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Love for Marivic's Incredible Heart of Gold

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Hi! I am Arnel Culata, leader of Team Marivic and I dedicate this funding page for her and others with cancer. This narrative might be longer than usual for others, but for Marivic, I've prepared and am giving my all here. I am going all out on this. So thank you for reading on...

Although, first, I just want to ask.... What do you  do when you accidently find a signed check worth One Million and is payable in cash??? Kinda hard to answer right? But allow us to tell the story of the rollercoaster journey of this awesome lady. She is the one and only lady love of my life... Maria Victoria Carrillo Cruz... ...and She found one, just like that!

Marivic or Mavic as she is fondly called, is from Manila, Philippines.  A native of Gagalangin Tondo, Manila. She is a kin of the Cruz clan of musical entertainers and she dreams of coming over to the US one day soon, to be with me.

Everyone who knows her, will say a lot of good things about her.  She is not only one of the nice pretty faces in the family but one of the favorites  as well by her old folks and cousins.  All her friends  would undoubtedly say she is the healthiest person they know not only with her build but in the way she carries herself in all her relations. She is so simple yet a vibrant, animated lady so pleasant to talk with, innocent and child-like in her ways, who always wears a captivating smile and so agreeing to her friends who say she is an extremely excellent cook too. She is active as an avid dancer... 

a runner...an athlete in the sport of badminton... 

and she took up boxing too!

 Aside from suffering a minor accident in her elementary years,  Marivic has been the absolute epitome of health to everyone because of her energy, enthusiasm for life and love of others especially kids. She is a devout catholic and never misses a Thursday or Sunday mass at her favorite church. She radiates positivity and happiness. Those were all the good traits I saw when I first laid my eyes on her when we were just nineteen.

ONE IN A MILLION YOU 

Mavic as she's called by her workmates, is a very punctual and hard worker in the hotel where she formerly worked at being assigned to different departments and worked the rounds of several floors for memo distribution.  She says it's a way for her to be fit and slimmer. 

Not everyone knows this, but one regular day at work in the valet shop, while sorting some laundry, she accidentally found a check payable in cash! In her hurry, she initially read the amount as 1,000 pesos.  She got a bit nervous because upon showing it to her workmates before bringing it to the laundry manager, they pointed out to her that it was a staggering One Million Pesos!! Payable in cash! That elicited some different views from some of her co-employees, some with practical reasons and some with ulterior motives.  Nevertheless, she still planned to surrender it no matter how big or small the amount is and return it to the rightful owner. She then turned it over and they found the owner who offered her a big reward but she humbly turned it down. That showed her good intentions,  sincerity, honesty and dedication to her work. A testament to her pure heart.

She became an instant star in her company because of that famous incident and it was even picked up by some mainstream media outlets who attempted to get an interview with her which she politely refused. The company gave her a plaque of recognition and she eventually gave in to be headlined-featured in their newsletter-gazette with an article entitled: One in a Million ( shown here in the photo) 

A truly great, noble feat from a lady with a heart of gold... and a diamond smile. She is indeed a one in a million girl.

HER HARD ROLLERCOASTER JOURNEY 

Shortly after that episode in 2011, she noticed a tomato-sized lump within her right breast. She had it checked and her doctor gave her the news that every woman doesn't want to hear--- She has stage 3 cancer.... and she will have to undergo mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy.  

It shook her to the core, "why me?" "Had I done something seriously wrong??? "She had just stressed over a long traumatic relationship, yes, but she already was over it, got separated and was moving on as a single lady for the longest time. But this was reality. And with her family's pledge of support, she was willing to fight. And a fight it was, because in 2017, she was declared cancer free. 

A LOVE STORY.... FOR THE BOOKS

That was the year then, that we celebrated the first year of our long distance relationship after we found each other again in the internet in 2016 after 31 long years of separation. I was in the US, she, in the Philippines...I was her first love and first boyfriend ever (well, according to her :))

Rare 1985 first photo of us together as couple: 

She still remained cleanly single and without a child. That itself is so incredible! I couldnt believe it! I myself had gone through a traumatic divorce right after the very painful loss of my 17 yr. old eldest son from a cycling accident in 2012...could you now begin to imagine how much depressed I was coming out from all of that....so it was amazing how divine fate put us back together again. We both found love and so much happiness again that it probably had a placebo effect on Marivic's health.  Maybe our love cured her illness ... and my loneliness too ...just maybe.

FUN,FUN, FUN,.....THEN SADNESS

After 11 years of not going back to the Philippines and 31 years of not seeing Marivic in person, I finally visited Manila in December 2018 to see my 86 yr old healthy mom, and my sister, who incidentally was also recently diagnosed to have stage3 breast cancer, and of course Marivic, for the first time in our adult lives. We went places together with our friends and families and had real fun.

