Thelma Leonidas: The Nurse and Nature Photographer
by
Melchor F. Cichon
October 12, 2013
Here is one story of a Lezonian who succeeded in USA. But she now lives in Mina, Lezo.
She was once my classmate in Lezo Elementary School, but we lost
contact for more than fifty years. The last time we again met was when
we had a school reunion in 2011. Then we lost contact again. But not
really because of Facebook, more particularly when someone opened the
Facebook group called Taga-Lezo Ka Kon.
Thelma is a nurse, and
her husband, Dr. Nonie Leonidas, is a pediatrician. He hails from
Calauag, Quezon. Among his American friends and American patients he is
called Dr. Leo.
After 38 successful years in American, she returned to Lezo to enjoy her golden years.
Thelma is not just a nurse, she is also a nature photographer. In the
Facebook group account, Taga-Lezo Ka Kon, one can see the amazing
pictures she has taken more particularly on sunrise and sunset over
Mina, Lezo.
I have wanted to interview her some months ago but I did not have the opportunity.
It was only lately that I decided to feature here.
But instead of me writing her story, she wrote it for me.
With a very little editing, I am presenting here her life story as written by Thelma herself:
When I was in the elementary school in Lezo, I was always one of the
contestants who would compete in singing contest held periodically and
the winner will compete in district meets and eventually on to the
provincial level. My parents would urge me and my aunt Mrs Brigida
Bernaldo would buy me new dress and shoes, if I just go up that stage to
sing or deliver a Tula. My father being a musician, he wrote some
songs, played the violin and conducted our church choir, always told me,
"Thelma when you grow up, go to New York and watched musical Broadway
Show". Somehow, that stocked in my mind up to these days.
The
years came and went, finished nursing from the University of The East in
Manila, I was sent to Philadelphia, USA under the exchanged visitors
program. It was winter in Philadelphia when I landed at the airport
wearing a light jacket. I had no clue as to how cold winter was. No one
met me at the airport. The only thing I knew was the name of the
hospital where I was supposed to go. I left my 'mahiyain' behavior at
the plane and by befriending some Americans, I was able to reach
Hannehman Hospital in downtown Philadelphia. I presented myself to a
security guard of the hospital who took me to the chief nurse's office.
The chief nurse arranged for me to stay at a nurses dorm.
At
the hospital, I had a brief and crash course in intensive care nursing.
Somehow I was able to survive a very busy unit. I had a hard time
understanding the American English and they probably had a hard time
understanding my Filipino accented English. The year went by, by then I
was no longer a green horn. I learned a lot during that first year,
able to navigate the American culture and way of life. One thing this
episode in my life taught me is, to get what you want in life, grab it
by the horn and run away with it. The "mahiyain" behavior will just
hinder your progress. The Americans are very vocal. I have to adopt
that trait so I could advance and improve in my professional life.
A year later, I transferred to another hospital where some of my former
classmates worked. I worked at an intensive coronary care unit where I
used to take care of open heart surgery patients. At that time open
heart surgery was a fairly new procedure, only certain super specialist
could do it. Nowadays, it is so common like an appendectomy. This was
also the time, where I frequented musical Broadway Show, where I watched
the famous Danny Kaye, in the musical Two by Two. Since then, I have
seen a number of Broadway Show, not only in NY but also in London and
Boston.
It was during this time that I met my husband who just
finished his pediatric residency at a nearby hospital. After the
wedding, we moved to Bangor, Maine, where there was just a handful of
Filipinos. We wanted to strike out on our own, really start a new life
and see what we can do on our own. Our friends tried to talk us out ,
for various reasons, like it is too cold in Maine, there are no
Filipinos there, like, Maine is a 99 percent white and we might be
discriminated. True, it was very cold in Maine, winter was longer than
in any other states, but we never felt discriminated. We were welcomed
by the community. They recognized the valuable contributions we could
give to their community. At that time, my husband was the first board
certified pediatrician in the area. Oh yes, there were other doctors,
but they lacked the extra training and credentials.
Needless to say, we thrived and flourished in Maine where we lived for over 38 years.
In Maine, I did not work at a hospital. My husband opened a private
practice and I helped him in the office. In a few months, it was very
clear that we needed help in running the office, so we added more
nurses, secretaries, billing staff and another doctor. At first we were
renting an office, but it soon become clear that we needed more space,
so we bought and furnished the new office. It also became apparent that I
had to take over the business side of the practice. My husband was
just too busy with actual patient care; hence, my nursing duties were
then delegated to other employees. Just think, I did not have any
schooling on how to run a business, but in time, I learned the ropes. I
learned withholding taxes, learned to file quarterlies to the IRS and
learned to deal with several health insurances. I learned to get the
services of other professionals like accountants, lawyers and investment
groups. We set up a pension plan and funded the pensions of our
employees. The investment group advised me where to invest the pension
money of our employees so it would grow.
