OFW survives severe medical condition to become proud restaurant owner in UAE

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates –  A loving daughter who quit nursing school to help her mother in making a living but had to undergo a major surgery for a rare, life-threatening ailment, is now back on her toes running a successful restaurant.

Liberty Cano Samonte-Galang, eldest of five siblings and was 18 years old at the time, came to Dubai in November 2005, to join her mother Brenda Cano Samonte, who arrived in February of the same year and was doing office work at a real estate company. Galang, herself, worked as a secretary also at a real estate company, then as a travel agent, a receptionist and finally a training coordinator.

“Nagpunta ako sa UAE para tulungan ang mama ko na mapag-aral at mabuhay ang apat ko pang maliliit na kapatid,” Galang, who was then studying at Our Lady of Fatima in Lagro, Quezon City, tells GMA News Online. 

(I went to the UAE to help my mother support my younger siblings and get them to school.)

Affliction

In September 2011, however, Galang, 25, was diagnosed with an affliction that has been causing her to have severe headaches and dizziness, even blackouts. She eventually underwent surgery at the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Hospital and went back to Dubai upon recovery a month later to continue assisting her mother.

Things dimmed in 2014 when the symptoms came back, compelling Galang to return home for yet again another medical checkup in February 2015, which established that the medical condition has recurred and, worse, developed complications.

She survived all these predicaments, and by 2018, was working as a sales person at a honey shop located in the Sharjah Fish Market. 

“That brought an opportunity for me to open a kiosk, where I started selling my mama’s ‘kakanin,’” Galang said, referring to traditional Filipino comfort foods like rice cakes and other sweets.

Restaurant

In October 2019, Galang, whose family hails from Floridablanca, Pampanga, opened NaDerang Restaurant in Sharjah, a city neighboring Dubai to the north. 

Her husband, Michael Angelo, also from Pampanga, whom she married in April 2011 and now has a 12-yead-old daughter with, partners as her head chef. The dining destination offers authentic Filipino cuisine and has since become popular in the community because of the fabled “lutong Kapampangan (cooked by a Kapampangan),” indicating how excellent people from Pampanga are in the kitchen.

“Derang,” is a Kapampangan word for “grilled.” Galang said they named the restaurant NaDerang as they would often hear their daughter, Moriah Ashuntea, singing a tune titled “Nadarang” by a popular Filipino rap artist back in those days. The restaurant was also named “Best in Traditional Filipino Cuisine” at a recent awards event. 

Tears

Galang, now 38, said tears would roll down her face looking back at what she’d gone through. 

“What keeps me going? Nakaka-iyak pero hindi pa tapos si Lord sa plano niya sa buhay ko. Na, despite my health condition, I can say na masarap mabuhay knowing that God is with me,” said Galang, who now also heads a Bible study group.

(It makes me cry. God is not yet done with his plans for me. Despite my health condition, I can say life is good knowing that God is with me.)

“I still have seizures, and blackouts, and would often be in an ambulance,” she said in a mix of English and the vernacular.

Indeed, asked about the challenges she faced putting up a restaurant, Galang said: “Naku, sobrang dami! First challenge was my health condition, as in sickness to the max. Makalbo ka ba naman, then after ilang years masunog yung buong katawan mo (due to hypersensitivity by the immune system to medications) and not to mention na mag-wheelchair ka for ilang months. 

“Some people may think (that) maybe it’s time to give up. But because God is not yet finished writing (my) story. He is not yet finished with His plans. He still has that wonderful journey meant for (me), I don’t lose hope. It is putting 100% trust in His love.”

(Oh my! There’s a lot. First challenge was my health condition as in sickness to the max. I went bald (post-surgery) then after a few years, my whole body suffered from burns due to hypersensitivity by the immune system to medications and not to mention I was in a wheelchair for months.) —KBK, GMA Integrated News