I'd say because it's really "More Fun in the Philippines" well, it's a tagline from the department of tourism. But I like it more if it said, " There's More Love in the Philippines "!

I then proposed to her for a "Merging" of our souls and it was a super happy, joyful, wonderful and awesome celebration event merging both of our families and circle of friends. We had a blast! The photos will tell it all!

    ....But in the midst of the aftermath of the happiness of our affair, we discovered again in January, two small cysts had grown on her neck and anterior chest. By then she was already experiencing  sporadic attacks of severe bone and body pains on her side, back and legs, which she couldn't really bear, often times screaming and crying in anguish.

We promptly went back to her oncologist and was ordered to have it surgically removed for biopsy and take the whole gamut of expensive tests and bloodworks, Sono-mammogram, ultrasound, X-ray, MRI-CT Scan and bone scan.

The dots shows the extent of cancer in her body

Fearing the worst, but hoping for the best, we went back to her doctor on February 14th, valentines day to know the results.  Then, our world crumbled on us. Marivic received the most terrible news of her life...... She is already on the 4th and last stage of Cancer! It already had metastasized to her bones, lymphnodes, adrenal glands and is fast creeping into her liver, skull and brain.

The sadder thing is, we just witnessed the deaths of her nephew and two cousins one after the other within a single year because of cancer..... But Marivic took it  in stride. She was peaceful, and just listened to more of what her doctor would say.

THE BITTER PILL

" Those cancer cells will be in your system for the remainder of your lifetime. What I can do is to give you drugs to at least control the spread and just manage the pains you'll have. But it will have some side effects such as more bone and muscle pains, possible fracturing, loosening of your teeth and  jaw joints. We need to address this now so you'll need to get the meds immediately" Those were the exact words uttered to us by her doctor. It was such a bitter pill to swallow.

Even without the meds yet, our jaws dropped to the floor when we heard that. We were then told how much a mountain of expense it would be to go for that treatment because it is a good new drug,  but that it is still being tested. And it was just an estimate! I almost dropped from my seat and thought...OmG, I could die now just by hearing how much it would cost us! And thinking that Marivic could be a Guinea pig for that drug! I was imagining the pretty face of Mavic but with her jaws droopping down! Oh no! (but it was just a random thought anyway, our thoughts were flying). 

Looking at Marivic's eyes staring at me blankly, and quietly, I then felt a tug in my heart. ...Here we go again... another hard ordeal lies ahead of her. I dont want to have pity on her...but she is out of work because of her condition, doesnt have medical insurance, her parents are both old, retired and having health issues of their own... all sorts of stuff I was thinking! They can only rely on handouts from close family members...I am not rich. Yes, I earn in dollars, but you know how so hard it is to earn your keep and save money in America... It was then that I realized... I have to do something. Marivic is counting on me...maybe that's why she was so calm and peaceful... And I know she's a natural fighter.... maybe she knows that through prayers, I can do something  about it. I am highly spiritual and I believe that God will see us through. We both prayed hard.

TO MAKE THE LONG STORY SHORT

I asked her parents and siblings if they could give me the liberty to decide for Marivic. Anyways if the doctor is insinuating that she doesnt have much time left or that she could possibly die faster because of the possible complications, then would it be better to try a bold different alternative approach to try heal her because nothing would be lost. It is still worth a try. I asked  them to give me a few days to bust my cellfone, in calling my friends and old contacts who could help. They all agreed. And then a miracle happened. We were able to find what we were looking for.....A natural answer for cancer!... even for severe cancer! God's natural ways.

SEEKING FOR GOD'S CURE 

Because of our faith and hard prayers, the heavens heard us.  My frantic cries for help resulted in my old friend, Pierre, calling me back. He referred me to his contact, a girl named ANGEL, who was involved as a scholar and an assistant to a good Naturopathic Physician in Bulacan province. ANGEL agreed to lead us to the doctor's clinic accompanied by Pierre. During the long road trip, I was kidding about ANGEL acting as our guardian angel leading the way for us. But as she was in a leg cast and crutches because of an accident at work, I told her she must be a fallen, broken angel! Then Pierre butted in and told me that JESUS  led  me to my guardian ANGEL. I asked, why do you say that? how come?? Then Pierre showed me his driver's license and I screamed OmG !!! your first name,!!! your official birth name is.....JESUS ???!!! Woww, JESUS PIERRE !!!  Im so astonished to know that! How cool and creepy was that! And we all laughed and had goosebumps!

And so I believed that we were on the right track.  That we were being guided by the heavens and that what we are about to experience is a true manifestation of God's love.