It was during these
years when we raised our only son, and just like any families we tried
to fulfill our parenting duties. Our son is now a doctor in New York
with double specializations. He specialized in Pediatrics and Internal
Medicine. He now has two young boys ages 4 and 6.
In 2004, I
was diagnosed with breast cancer ,so I stopped working, stayed home for
my recovery. This time I read, and learned about stock market and
investing. I realized then, that we have been paying a lot to the
investment group that we employed to advice and manage our pension plan.
I told myself then, if they can learn it, so can I. To shorten this
story, I did it, read, read and learned. Since then I have been trading
and investing. Now that we live in Lezo, we do everything on line.
So the morals of this story... Follow you dreams. The road to your
dreams might not be paved, but accept the challenge that is laid in
front of you. Life changes, whether positive or negative. Learn from it.
Overcome it. Sometimes change behavior. Analyze it. Then adapt to the
situation and always use your common sense.
In addition, Thelma wrote me this word of wisdom when I asked her to give me her message to our kasimanwa:
My message to our kasimanwa...don't just arccept life as it is
presented to you. Tweak it, change it and improve it to achieve the best
that life can offer. I dislike the word "makaron, makaron man lang". It
sounded that you do not like to improve it.
Along this line,
I will tell you a story of our three houses. Our first house was
designed by an architect. It was nice according to most standard. I had
this notion that I had, since I was a young girl, that I would have a
house on a hill with a lake in front. That first house sat on a slope
and a stream at the back. Then, we built our weekend house, again on a
slope with a lake in front. Being on a slope or higher place gives you a
better view of your surrounding. This is still the house, we stay when
we are in the US. And of course the third house here in Lezo is on top
of a hill with 60 degree views of Aklan River and mountain range.
I wish our kasimanwa will not just be satisfied with what is already
there. I wish they should work to improve their lot in life.
Another terminology which I dislike in our language is " basta makaraos lamang."
What else do I wish to accomplish?
It has something to do with helping the community.
So far, I haven't figured it out how I would do it, perhaps the
opportunity will sometime present itself. My husband and I tried to
present new ideas here at our barangay, but we were once told, "yan ang
kultura".
We were talking of making a zoning ordinance, to
separate the industrial zone , commercial zone and residential zone. We
even presented an analogy, like in a home, there is the space for
eating, place for sleeping and specific place for the bathroom.
We would like to do more for the community, but we are greeted with stubbornness, perhaps ignorance, or just fear of changes.
Also, I hope, if I will be given a long life, to have the opportunity to leave a positive impact on our beloved Lezo.
Like · · Unfollow Post · 20 hours ago · Editedby
Melchor F. Cichon
October 12, 2013
Here is one story of a Lezonian who succeeded in USA. But she now lives in Mina, Lezo.
She was once my classmate in Lezo Elementary School, but we lost contact for more than fifty years. The last time we again met was when we had a school reunion in 2011. Then we lost contact again. But not really because of Facebook, more particularly when someone opened the Facebook group called Taga-Lezo Ka Kon.
Thelma is a nurse, and her husband, Dr. Nonie Leonidas, is a pediatrician. He hails from Calauag, Quezon. Among his American friends and American patients he is called Dr. Leo.
After 38 successful years in American, she returned to Lezo to enjoy her golden years.
Thelma is not just a nurse, she is also a nature photographer. In the Facebook group account, Taga-Lezo Ka Kon, one can see the amazing pictures she has taken more particularly on sunrise and sunset over Mina, Lezo.
I have wanted to interview her some months ago but I did not have the opportunity.
It was only lately that I decided to feature here.
But instead of me writing her story, she wrote it for me.
With a very little editing, I am presenting here her life story as written by Thelma herself:
When I was in the elementary school in Lezo, I was always one of the contestants who would compete in singing contest held periodically and the winner will compete in district meets and eventually on to the provincial level. My parents would urge me and my aunt Mrs Brigida Bernaldo would buy me new dress and shoes, if I just go up that stage to sing or deliver a Tula. My father being a musician, he wrote some songs, played the violin and conducted our church choir, always told me, "Thelma when you grow up, go to New York and watched musical Broadway Show". Somehow, that stocked in my mind up to these days.
The years came and went, finished nursing from the University of The East in Manila, I was sent to Philadelphia, USA under the exchanged visitors program. It was winter in Philadelphia when I landed at the airport wearing a light jacket. I had no clue as to how cold winter was. No one met me at the airport. The only thing I knew was the name of the hospital where I was supposed to go. I left my 'mahiyain' behavior at the plane and by befriending some Americans, I was able to reach Hannehman Hospital in downtown Philadelphia. I presented myself to a security guard of the hospital who took me to the chief nurse's office. The chief nurse arranged for me to stay at a nurses dorm.
