Go Kaisa!

Kristine Raisa Saguisag is the sole gymnast representing the Philippines in the coming Southeast Asian Games to be held this December in Thailand. Last Wednesday, the fifteen-year-old SEA bronze medalist performed her special routine before her mother, her lifetime coach and number one fan-- not knowing that it would be their last moment together. An hour after midnight Thursday, a ten-wheeler dump truck smashed into her parents' van, killing her mom Dulce instantly, and seriously injuring her father, former senator Rene Saguisag, their driver and a family friend.

The late Dulce Saguisag, from what I gather--was an epitome of a mother, wife and friend who gave her all to the people who mattered most to her. On the last day of her life, it seemed she was everywhere at the same time. She was at her daughter's gymnastics practice, managed a brief but substantive chat with her trusted mayordoma, asttended her friends' tete a tete at that famous house in Polk St. San Juan, and finally danced the night away with her husband of over thirty years. According to her eldest son, Atty. Rebo, in her last moment, she even spared her husband the worst fate by shielding him with her body, thus taking the impact of the collision upon herself.

Dulce's dream was to have her daughter bring honor to this country by being the best gymnast she could be. Kaisa, though grieving, knows this. It is indeed tragic for a young lady to lose her mother in such a sudden and senseless manner at the time she needed her the most. Kaisa, the courageous girl she is, has decided to push through with her SEA bid, and we could only wish and hope for her all the best...

(photo courtesy of her friend Millicent's multiply account)