ROAD TO HEALING AND RECOVERY

The Naturopath Doctor we found said we were fortunate to have brought Marivic to her soon, because time was running out on her. She tested her if there is still a chance for her cells to at least respond to the potent, effective meds she gave. She prayed that God would have pity on us. We will know in 30 minutes if she still has a fighting chance..

and luckily, because of Marivic's natural athleticism, her few remaining heallthy warrior blood cells responded well. And so the doctor gave her a very tough protocol initially for ten days to see if she will be able to survive her widespread, aggressive  cancer disease.  It also cost us a huge amount of money, but it was all natural, more affordable, safer and 100% holistic. NO SIDE EFFECTS, NO COMPLICATIONS,  NO OVERDOSE, JUST UNDERDOSE.....and it made Marivic alive again...her severe pains totally disappeared and showing signs that she will be able to at least survive. Her regular maintenance protocol, according to her new doctor, must last for at least A YEAR so as to assure that she will totally recover and her cancer would never ever again return... 

AN INVITATION.....
TO HELP,  CARE, AND SHARE 

This is where we are coming in right now in our appeal for your help and support to push Marivic's  fight to survive this crippling, vicious disease. To show the world that prayers are always answered and that cancer can be eradicated through other means that are gentler, non-barbaric, non-invasive.

Marivic and I would like to organize a non profit org soon with Anti-Cancer as the advocacy targeting children. Contributors will be automatic members of the wellness mission group, but that will be a separate subject for a different funding campaign. ....We both love children and our hearts bleed for those sick and helpless ones. Marivic is also active with charities feeding starving children living in the famous trash mountain in Tondo.... 

We want to sample, model and showcase Marivic's recovery story so that we can inspire a lot more people and pave the way for us to help those in need especially the sick young children in poor families who cannot afford any kind of hospitalization, their parents just being resigned to see their poor babies being eaten away by this evil menace that pervades our society. We invite you to support us in our war, to stop this. And be a contributor through any which little way you can. We are determined  to make a difference in the world and the lives of these poor  families.

IN CLOSING.... AN APPRECIATION ...
FROM HER HEART

Marivic needs our help and compassion more than ever.  I believe it's now our turn to give back and have a kind heart specially for someone who has tons of love and a golden heart for the welfare of others.

No gift of donation is too small. Anything will help. Even a couple of dollars will go a long, long way. The funds will go directly to Marivic's account in the Philippines through my regular remittances and will be used for all the medical, nutritional, therapeutic and miscellaneous living expenses they will need. We shall update you on the progress of her health and the wise management of the funds. Any excess funds after she finishes her one year treatment can still be used for donating to wellness missions for sick children.  And I know there will still be a lot left due to the high value of the dollar against the peso.

Example of the cost of a 2week supply of her medicines and vitamins: 
That's only for two weeks!

Her name " Victoria" means Victory in English and so we are confident that her strong fighting spirit will lead her to be victorious in beating the beast in her. She will Survive, Live and Thrive for a second chance to fulfill her God-given mission to inspire and help more people in need. Just like a world class boxer like Manny Pacquiao, Marivic remains standing on her corner!

We highly urge you to give love back to Marivic's Incredible Heart of gold which she always gives to others.

To those who wont be able to donate, kindly share and spread this story/link  either thru your facebook wall or personally to your circle of friends and communities and their friends too.... hopefully to as many people and as quickly if possible.

To those who have already contributed, God bless you more and more. And to those who were waiting for this campaign for quite a while to launch, I know you are already  itching to send your gift of love immediately. We are eternally thankful for your generosity. To my own circle of families and different groups and communities, I salute and thank you for your constant prayers and genuine support for us...that we can overcome all our life's  challenges thrown at us...God is continuously blessing your souls.

Thank you so much for your time reading this short??:)) story of mine. 

On behalf of Marivic Cruz and her family, we thank all of you and will be forever grateful to you. With all the love from the bottom of our hearts....

TEAM MARIVIC
Arnel A. CULATA - Lead


" I have loved you with an everlasting Love; I have drawn you with loving kindness. I will build you up again..."                                                                                                                                              Jeremiah 31: 3-4



A small note please:

To those who want to contribute but cannot do it on gofundme especially in the Philippines where the platform system is not supported yet, please feel free to send your gift to Marivic's account, Bank of the Philippine Islands (BPI) under the name MA. VICTORIA C. CRUZ with account number: 4009 0485 83  Gagalangin, Tondo branch, Or through Western Union or other local remittance centers under the name of her sister, JHO-AN CARRILLO CRUZ, as Marivic cannot go out too much for now. Please message me or any of their contacts to let them know of your donations. We will account and document every transactions made for her. Thank you and God Bless you all.

*April 28, 2019, 7:00pm*

Organizer

Arnel Culata
Organizer
Los Angeles, CA

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