It's not a stretch to say that these past couple of years have been hard on everyone. We've seen friends and family fall for multiple reasons during these challenging times. It's sometimes difficult to find the beauty in such a disaster, but we have seen and felt the power of love in coming together to help lift one another in whatever way possible. With that faith and knowledge, we now ask for help for our dad, Rolando Yaranon. He worked three days straight without water, food or sleep due to financial stress.

 

Monday, May 16th, going on day three without sleep, dad began to show signs of delusion. He was moody and argumentative; he was shaky; his vision was distorted, and he started seeing things that were not there. No one knew of his stress and that he hadn't slept or eaten for three days straight.

 

Tuesday, May 17th, dad has been admitted to the hospital. He does not know why he is there. Other than the physical weakness throughout his body, he has not been able to comprehend what has happened. The diagnosis is hard to find as he experienced symptoms that could be for multiple reasons. The doctors ask about a history of substance abuse. They perform a CT scan, blood work, medication to sedate him, and an IV of fluids. Dad drinks water and says it's the first he's had in days. He's slowly becoming coherent and providing information. He later eats a big meal and sleeps before an ordered ultrasound in the morning. CT scan comes back normal.

 

Wednesday, May 18th, an ultrasound is performed. A physical therapist and a social worker are ordered. Dad is asking for visitors and wants nothing more than to go home. Today is when he reveals he is stressed due to finances and work. He tells the doctor, "I have a job to finish; I'm the only one who provides for my family." The ultrasound does not reveal anything that relates to dad's symptoms. The Dr ordered an MRI and more bloodwork to see if he may be experiencing early signs of dementia. The social worker returns at the end of the day informing dad that she has ruled out alcohol as the source.

 

Thursday, May 19th, the Dr says MRI and bloodwork look normal. He has determined that dad’s psychosis state was a result of stress. He recommends that dad learn to manage his stress and ask for help. He encourages a psych eval as dad has no family history of mental illness and there could be a link to stress triggering some unknown or underlying problem. Dad is happy to be discharged and going home.

 

However… the stress remains.

 

If you know our dad, you already know his stubbornness is not the rude, obnoxious, loud type. It’s the driven-type. No time for himself-type. He has places to be, goals to achieve, and a huge family to show up for. He is goofy and funny, everybody’s friend. A loving son, brother, uncle, husband, father, papa, neighbor and cornhole community favorite.

 

His childhood story is one of survival in the Philippines, and when he became a young dad at the age of 20, he learned the construction trade of tile work to support his family. He worked hard to obtain his U.S citizenship and form his own business, Roland Tile Works. He was driven by his love for his wife and 7 children, and always managed to provide on a single income while giving thanks and the glory to God.

 

 

All this to say, Roland does not focus on himself. Self-care is clearly not in his broken-English vocabulary. As a family, we were unaware of the intense amount of stress he is under. Tile work is highly laborious. At 57, the work has taken its toll on his body and mind. We believe he feels stressed because he is delayed in work and therefore behind on rent and bills. After doing some research, we have confirmed dad is in a deep hole.

The family has gathered to form a plan. Our goal is to help ease some of dad’s burden. We recognize that he needs to look within to truly be healthy. As the doctor said he needs to learn to manage his workload and stress. He told dad to ask for help. Will you please help encourage our dad to take those steps by donating? Please also be on the lookout for garage sales and cornhole tournament fundraisers this summer. We want to show him he can’t do everything on his own. His body is teaching him that. We pray he learns and this scary event was a one-time lesson.

 

Thank you sincerely from the Yaranon family,

Anna, Erika, Joel, Katie, Ben, Jesse, Leah, all of our spouses and children 

 

Mathew 6:26-34

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”