Seventy five years ago, on March 6, 1937, a girl named Rosalinda was born to Edilberto Fernandez and Veronica Santos.
She grew up in Sulucan Angat Bulacan.
her father was a farmer and a politician...Edilberto Fernandez
while her mother was a full time house wife. She was the only child ...loved and pampered by her parents.
she graduated from High School at the Holy Child Academy in Bustos, Bulacan .
it was her dreamed of becoming a doctor hence she enrolled at the University of Santo Tomas and consequently graduated from college of medicine in 1962.
during her internship year as fate would have it she met the
love of her life our father...dr pablito v. mendoza who was incidentally from neighboring town bustos bulacan....and was a former school mate during high school!
after passing the medical board exam they decided to tie the knot. on august 23, 1964 they were married at the Sta Monica Church in Angat Bulacan.
they were blessed with several children. arnel, me...ma victoria, maria teresa, maria fe, pablito jr, victor, maria linda and edelfausto.
I think family planning was not popular during that time and they loved a big family.
in 1967 they decided put up a medical clinic in my fathers hometown ... Sto. Nino Clinic was established
My father was a general practitioner while my mom pursued to become an OB GYN at Bulacan Provincial Hospital. They were busy tending their 8 children and at the same time establishing a private practice in their clinic.
Of the two, it was mom who was the more disciplinarian and stricter to her children. Her words were laws that must be obeyed or face the consequences. Papa on the other hand was a man of few words yet was a hardworking father.
At first we lived at the second floor of Sto Nino Clinic but five years later they were able to buy a house and lot near the municipal building of bustos where we have moved since then.
Mom was active in her childrens school activities and even served as president of parents teachers association of St Marys Academy where all of us graduated.
She was even the school physician during that time.
At summertime she would enroll us in piano, ballet, violin lessons and sports classes like tennis, karate and volleyball. We were busy with extra curricular activities. She has given us the opportunity to choose what we wanted to pursue.
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| resthouse they built for us |
at an early age
i was exposed to their medical world particulary in OB GYN.
i used to tag along with her at the Bulacan Provincial Hospital whenever she has a case. My early exposure in the hospital fascinates me until I grew up that I decided to be like her.
In 1979 my mom worked as Municipal Health Officer of our town. She was active in implementing preventive programs of the Department of Health the reason why she won numerous awards as MHO and our town gained several recognitions through her leadership.
i used to remember going with her to orchid shows as she is fond of flowers
like cattleya, cactus and had some rare collections.
When my father entered politics in 1987 it was known that he has a secret weapon..and that is my mom. Through their partnership they transforned our town into what it is today.
After two decades of public service my mom retired to be a full time medical directress of our hospital.
though not active in her private practice she is visible in the hospital to make sure everything is in order.
sadly when papa died in 2010 she kept herself busy in our company and her 16 grandchildren. she loves to pamper them with toys or anything that she thinks would please them. shes remains what a loving mother is to her children...very supportive, generous and caring.
All the values, wisdom, strength and grace she bestowed in us were deeply embedded in our hearts.
Now that she is in her senior years she is still active in different socio civic activities of her town and in the medical field.
there is no dull moment to a very active woman like her. ...forever a mother to her town, to her growing sto nino hospital family and her own children and
grandchildren.
happy birthday mama, without you i wouldnt be here. I hope you will have more years to come. never a day i would regret being you as my mom...you are irreplaceable and incomparable!
i love you!
