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A casual Google search would auto-complete many questions about who Dr. Geraldine “Ging” Zamora is. She is a rheumatologist by specialization and a winner of the prestigious Ten Outstanding Young Men (and Women) of 2016. Her lifetime of achievements include being Valedictorian, a published author, a CNN Philippines source and one of the leaders of the Hope for Lupus Foundation. And despite the headlines that have hounded her, she has remained unblemished, well-respected, and a woman of faith and grace. Lauded for her beauty and her kindness, there are many testimonials from both colleagues and patients about the character of Dr. Ging. And the biggest example of her goodness is her “living legacy,” her daughter, Nala.

It is not surprising, considering that she had an excellent role model in her mother. Dr. Ging shares, “What qualities I got from my mom? I think that would be generosity; being positive in outlook even if we were really at the roughest of times (she was really always just positive, and she always says, ‘life is beautiful, anak’); and of course kindness. So those are three qualities that I make sure that my daughter is exposed to, and actually my prayers are, aside from good health for my daughter I want her to grow up to be a kind person, a generous person; somebody who will not just live for herself, and who will strive to be more interested than interesting.”

With the pandemic still currently raging, Dr. Ging is thrust in the frontline. On top of everything she has surmounted, Dr. Ging is fighting day to day for the health of her patients. She remains resilient and reveals, “When the Pandemic hit the country last year, it was a very scary time especially for us doctors because we were really there in the hospitals and then we suddenly had to take on new roles. Our Viber threads were buzzing, there would be thousands of messages and then there would be calls for volunteers. And I, being a young physician who didn’t have comorbidities, had to volunteer. So, I would be with my colleagues in the front line, or as in the medical profession, we would say at the ‘end of the line’ because yun na yung line before death.”

While COVID-19 has rocked the entire world, many of us are still lucky to not have to face it head-on. It takes a special kind of bravery like the one in Dr. Ging to don the white suit and wage this battle. “It’s really hard when you feel like you really want to help and you need to help. I’m young, I need to be out there, but then I also have a daughter at home, and ang hirap na dala-dalawang hospital. I’m actually in 3 hospitals, and it’s not just patients, we had to continue teaching students and trainees. It’s hard when your calling conflicts with your calling at home, not just for me, but many other colleagues when they had to choose between family and work.”

Dr. Ging wisely gives perspective, “As a medical doctor in this pandemic right now, my message would be for us to stay strong because this probably is not going to end soon. This may be the new normal as the cliché goes, and I think its time for us to realize the most important things in our lives— good health, your loved ones, contentment. Maybe we could let go of the frivolous things that we were very occupied with prior to this pandemic; the anger and hatred that we may have for some people or for some concepts. Life is short and we can better use this time that we have left on earth, though hopefully it’s still a long one.”

That’s why she has a very different view on what success means, “Define success? When you leave this world and people can remember you or at least the outcomes that you were able to produce because they’ve been helped significantly, for me, that’s success. And of course, if you’re able to do this with your mental health intact, kasi sometimes we run the risk of hustle culture, yun talagang “Go! Go! Go!” yung halos patayin mo na yung sarili mo kakatrabaho. But I think especially for the younger generations, it’s also very important to know this, to make sure that we are healthy mentally because how can we help others if we are not healthy ourselves? So, for me being successful is being healthy in mind and body so that you will be able to contribute more to society.”