June 16, 2026
Seizures no more
By Joy Rojas
It was nothing short of a miracle when Roselyn Rodriguez walked unaided into the Jing Si Hall of Buddhist Tzu Chi Campus (BTCC) in Sta. Mesa, Manila, on June 14 to attend her first Charity Day.
Accompanied by her husband Edison, daughter Rhiana, and son Russel, she participated in a group activity about identifying healthy habits, then listened to Tzu Chi International Medical Association volunteer doctor Johanna Wileen Go give a comprehensive talk on diabetes mellitus. After claiming her maintenance medicines, two 10 kgs sacks of rice, and assorted groceries, she enjoyed a quick vegetarian lunch with her family at the BTCC plaza.
Last year, the 46-year-old who makes a living cleaning homes, washing clothes, and selling crocheted flowers was incapacitated by her grim diagnosis: high-grade glioma, an aggressive, fast-growing cancerous tumor in the brain. Located on the right side of her brain, the 2 cm tumor first made its presence felt in May 2024 when Roselyn experienced frequent migraines.
As the months unfolded, the migraines were accompanied by other troubling symptoms: blurry vision, involuntary facial twitches, and minutes-long seizures, which affected her memory and made her wet and soil herself. To keep her seizures at bay, she took anti-seizure medication—whenever it was available. With her modest earnings and Edison working as an on-call tricycle driver and painter, she often missed her daily dosage.
This contributed to her deterioration. In October 2025, she fell from the stairs, resulting in the partial paralysis of her hand. A month later, her entire left side was paralyzed by a mild stroke.
Roselyn’s declining health weighed heavily on Edison, who sought assistance from relatives and government agencies. “I’ve heard a lot of stories like that,” he said of husbands abandoning their wives once they fall ill. “Why would I do that? Even if I’m just an ordinary man, I wouldn’t leave her.”
And so, as her symptoms worsened, Edison brought Roselyn to the Philippine General Hospital in December 2025. There, a cranial MRI showed that the tumor had grown from 2 cm to the size of an Indian mango.
“It had occupied half of my brain already,” said Roselyn. “That’s why doctors didn’t allow me to go home.”
A few days before Christmas, surgeons performed a successful frontoparietal craniotomy and tumor excision on Roselyn. On Christmas eve, amidst the fireworks and celebrations to welcome the new year, she was discharged and sent home.
Now the real work began. Recurrence of high-grade glioma is common, so Roselyn has to strictly comply with her post-surgery treatments—that is, complete 30 sessions of radiation and take her medications without fail.
For her anti-seizure and hypertension drugs, she turned to the Tzu Chi Foundation, which she heard about from her older sister Lovelyn Rosales, whose husband was once a medical assistance beneficiary.
On March 17, 2026, volunteers conducted a home visit at the Rodriguezes’ residence in Binangonan, Rizal. By then, Roselyn, who was bedridden for a month, was up and about, gradually getting back to her old routines and becoming less and less dependent on a cane.
To further facilitate her recovery, the foundation covered three months’ worth of hypertension and anti-seizure medicines. Volunteers also provided her with a one-time Letter of Assistance for a cranial MRI with contrast, a requirement before she underwent radiation therapy.
Roselyn, who used to skip her medicines because she simply couldn’t afford them, wiped tears of gratitude from her eyes. Knowing that she has her prescribed dosages waiting for her each day brings her much relief.
“It’s not a problem for me anymore. I don’t have to worry about where I’m going to get my medicines,” she said. “I no longer have seizures. My health is okay.”
The next Charity Day is on September 13.
(From left) Roselyn Rodriguez with 14-year-old daughter Rhiana, 12-year-old son Russel, and husband Edison at the BTCC plaza on Charity Day.
Roselyn Rodriguez and the rest of Tzu Chi’s medical assistance beneficiaries and their families join volunteers in prayer.
Tzu Chi International Medical Association volunteer doctor Johanna Wileen Go gives an informative talk on diabetes mellitus, a growing health problem in the Philippines.
After the talk on diabetes mellitus, the floor was open to questions for Dr. Go.
After the talk on diabetes mellitus, the floor was open to questions for Dr. Go.
Tzu Chi Head Volunteer for the Educational and Medical Assistance Programs Rosa So (right) presents Charity Day guest speaker Dr. Johanna Wileen Go with a certificate of appreciation and a handcrafted lotus flower from Tzu Chi scholars.
In the group activity “Healthy Habit Tree,” medical assistance beneficiaries write the healthy habits they practice or want to start practicing on a leaf-shaped paper.
In the group activity “Healthy Habit Tree,” medical assistance beneficiaries write the healthy habits they practice or want to start practicing on a leaf-shaped paper.
Tzu Chi volunteer Joy Gatdula watches as a medical assistance beneficiary fills her “Healthy Habit Tree” with examples on how to take better care of oneself.
In the few months that she has known Tzu Chi, Roselyn Rodriguez has already embraced its culture. “I learned to eat steamed vegetables,” she said. “I prepare them with my rice.”
A five-minute “Energizer” dance livened up medical assistance beneficiaries before the start of the program.
A five-minute “Energizer” dance livened up medical assistance beneficiaries before the start of the program.
A five-minute “Energizer” dance livened up medical assistance beneficiaries before the start of the program.
Volunteers prepare maintenance medicines for beneficiaries to pick up after Charity Day.
Medical assistance beneficiaries line up to claim two sacks of 10 kg rice and a bag of assorted groceries.
On March 17, 2026, Tzu Chi volunteers conduct a home visit in the home of Roselyn Rodriguez (third from left).
Charity Department Social Welfare Officer Liane Margallo (left) interviews Roselyn Rodriguez during a home visit.
With husband Edison at the Philippine General Hospital, a shaved Roselyn Rodriguez recovers from a successful frontoparietal craniotomy and tumor excision.