At the hospital, I had a brief and crash course in intensive care nursing. Somehow I was able to survive a very busy unit. I had a hard time understanding the American English and they probably had a hard time understanding my Filipino accented English. The year went by, by then I was no longer a green horn. I learned a lot during that first year, able to navigate the American culture and way of life. One thing this episode in my life taught me is, to get what you want in life, grab it by the horn and run away with it. The "mahiyain" behavior will just hinder your progress. The Americans are very vocal. I have to adopt that trait so I could advance and improve in my professional life.
A year later, I transferred to another hospital where some of my former classmates worked. I worked at an intensive coronary care unit where I used to take care of open heart surgery patients. At that time open heart surgery was a fairly new procedure, only certain super specialist could do it. Nowadays, it is so common like an appendectomy. This was also the time, where I frequented musical Broadway Show, where I watched the famous Danny Kaye, in the musical Two by Two. Since then, I have seen a number of Broadway Show, not only in NY but also in London and Boston.
It was during this time that I met my husband who just finished his pediatric residency at a nearby hospital. After the wedding, we moved to Bangor, Maine, where there was just a handful of Filipinos. We wanted to strike out on our own, really start a new life and see what we can do on our own. Our friends tried to talk us out , for various reasons, like it is too cold in Maine, there are no Filipinos there, like, Maine is a 99 percent white and we might be discriminated. True, it was very cold in Maine, winter was longer than in any other states, but we never felt discriminated. We were welcomed by the community. They recognized the valuable contributions we could give to their community. At that time, my husband was the first board certified pediatrician in the area. Oh yes, there were other doctors, but they lacked the extra training and credentials.
Needless to say, we thrived and flourished in Maine where we lived for over 38 years.
In Maine, I did not work at a hospital. My husband opened a private practice and I helped him in the office. In a few months, it was very clear that we needed help in running the office, so we added more nurses, secretaries, billing staff and another doctor. At first we were renting an office, but it soon become clear that we needed more space, so we bought and furnished the new office. It also became apparent that I had to take over the business side of the practice. My husband was just too busy with actual patient care; hence, my nursing duties were then delegated to other employees. Just think, I did not have any schooling on how to run a business, but in time, I learned the ropes. I learned withholding taxes, learned to file quarterlies to the IRS and learned to deal with several health insurances. I learned to get the services of other professionals like accountants, lawyers and investment groups. We set up a pension plan and funded the pensions of our employees. The investment group advised me where to invest the pension money of our employees so it would grow.
It was during these years when we raised our only son, and just like any families we tried to fulfill our parenting duties. Our son is now a doctor in New York with double specializations. He specialized in Pediatrics and Internal Medicine. He now has two young boys ages 4 and 6.
In 2004, I was diagnosed with breast cancer ,so I stopped working, stayed home for my recovery. This time I read, and learned about stock market and investing. I realized then, that we have been paying a lot to the investment group that we employed to advice and manage our pension plan. I told myself then, if they can learn it, so can I. To shorten this story, I did it, read, read and learned. Since then I have been trading and investing. Now that we live in Lezo, we do everything on line.
So the morals of this story... Follow you dreams. The road to your dreams might not be paved, but accept the challenge that is laid in front of you. Life changes, whether positive or negative. Learn from it. Overcome it. Sometimes change behavior. Analyze it. Then adapt to the situation and always use your common sense.
In addition, Thelma wrote me this word of wisdom when I asked her to give me her message to our kasimanwa:
My message to our kasimanwa...don't just arccept life as it is presented to you. Tweak it, change it and improve it to achieve the best that life can offer. I dislike the word "makaron, makaron man lang". It sounded that you do not like to improve it.
Along this line, I will tell you a story of our three houses. Our first house was designed by an architect. It was nice according to most standard. I had this notion that I had, since I was a young girl, that I would have a house on a hill with a lake in front. That first house sat on a slope and a stream at the back. Then, we built our weekend house, again on a slope with a lake in front. Being on a slope or higher place gives you a better view of your surrounding. This is still the house, we stay when we are in the US. And of course the third house here in Lezo is on top of a hill with 60 degree views of Aklan River and mountain range.
I wish our kasimanwa will not just be satisfied with what is already there. I wish they should work to improve their lot in life.
Another terminology which I dislike in our language is " basta makaraos lamang."
What else do I wish to accomplish?
It has something to do with helping the community.
So far, I haven't figured it out how I would do it, perhaps the opportunity will sometime present itself. My husband and I tried to present new ideas here at our barangay, but we were once told, "yan ang kultura".
We were talking of making a zoning ordinance, to separate the industrial zone , commercial zone and residential zone. We even presented an analogy, like in a home, there is the space for eating, place for sleeping and specific place for the bathroom.
We would like to do more for the community, but we are greeted with stubbornness, perhaps ignorance, or just fear of changes.
Also, I hope, if I will be given a long life, to have the opportunity to leave a positive impact on our beloved Lezo.
Al D. Teston Jr. A success story top to bottom on a grand scale. How I wish I could have heard more on a romantic side of it....
Adet Cichon Igoy truly inspiring...especially this line "get what you want in life, grab it by the horn and get away with it".
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