Masonic Hospital for crippled children

Title

Creator

Cipriano, M. D.

Language

English

Source

The Cabletow I New Series (No. 4) April 1959

Year

1959

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

MASONIC HOSPITAL It will be difficult for anyone not far.iiliar with the workings of the Hospi tal to realize the magnitude and subli mity of the project if he does not ac tually see with his own eyes the meta morphosis wrought on the crippled chil dren after a long treatment interspersed with surgical operations. These children usually arrive at our two wards (one at the Mary Johnston Hospital, Tondo, Manila, and another a" De los Santos Clinic in Quezon City), carried by their parents in their arms, pitifully deformed and helpless, having their lower ex tremities, particularly of those who have suffered the dreadful poliom yelitis, markedly thin, atrophied, inert, devoid of muscular motion. By build ing up their health through the use of vitamins and their physical bodies by means of massage, physiotherapy and operations, these children slowly be come robust, reacquire the lost motion and learn to stand up and finally, after many days of practice and with the aid of braces and crutches, to walk alone. In the case of other diseases, such as congenital deformity, burns, Pott’s, frac ture of bones and others, there is of 140 THE CABLE TOW April, 1959 course variation in the treatment, but just the same, surgical operations, and sometimes transplantings of skin, are resorted to. With the exception of very few, these patients belong to indigent fa milies residing in the different parts of the Archipelago, and all their expenses for hospitalization, operation, medi cines, etc., are borne by the Hospital. The work, therefore, of the Hospital is not only charitable but eminently humanitarian and altruistic as well That work is the visible manifestation and the quintessence of the Mason’s love for his fellow man. Human be ings who would otherwise have been condemned for the rest of their lives to utter uselessness and to be a burden to societv, arc converted into useful citi zens ready to perform their duties as such in their respective communities, thanks to the loving care of Masons put into practice by their effective ins trumentality — the Masonic Hospital lor Crippled Children. Number of Patients Treated During the year under review, fortvtwo patients were admitted in our two wards for hospitalization — twentv-two in the Mary Johnston Hospital and twenty in De los Santos Clinic. In addition, we had thirteen out-patients - eight at De los Santos Clinic and five at the Mary Johnston Hospital. Thev arc called outpatients because their conditions do not require hospitaliza tion and they come periodically for treatment. Out of the above-mentioned lortv-two patients, nine still remain in the Mary Johnston Hospital and eight in De los Santos Clinic for further hos pitalization and operation, the other twenty-five having been sent home greatly improved physically and men tally, if not altogether returned to nor malcy. Needless to say, the families of these children feel deeply indebted to the Hospital for the good done unto them. Wor. Bro. Pio C. Castro, Past Master of Dagohoy Lodge No. 84 wrote us on May 8, 1958, expressing his and Mrs. Castro’s sincere thanks and gratitude for the help being given to their son Estolano, and stating the following: “He (Estolano) has improved phy sically and mentally during his stay at the Mary Johnston Hospital and I can say without reservation that this branch of service we are extend ing to our crippled ones is both com mendable and worthy of praise. I have seen the little ones romping and jumping around in their little beds and to be able to be in such ideal and beautiful environment is a pri vilege. I should not wonder if many of them would not want to go home. This is one time I feel proud to be a member of the Fraternity . . . Mrs. Castro and I have decided to give regular donation to this worthy en terprise beside my membership in Wor. Bro. Castro remitted through a son of his the sum of P100.00. Wor. Bro. Pedro Romasoc, P. M., Secretarv of Agno Loldgc No. 75 in forms us in his letter dated May 20, 1958, that — “Brother Libcrio G. Bcrnarte came tn me yesterday to tell me that his nephew (Master Vintigan) left our Masonic Hospital for Crippled Chil dren on May 17, 1958 . . . The im proved physical condition of Master Vintigan gave pride to his parents in particular and to the neighborhood and community in general. Our Hospital made a good name in Tayug . . . when he came home healthy and improved of his deformity ...” Membership The membership of the Hospital dur ing the year is as follows: Regular Members.......... 78 Life Member ................ 43 Sustaining Member .... 9 Total ...................... 130 If it would be taken into account that the number of active Masons in this jurisdiction is approximatelv 9,700 strong, the present membership of the Hospital would appear to be glaringlv out of proportion. A campaign for membership, therefore, seems now to be in order. MATEO D. CIPRIANO Secretary This Masonic project is not receiv ing the support that it should. It is regrettable that in a Jurisdiction of some nine thousand members, we have only 130 brethren belonging to the Ma sonic Hospital for Crippled Children. Any brother interested in this project beyond their yearly assessment collect ed through his lodge, and desires to be a member of the Association will please contact the Secretary of the Ma sonic Hospital for Crippled Children, Inc., W. Bro. Mateo Cipriano, at the Plaridel Masonic Temple, 1440 San Marcelino, Manila. -IIRH AAA GRAND LODGE OF JAPAN IN COMMUNICATION Our Grand Master, Howard R. Hick, made a trip to Japan to be a guest of the Grand Lodge of Japan in tneir sec ond annual communication on March 14 & 15, 1959 held in Tokyo. In a letter received from him, the communication was carried on with dis patch and great enthusiasm. The grandest news was the election of Ja panese nationals to the three most im portant positions: those of Grand Mas ter, Deputy Grand Master, and Grand Senior Warden. The installation ce remonies were most impressive. Our Grand Master presented, in behalf of the Grand Lodge of the Philippines, a beautiful Bible with gold engraving; and on his own, a set of embroidered markers. In turn, the Grand Lodge of Japan presented to the Grand Lodge of the Philippnes a silver tray with three vessels for corn, wine, and oil in a beautiful case. Grand Master Hick was the guest speaker at the commu nication and at the fraternal banquet offer the installation. The officers of the Grand Lodge of Japan for 1959-60 are: Grand Master, George S. Horiuchi; Deputy Grand Master, Kivoshi Togasaki; Grand Sen ior Warden, Carl T. Nakamura; Grand Junior Warden, William J. Eichorn; Grand Treasurer, Nohea Peck; Grand Secretary, George Morgulis; Grand Chaplain, Preston W. Long; Grand Orator, Takashi Komatsu; Grand Mar shal, Leroy Allen; Grand Standard bearer, Charles Bischofberger; Grand Sword Bearer, John Cox; Grand Bible Bearer, David Meth; Grand Senior Lecturer, William Connors; Grand Junior Lecturer, George Booth; Grand Senior Deacon, Kiyoshi Takano; Grand Junior Deacon, Fred Alexander; Grand Senior Steward, Richard Isono; Grand Junior Steward, John A. Alford; Grand Pursuivant, T. Ishihara; Grand Organ ist, Hiroji Matsuzaki; and Grand Tyler, Stanley Greenberg. 142 THE CABLE TOW April, 1959

pages

140-142

Media