Most medical professionals go into medicine with a mission-driven spirit. They are committed to helping people. Dr. Maria Lourdes Casas has been living and working in the UAE for 11 years, but her experience in pediatric cardiology is now 25 years.
Presently working at the Kabayan Clinic, Al Ahalia Hospital in Hamdan Abu Dhabi, the seasoned doctor caters to outpatients, both general pediatric cases or children with illness and baby clinic. But most of all, since Dr. Maria Lourdes has a subspecialty in pediatric cardiology, children with possible heart disease are referred to her.
After completing her doctor of medicine in 1980, she took her residency training at the Lungsod ng Kabataan, which is now called the Philippine Children’s Medical Centre. Dr. Maria Lourdes took her general pediatrics training there for three years, then transferred to the Philippine Heart Centre to take her subspecialty in pediatric cardiology.
It took her about five years to finish the training in her chosen field.
Through her passion and dedication to work, she became the Department of Pediatric Cardiology chairman for over 10 years in the same organization. Apart from treating patients, she also got to train newcomers and become successful in their chosen fields.
At the height of her career, Dr. Maria Lourdes had to cross crossroads when her husband died.
“I lost my, you know, sense of my direction. So, I decided I had to change my environment, I had to move on for my children. So maybe providential, I was able to read that there is a possibility that I can go abroad. I can work abroad. It’s a different environment,” she recalled.
“It’s tough because it’s going out of your comfort zone. So, I have to decide if I should go there or not. But I said to myself, “I think for me to work again as effectively, maybe there’s something else available for me outside of the Philippine Heart Center. So, everything went to its proper place,” she added.
Two weeks after applying for employment online, she received a call only to be asked if she were interested in working with them. To her enthusiasm, she said yes.
“Everything went smoothly. So, they told me that they were offering me a job. If I sign the contract, they can process my papers, and then they gave me a ticket, everything during that time. My accommodation, my visa. So I can get my examination to pass as a licensed doctor here,” she said.
Eventually, Dr. Maria Lourdes passed the examination and left the Philippine Heart Centre for good.
Working overseas and facing challenges
When she reached her new place of work in Al Ain, she had to work for eight hours every day without leaving the site. She also recalled working for the clinic 24 hours on call just in case of an emergency.
“A very challenging experience because I had to tell myself, ‘I came here, I left my place there. I have to do it. I have to finish what I have started’,” she said.
As a widow, she also drew inspiration from her kids, who relied on her. The next thing that inspired her was to bring her kids to the UAE one by one.
From that vision, she was able to bring her eldest daughter, who also works in the medical field as a nurse, to the UAE. Next was her second two other daughters and, eventually, her son, who now works as a physician at the same hospital she works at.
“At the end of the day, I think the lesson here is that even though a storm came into your life, there’s always someone up there who sees you,” she said.
Dr. Maria Lourdes describes herself as ‘happy and satisfied’ now that her kids are in a good place.
When asked about her struggles when she was only starting her career overseas, she said she had struggled to communicate with locals since Arabic was the widely used language in the area where she was assigned. To address the language barrier, she attended the Arabic language lesson that the hospital provided them.
Dr. Maria Lourdes lauded the healthcare system in the UAE.
Juggling work and career
Dr. Maria Lourdes remembered waking up at 5:30 am, getting ready for work, and taking her children to school from Bulacan to Quezon City.
She dropped her kids at school by 7 am, took her breakfast at 7:45 am, went to church at 7:30 am, and went off to work from 8 am. Every day was a hectic day for her. After work, she would pick her kids up and return to Bulacan. At around 5:30 pm, she would go to her local clinic in Meycauayan, and make rounds to check on patients until 10 pm.
Looking back at her struggles, she could not stop being grateful for weathering all the storms she faced.
“Since all my children are grown up, they have their own careers, they have chosen their paths, I always tell myself: ‘Thank you, Lord. I think I’ve done well being alone for the last 14 years,'” she said.
“I think for a parent like me, a single parent like me, the only trophy that I wish for is to have successful children. I think every parent would say that that is their gold medal award,” she added.
When asked if she still has goals, she said she wants to maintain good health so she can treat and see more patients.
“I wanted to see them grow, and most probably because I was not there 24 hours a day for my children at least, by this time, I will be able to see other children from birth and as they go through. It’s just like sharing,” she said.
