118. BOBBY ANASTACIO, AN A1 DOCTOR

BOBBY ANASTACIO, AN A1 DOCTOR

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano
13 April 2020

 

This day was about to end when my mother, Lily Gozum-Miano who is in New York, U.S.A., sent me a message through Facebook (FB) Messenger informing me that our family cardiologist, Dr. Roberto V. Anastacio, joined our Creator last Friday, April 10. I have known Dr. Anastacio for over three decades now since the time I would chauffer my mom whenever she had an appointment with the great doctor at the Makati Medical Center (MMC) in Makati City. Three years ago, it was the other way around, Mom together with my wife, Jasmin, brought me to Dr. Anastacio in an ambulance to undergo an angiogram procedure because of a probable cardiovascular disease.

During the numerous visits at the turn of the millennium, Dr. Anastacio would seek my presence towards the end of the check-up to indulge in an hour of exchanges of opinions and ideas on national issues. The doctor was a Marcos loyalist and would always narrate numerous instances of his acquaintance with the Marcos matriarch, former First Lady Imelda R. Marcos. I remember a picture by AP on the net which was posted by The Star on November 14, 2003 with Marcos being helped by Dr. Anastacio as she showed reporters her bandaged knee in Manila after emerging with a slight limp from the Sandiganbayan anti-graft court, where she filed a medical report following her trip to the United States and Europe. Dr. Anastacio recounted that they were the first cardiologists at the Philippine Heart Center for Asia (PHCA), now Philippine Heart Center (PHC), which Marcos established. Dr. Anastacio later chaired the Cardiac Graphics Section. Of the thousand comments posted at @nowyouknowph on the death of Dr. Anastacio, Bern Juarez stated: “I am so sorry to hear the demise of our former Boss, Dr. Bobby V. Anastacio, as we started the Heart Station, now Cardiac Graphics Lab. of Philippine Heart Center. He was the best boss we had, so kind and compassionate to his patients and to us. He was so generous to us, we love him so much because he provided his staff coffee, biscuits, etc. unlimited to everybody in the department. He was straight when it comes to learning re our work there. We missed so much when he left PHCA.”

On August 2012, I saw Dr. Anastacio on national TV being interviewed on the health condition of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He said the shifting parts of a metal brace on the cervical spine of Arroyo had become more “progressive and aggressive,” causing her to have increasing difficulty in breathing and swallowing. In a medical bulletin issued, Dr. Anastacio said the results of the quantum-CT scan showed that the 6-cm titanium plate and cage in Arroyo’s neck had shifted some more since May, further pushing into muscles and causing “protrusions” in the walls of her air and food pathways. The protrusions, Anastacio said, may result in abnormal breathing, leading to sudden disturbance of blood circulation and “sudden death.”

With all those medical terms mentioned, I remember whenever I enter the inner cubicle of his room, I can view a big white board pinned covering most of the wall with all those lines, graphs, computations, formulas, illustrations and the like similar to what we see on Einstein inspired movies. I once experienced his on the spot lecture to young doctors and he used this labyrinth wall as his instructional board.

After his stint at the PHC, Dr. Anastacio moved to the University of Santo Tomas (UST) as member of the faculty and consultant. Two of the endless comments at @nowyouknowph by Dennis Zaragoza Nagal: “Simply great physician and trainor...You were one of a kind.” and by HPinx Herrera: “We learned a lot from your rounds with us during our clerkship days.”, disclosed that he was a great medical guru. The PHC on its official statement said: “Your mentees who are now mentors themselves all remember you with fondness and great respect for the teacher that you were." One of my kababayans in Cabatuan, Dr. Josephine Dayrit Reyes-Alivia once told me that Dr. Anastacio was one of the most respected professors of medicine at the Royal and Pontifical University and in the metropolis. She even said that the doctor would merely look at the patient from a far and would already have a diagnosis.

