Camille's Wish

Even in her passing, Camille Santos Samson touched many generous hearts to carry out her final project

- Chit L Lijauco

Call it the hand of fate or divine design that turned the harrowing experience of Camille Santos Samson into a narrative of selflessness, prompting a call to action. "Because of Camille, we found the problems of the buildings in PGH [Philippine General Hospital]," says the architect, Dan Lichauco. But let's go back to that pivotal moment.

After midnight of May 16, 2021, a fire broke out on the third floor of the eight-story Central Block Bldg in the PGH compound. Samson was on the top floor, recuperating from a massive surgery that took out several organs affected by the ovarian cancer she was battling.

The cancer, first diagnosed in 2012, came back in 2019. After surgery and chemotherapy abroad, she came home, but the aggressive cancer cells still spread and warranted this massive surgery.

Hooked onto four drain tubes, Samson had to obey the immediate evacuation orders and walk down seven flights of stairs as the elevators were unusable. She sent text messages to her husband Manny and her good friend Libet Virata, both to apprise them of her situation and to request if either of them could arrange for her to be collected and brought home.