Shakepeare novels, history books and others lining the shelves. She watches the morning and evening news and Dot’s UNTV public service show.
Now that she’s not that mobile anymore, she lets her imagination run free through daily Netflix movies and travel shows about must-see destinations. Since her hearing has declined, Lalang basks in the joy of reading movie subtitles instead.
She’s also enjoying the fruits of her real-estate investments. Apartment rentals, and proceeds from the sale of provincial lots are funding her basic needs. Her daughters proudly say that their mom never asked for financial help from the time their dad passed away when she was only 62. Three of her children were still studying then. Two were in the UP College of Law, while one was in college.
This lover of Ilocano music expresses her feelings in song, words and actions. For her, bottling them up inside—especially the negative ones —is hazardous to health.
When this conservative mom saw her eldest daughter’s boyfriend (now husband, Justice Melchor Sadang) putting a hand over her back as they crossed the street, the ballistic mom let off a torrent of angry words. When she accompanied the same daughter to UP for the law school entrance exams, the determined mom blocked the test giver’s way so that the latter finally let the future lawyer to take the test. It mattered not that the girl didn’t have a test permit because she didn’t check the schedule. Mom insisted that she take the test the very day they learned about the exam through the radio.
Nine great grandchildren, 16 intelligent grandchildren and six successful children after, Lalang still astounds with her strong opinions, mental sharpness and resilience.
She took care of her mind, body and soul the same way she looked after her children—with a devotion so fierce; a love so deep. Now, she’s reaping the sweet fruits of this labor of love.