I once asked my mom how he got acquainted with Dr. Anastacio and I came to know that he knew the man since his college days at UST. My mom was residing then at the house of her first cousins, the Tomacruz’, at V. Concepcion Street, Sampaloc District right behind the UST campus and whenever she would bring baon to her older cousin, Balbina Tomacruz, before attending her class at the College of Education, she would regularly see the young Dr. Anastacio who was fondly called Bobby. My aunt and Dr. Anastacio, who both took post graduate studies in the United States and became A1 doctors, were best of friends. My aunt practiced her craft in the U.S. until retirement while Dr. Anastacio enjoyed his profession in the Philippines until death overtook him. The two would make it a point to see each other whenever bestfriend Bobby was in Chicago or when my aunt was in the Philippines. Tita Bambing or Bing, the nickname of Dr. Tomacruz, issued a statement on her bestfriend’s heroic death: “I am extremely proud for having been associated with this bigger than life epitome of a GREAT PHYSICIAN!!! RIP, my FOREVER FRIEND, the BEST EVER!!!

In a post shared by mom on FB on Dr. Anastacio’s demise, she gave a short eulogy for the brilliant doctor: “Thank you for being God’s instrument here on earth and my constant lifesaver. Thank you for being a great doctor who just tell it like it is. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me and not at me. Thank you for your reassurances and your prompt medical attention were the tools that God used to restore me back to health. It was a great privilege and an unforgettable experience to have met you. I am filled with immense gratitude to you for all your sacrifices. Thank you my dear friend.” Furthermore, mom posted and concluded: “Postscript: I had uncontrolled hypertension for many years. Dr. Anastacio studied all possible causes. When I was cleared after an angiogram, he discovered that I had secondary hypertension because of a tumor in the adrenal gland. I was diagnosed to have Pheochromocytoma in 1998 and we thank Dr. Anastacio for his effort in discovering this.”

I am fortunate to be a patient of a top calibre medical doctor. Dr. Anastacio’s patients are the who’s who in the metropolis and the rich and famous of the provinces. But as I observed the long line of patients at the corridor of the MMC, there are individuals who I scanned are in the middle class and some which I think are below than average. There are many comments in the net thanking Dr. Anastacio and scores of them shared their experiences with the big man, one of which is Minabelle P. Manas and she posted: “He is the Cardiologist of my late grandfather, a Doctor with a big heart. I still remembered what he told me, don't worry about me hija, if I love money I've been a millionaire long time ago.” After I underwent angiogram and found out that I have cardiomyopathy, my next problem was my bill. I found out later from my wife that he only charged the payment for the gadgets and machines used and withhold his professional fee.

Dr. Anastacio received numerous recognitions and citations as can be seen on the walls of his clinic at MMC. Of all these, one captured my sight, The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award bestowed to him by the Philippine Jaycees, Inc, now officially known as the Junior Chamber International (JCI). Being a member of this worldwide organization, I know the qualifications one has to possess to be able to capture this prestigious recognition given to professionals below 40 years of age who made a positive change in their chosen field. Truely, Dr. Anastacio proved his being a TOYM awardee in the next four decades.

Another comment in FB by Helene Rivera: Dòc Bobby was Ma's doc...bright ànd alert, a fighter to slay illness... saw his sadness when Mom died " fighting for life, this time God wins" he bewailed (in 1995)”. With this statement, Dr. Anastacio knew his limits. Probably, he knows also that his time has come when he was diagnosed with COVID19. Being a senior citizen for almost two decades now, Dr. Anastacio could have retired and stayed at home and may have avoided the risk of being contaminated with the dreaded virus but he preferred to continue his assignment on earth. Dr. Anastacio is one of the many frontliners who have risked their lives to make sure that everybody is safe, medicated and cured.

Dr. Anastacio’s heroic death in the frontlines of this battle will never be forgotten. Let this be a rallying cry that we have to honor our medical people and not the other way around. Countless in the medical field have risked their lives, the security of their families and a number already perished just to make sure that our hospitals are equipped with doctors, nurses, medtechs, other medical and non-medical personnel.

To you my dear cardiologist, Dr. Roberto “Bobby” V. Anastacio, thank you for serving our country with dedication, love and compassion. Thank you for your service to humanity. We salute a great hero of modern time, Doc Bobby!