LATEST ON Z GORRES
By Rod Mijares
PhilBoxing.com
Wed, 13 Jan 2010
Along with Tony Martin and his wife, Yvonne, we visited Z Gorres and Datches last night (January 9, 2010) at around 9:00 p.m. at University Medical Center where he is recuperating from a brain surgery. Datches, in most nights during the week, stays overnight and sleepless in the hospital to attend to Z Gorres’ needs. It is through Datches love that Z Gorres draws his strength.
Z Gorres was in high spirit and his voice was almost back to normal as compared to almost a whisper when I last visited him. He told me jokingly that it was because he just practiced singing with Senator Lito Lapid of the Philippines who happened to visit him four hours earlier. Aside from financial help, Senator Lapid gave Z Gorres his business card with his signature and told Z Gorres to pay him a visit in Manila when the time comes that he is ready for a livelihood assistance program.
Back to Christmas day, Z Gorres’ nurse was so happy with the news that Z Gorres was eating a complete meal for the first time and most of all he was eating using his own faculties. At that time Gorres was still having difficulty in using the spoon but was proud to show us that he could do it by himself on the encouragement of his nurse. He was hoping, though, that he could eat lechon (roasted pig) on Christmas day.
I also asked Z Gorres to squeeze my hand and I was surprised that he could do it with more power as compared to a baby’s grip when he did it before to me. “It could still put down an opponent,” Z Gorres told me as he grappled my hand.
There was also a reason why Z Gorres was so spirited. A part of him would be returned by today (January 10, 2010) as he was scheduled to undergo a cranioplasty surgery to replace the bone of his skull that was removed during his surgery to release the pressure on his brain after he collapsed in his last fight with Colombian Luis Melendez.
A week ago, there was so much fear and uncertainty that the hospital might not replace the bone of Z Gorres skull due to the hospital’s financial requirement and Datches should already have a plan that it should be done in the Philippines. Datches told me that this caused her sleepless nights and she cried a lot for her husband. Z Gorres’s wit and humor came out and instructed his wife to sell their farm. However, that farm was not real but virtual farm that only exists in Facebook.
Enter Z Gorres’ guardian angel and benefactor, Dr. Ben Calderon. Dr. Calderon embraced Gorres plight into his heart and considered Gorres as one of his family. He exerted every effort to convince the neuro-surgeon, the anesthesiologist and the hospital administration to help Z Gorres and continue to be a part of his miracle recovery. Today, at around 8:30 in the morning, Z Gorres underwent a two-hour procedure successfully and was afterwards breathing on his own. He called Tony Martin in good humor, buang (fool), when Martin urged him to stand up right after the surgery.
Top photo: Z Gorres holds the Philippine flag after being declared the winner over Luis Melindez moments before collapsing at the House of Blues in Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on Nov. 13, 2009.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rod Mijares.
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