The Trip to Mang Abe

My mom is a Pediatrician. Although one time or another when we had trips to the province, the friendly neighborhood "quack" doctor would throw in smoke and other theaterical stuff to cure my fever, muscle ache or constipation. Now that I have my own kids, I seldom go to the pediatrician due to the accessibility of my mom's free consultation.

However, as one gets to browse into the hazards of chemical medicine to liver and the slowly rising of awareness on traditional chinese medicine, I didn't struggle to join my friends as they went on a trip to a faith healer who lived near the popular Mt. Banahaw known to be mystical.

What drove us to visit Mang Abe, the faith healer in Candelaria was a story by my friend's friend. The patient had ultrasound readings of mayoma that needed surgery. Unfortunately the patient didn't have money for the surgery albeit she went to Mang Abe. After waiting in line for 3 hours, cure came in via a one minute excruciating tickle done by Mang Abe's third finger soaked in oil. For the next three days, the patient menstruated big blocks of blood. The fourth day, she went to Mang Abe again. Five days after, she went to have an ultrasound which showed that the mayoma disappeared.

I thought it was just a fun joy ride with fun friends on a clear Saturday morning. I thought wrong.