Richard Gomez at Lucy Torres
MARAMING natutunan si Leyte 4th district Rep. Lucy Torres-Gomez nang tamaan ng COVID-19 ang asawang si Richard Gomez.
Naikuwento ng kongresista ang tungkol dito nang muli siyang humarap sa ilang members ng entertainment media para sa isang lunch date chikahan.
Isa sa mga pinakamahalagang aral daw na natutunan niya habang nakikipaglaban sa killer virus si Goma, “Do not panic and guard your mental and emotional health.”
“When someone gets it, the whole family is affected and it’s a mental as well as physical battle and we also have to guard our emotional health,” pahayag ni Lucy.
Dagdag pa niya, “The tendency is to panic but each COVID case is a very individual journey, so you have to just listen to your own doctor and stop reading about other cases as they are not your case.
“It’s overwhelming as it’s not like the regular flu since it can go in so many ways, so you take it one day at a time.
“I’m just thankful that my husband is very energetic and it happened at the time of the Olympics kasi otherwise, he will not stay put, lalabas pa rin ‘yan.
“But the Games distracted him so he can he rest and just watch them. Otherwise I’d handcuff him to myself. Para akong nanay niya. I always remind him to conserve his energy for faster healing. But now, he is back to work but I tell him to take it easy,” chika pa ng kongresista.
Samantala, nabanggit din ni Lucy na napakalaki ng naitutulong ng simpleng lifestyle nila ngayon sa Ormoc para sa kanilang mental and emotional health.
“I do yoga and arts and crafts as it helps me become less agitated. My own vlog is part of my coping mechanism as we’re all fighting our own battles.
“I want to share gentle ways on how to cope with our very rough life now because of the pandemic. If I touch just one person and help him get through the day, that’s fine for me,” aniya pa.
Muli rin niyang nabanggit ang “animal kingdom” ng kanilang pamilya. Ito ay ang mga alaga nilang hayop ngayon, “Nakakatuwa lahat sila magkakasundo — aso, chicken, baboy, bayawak, gansa, turtle — they all get along!”
“Anak sila nang anak, masaya love life nila. They lay eggs where they choose even sa manger ko, they keep on pushing baby Jesus so I put baskets where they can lay eggs!” sabi pa ng misis ni Goma.
Tungkol naman sa COVID infection sa Ormoc, “Our cases are relatively low. Last report I got is we got only 18 cases. We don’t have the bigger healthcare capacity of bigger cities, so from the start our thrust is prevention more than treatment.
“We’re very strict with our border controls to keep Ormoc safe. People from other municipalities cannot just enter our city. In terms of land area, Ormoc is actually as big as Manila, but with lesser people, only 200,000, and there are more open areas and we have easy access to the mountains and the sea,” paliwanag pa niya.
Hanggang ngayon ay pinag-iisipan pa rin ni Lucy kung tatakbo siyang senador sa 2022 elections at wala pa rin daw final decision kung makakasama siya sa senate slate ng tambalang Ping Lacson at Tito Sotto.
“I’m glad somebody wants to include me in their slate. I’m thankful as it’s a blessing, an added value. But wala pa kong formal talks with them and I haven’t really decided yet.
“I’m still weighing my options. But Richard, he will be the one to run for a seat in congress as it’s my last term,” aniya pa.
Diin pa niya, “The priority now is COVID response. How to cope with it as a people, as a nation, we’re all fighting the same battle. We should all look out for each other.”