Till There Was You

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A/N:

"Technology... is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other."-Carrie Snow

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Great ideas come out of the unexpected.

Like Newton's apple or Archimedes in a bathtub.

***

Jade's idea to post videos in my YouTube channel, Alt-A, came out of the blue.

Sumama siya sa amin ni Batchi during one of Papa's treatment dahil day off niya.

Para malibang habang naghihintay at dahil na din sa request ng ibang bantay sa waiting room at sa mga nurses ng hospital, bago isalang sa Papa sa chemo, kumakanta muna kami.

The first time na ginawa naming yun, we sang Morning Has Broken by Cat Stevens.

Ako ang naggigitara at si Papa ang kumanta dahil favorite niya ang kantang ito.

May nagrecord ng video and it gave me the idea to upload it to my computer.

I gave those sessions the title, Jams With My Father.

Hindi ko naisip na i-upload ito sa YouTube kasi it never crossed my mind.

Isa pa, personal memories ko yun and I tend to be very protective of moments spent with my family.

I thought our singing would just be a one-time thing.

Pero nagustuhan ni Papa kasi nalilibang daw siya.

Sinabi din niya na those moments give him the courage para kayanin ang treatment.

So everytime pupunta kami sa hospital, bukod sa mga bitbit na gamit at pagkain, dala ko din ang aking acoustic guitar.

Kalaunan, napansin din ng mga staff sa hospital na ang pagkanta namin ay nagbigay ng sigla hindi lang sa mga nagbabantay sa pasyente kundi sa mga pasyente mismo.

Kung dati daw eh somber ang mood, obviously dahil maysakit sila at may dinadaing, biglang naging hopeful ang atmosphere.

Umabot pa ito sa punto na kapag nasa treatment room si Papa, I would be in one of the rooms singing to a patient who requested for me.

Sa totoo lang, alam ko naman na powerful ang music.

Pero to see its power in full force kapag napapangiti ko ang mga patients who are suffering and on the verge of hopelessness, I feel fulfilled.

Yun ang isang bagay na hindi ko naexperience before dahil wala naman ako sa ganitong environment.

I was always in concerts and in the company of people who are young and energetic.

At my age, I don't really focus on death and sickness.

I lost my mother when I was young and I didn't understand the concept of death then so I never really felt its impact.

Pero nang magkasakit si Papa at nakita ko ang suffering niya, I contemplated on mortality.

Then, nung nasa hospital na kami at nakita ko how fleeting life can be, lalo kung narealize na we shouldn't take each moment for granted.

There was one time na habang naghihintay kami eh biglang nagcode blue.

Nagulat ako kasi the other day lang ay kausap ko yung pasyente and then all of a sudden, everyone was rushing to his room dahil inatake ito.

He never made it.

I was so shocked hindi ko napigilang umiyak.

This was also the reason kung bakit naisip ni Jade na i-upload ko yung mga videos publicly.