Good evening!Tonight I am privileged to honor our beloved mentor, Dr Thelma Tupasi Ramos, my Ninang whom i am so indebted to. A couple of decades ago when we were then residents and she was then the Section Chief of Infectious Disease, we marveled at her brilliance as an expert in her field.....in the manner she speaks in our weekly grandrounds...i remember her as a very articulate and eloquent speaker with a vast knowledge of her specialty. She is a gifted and light hearted teacher.Interns and residents would hover around her to pick up clinical pearls as she makes her daily rounds. She showed a pleasant, bubbly, witty and joyous countenance dealing with everyone and at the same time, i observed her excellent bedside manners....she was very patient, very respectful, humble and compassionate towards her patients even if sometimes she was the recipient of their irritability and arrogance.
Dra Tupasi is an inspiration to me and many more younger colleagues.About 35 years ago, when I was a senior resident, i run to her for rescue....almost in tears, fearing that Dr Dennis Damaso of Medical Education then, will not allow me to graduate because I did not have a research paper yet.Like a mother. She calmed me down, comforted me and encouraged me as she sat with me outside her clinic for some time to discuss how I should write my paper.With her guidance, after a few meetings with her, i was able to do a a 10 year retrospective comparative study on Liver Abscess....Aspiration vs medical therapy alone. Her mentoring lifted me and allowed me to move up the ladder as a 4 th year Chief Resident in medicine and continued on to fellowship training. Since then, she became close to my heart.Maybe we found a common ground as we both are provincianas coming from the north...she from Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya and I grew up in the hinterlands of Tabuk, Kalinga.She built my confidence as she and Dr.Claver referred their patients, relatives and friends to me for which I was so honored and very grateful. In the last few weeks of her life, I kept praying for her healing and for her family too...many times during the day with my rosary in my medical gown, I prayed, even when I was in my clinic auscultating my patients, I would momentarily close my eyes and wish to God to make her well. I could imagine how difficult her last days were, with continuous, unceasing accumulation of fluids in her lungs and progressive metastasis until her body gave up. Now, she is happy where she is... in God’ s Bosom.We continue to pray for her and her family that they may find strength and solidarity in this difficult time....for their family.....
Dra.was the sunshine in their lives. Missing Dra.Tupasi. She will always be remembered as a beautiful person in and out....a great mentor, brilliant academician, compassionate doctor, diligent researcher / scientist, loving wife, mother and friend!We are blessed by her Life.Thank you Lord for allowing us to be touched by her life... for thru her, you showed your faithfulness and unending love to us!