Reality check

En route back to Manila after lovely Siquijor, Dumaguete airport, of all places, provided me with a reality check from a simple back and foot massage prior to departure.

A group of blind masseurs, male and female, work at the airport providing weary travellers with back or feet massage for 100 pesos (the equivalent of around £1.40) for half an hour. This fee is a way of earning an income for them which would not usually be available to them because of their disability.

Being a massage fiend, I opted for both a back and feet massage. I was assigned to a gentleman called Gel who promptly set to work on the knots on my shoulders.

You know me, I like a chat so obviously we got chatting and I asked Gel what he did before becoming a masseur. He told me that he never got the chance to do anything else other than school because at the age of 14 he contracted the measles virus which made him go blind.Understandably, it's something he finds difficult to accept even after all this time. He is, however, philosophical about his plight but looks forward 'to being in heaven where there is no disability according to the gospel of Isaiah'.

I'm not really one for religion but I let him speak and I also told him to be proud of his skills as not many people could do what he does as well, regardless of what else was awaiting for him on the 'other side'. He said he was glad to have met me and thanked me for my 'Christian words'.

Again, I was not trying to be religious when I spoke with Gel. I genuinely meant what I said to him and I don't feel I was being Christian in what I said to him. Just being honest and as someone who believes in telling people when they have done a good job, I did so.

What Gel also reminded me today is the importance of being resilient, of never giving up and to live a life as well as you possibly can regardless of what the universe has in store.

It's easy to forget that when you're having fun 'on holiday' but a good reminder for me as I return to my medical reality.

Thank you Gel, in more ways than one.