MANILA, Dec. 17, 2014 — About 150 less fortunate seniors in a parish in Rizal received early Christmas magnesium therapy packages, bottles of magnesium and other necessities during a pain-healing mission by a home for the aged on Friday.
Seniors gather at St. Gabriel parish church in Pililia, Rizal during Kanlungan ni Maria –Home for the Aged’s fourth pain-healing mission on December 12, 2014. (Photo: Oliver Samson)
After some magnesium therapy, 75 old folks were checked for eye problems, said Victoria Baterina-Solis, Kanlungan ni Maria – Home for the Aged, Inc. (Kanlungan) Special Project Director. Most were diagnosed with cataracts.
‘Pain-healing missions’
The Kanlungan pain-healing mission was organized after the home for the aged, where resident elderly receive more than what they need, saw a big number of less fortunate seniors in other communities who need help, said Kanlungan director Fr. Dari D. Dioquino.
According to the priest, the seniors, most of whom are from different communities in St. Gabriel Parish in Pililia, complained of arthritis, pins and needles, stomach aches, back pains, and migraines, among others.
The pain healing mission at St. Gabriel Parish was the fourth of Kanlungan’s outreach to seniors in depressed communities in the country.
Kanlungan recently conducted the same mission in Jalajala, Cainta, and Pililia.
“[After] every healing mission, there is an increase in the number of recipients,” Baterina-Solis said.
Magnesium therapy
They are eyeing Cebu and Bacolod in the coming months, said Mary Jean Netario Cruz, Kanlungan Wellness Program Director and the country’s top magnesium advocate.
According to the health practitioner, magnesium has been winning followers in the Philippines in the last two years for its natural curative power.
Began in the United States in the late 1960s, magnesium was introduced in the Philippines in 2012 by Netario Cruz.
“Most health conditions among seniors are related to deficiency in magnesium,” she said. “Some pharmaceutical drugs, caffeine, alcohol, excessive sweating, and too much calcium deplete magnesium.”
Dr. Carolyn Dean, a medical and naturopath doctor based in the US, in an e-mail, also explained how magnesium relieves and heals pain since it “relaxes muscles and prevents muscle spasms and nerve twitching, both of which can cause pain.”
“Headache, fatigue, insomnia and muscle pain are the main symptoms of magnesium deficiency,” she said.
Dean, who is currently a leading magnesium advocate, treats people, including executives and athletes, who suffer from anxiety and panic attacks with magnesium, instead of sedatives.
The fourth pain healing mission was joined by St. Gabriel parish priest’s Fr. Jojo Alisbo, Dr. Leah Alzola, Dr. Lileth Samarita, Dr. Bing Mendoza, Sr. Mary Agnes Balin and Sr. Mary Ana Lazaro (OP), as well as other volunteers.
The seniors also received adult milk and toiletries, Baterina-Solis said. (Oliver Samson/CBCPNews)