As we gear up for our mission to the Philippines this summer, we have received several requests from locals and their families. These requests describe hardworking people whose lives have been interrupted by joint disease, damage to their knees and hips due to accidents, and other debilitating causes. One such individual is Jeffrey Busog. His wife wrote to us in January with the hope that her husband could be considered as a potential patient for our upcoming mission at our partner hospital in General Santos City. Team Leader, Lisa Fujimoto PA, coordinated with the hospital administrators to find him a place on the screening list. Jeffrey will be evaluated, like all potential patients, orthopedically and medically to see if he qualifies for surgery. Below is his story.
My name is Jeffrey Busog and I am 41 years old. I work as a security camera installer for a security company. I had known the condition of my hip when I was just 23, having felt pain since high school. My grandfather, who raised me and stood up to become my father because I came from a broken family brought me to a local faith healer but I never healed. Since then I ignored the pain thinking I got this from playing basketball.
When I got married I told my wife about my condition and she suggested to have it checked by a doctor. The doctor advised that I needed a hip replacement but due to financial constraints, we explained that we couldn’t do it for now. Life had to go on for us. I worked and had a healthy life, ignoring the pain for the sake of my family’s well-being.
In 2021, I told my wife about the increasing, terrible pain in my hip, it was unbearable but what could we do? We were in the midst of the pandemic at that time, so I endured, feeling it was my only choice. That time without my knowledge, my wife did some research about hip replacement. She joined the total hip replacement group chat and asked for advice there. One of the members mentioned Operation Walk. She had emailed all the contacts she’d seen on the website and fortunately, one replied and said they didn’t have plans to go to the Philippines yet. But still, my wife subscribed to their newsletter, hoping they’d be coming here someday. In January 2024, she received a newsletter announcing they would be coming to the Philippines. She emailed all the contacts again she had seen on their website and fortunately, the social media manager, Cami Ward, forwarded her message to Ms. Lisa Fujimoto-Yamaguchi, who is a team leader of this organization. That’s when the communication began.
My wife and I are so fortunate to have this communication with them. It was like God’s given answer to all of our prayers. God is so good. It gives me hope. I cried when my wife told me. I never thought that she would really find a solution. She never mentioned it until she told me we would go to General Santos City to meet a doctor and have a medical check-up. To our surprise, the doctor told us it was hip dysplasia, it was congenital and developed as I aged, and now my leg was 2 centimeters shorter. We are looking forward to surgery this coming July. In fact, we are continuously doing research about the preparations and precautions needed before and after the surgery and how I could help myself recover faster. I want to recover faster. I want to go back to work without pain and regain a normal life as I have a daughter who will go to college this year. She wants to become a doctor and I want her to fulfill her dream. My wife and I had a dream to help people someday too. Through our daughter, I know our family can give and share what God has given to us. Thank you Operation Walk and to all the people who have been a part of this mission, you give hope and new life to the people. God’s grace is amazing.
