ZAMBOANGA CITY – With the Covid-19 pandemic entering its second year, the health crisis affected not only the business sector, but everyone else. Many have lost their jobs, others suffered from depression and stress due to lockdowns and limited movement of people.
And
Covid-19 itself can lead to neurological and mental complications, such as
delirium, agitation, and stroke. People with pre-existing mental, neurological
or substance use disorders are also more vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2
infection ̶ they may stand a higher risk of severe outcomes and even death.
Many
people in Zamboanga City resorted to flower gardening to cope with the stressful
day-to-day life, others have raised cats and dogs to help manage their children’s
anxiety
And the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that children with dogs in the home had reduced anxiety levels and reduced amount of perceived stress. They believe that kids who interact with dogs have
increased levels of oxytocin released into their brains.
Anesthesiologist Dr. Marcus Mancao puts finishing touches on one of his paintings at his studio in Zamboanga City.
But one medical doctor in Zamboanga City has unique ways on how he spends his quality time being an anesthesiologist and a loving father of two and a husband to an equally busy and beautiful wife, who is a nurse by profession.
Dr.
Marcus Mancao tells the regional newspaper Mindanao
Examiner that despite his rigorous job he still finds some time to do
things he truly loves - painting and scale model assembly - but the 41-year old
doctor is also a fitness enthusiast who goes to the gym when he
has time and an endurance cyclist and marathoner.
He says painting is his passion even when he was just little.
“It
started when I was a kid and as a preschooler, I kept on painting and drawing
as a pastime with my older brother. I guess it just developed from there.
Although I never had any formal training in painting, I just paint like how I
imagine it in my mind,” says Dr. Mancao, a father to a pair of intelligent kids
Calebs, 8; and Savannahs. 4.
“It
wasn’t until Christmas of 2020 when my wife, Amirrah, got me some painting
supplies and suggested I should get back to doing what I used to love. So I spent some of my free time during this
pandemic doing just that,” he says as he gestures to some of his pieces at his
living room-turned-studio. “Besides my older pieces done when I was younger,
I've currently done 10 pieces in the past years.”
But
the health crisis also brought fear to Dr. Mancao after he tested positive for the
deadly respiratory disease that has already claimed the lives of nearly 1,000
people since last year; and his family also contracted Covid-19 and they all survived
the virus.
From that harrowing experience, Dr. Mancao - like the mythical phoenix - painted the “Perseverance” which reflects his continued effort to do and achieve something despite the difficulties and failure in life.
“I
did the ‘Perseverance’ piece when I got the Covid-19 virus, I took the
opportunity while I was quarantined at home, in isolation together with my
family, who also had the virus. In a way, it was timely amidst all the
uncertainties we are all facing right now, life needs to move on. The pandemic
helped me realize that all the material things in life shouldn’t be your
priority. The real wealth is your health and your family.”
“The
pandemic made me realize that your health is far more important than anything
else. This is a very perilous time to be a physician, you can literally die if
you let your guards down, but this is also the time when humanity needs you the
most. You really have to answer the calling. Painting is one way to get off
some of the stresses of being a frontliner,” the doctor says, his voice
cracking from the memories of the past that he has to retell for everybody to
realize that Covid-19 chooses no one.
Dr.
Mancao admits that emotions played a vital role in some of his paintings. His
dreams, he says, are also reflected on his canvasses. “Emotions, some of it,
yes. Some are just what attracted me during that time. I dreamt of it, I
thought of it or just saw it a while ago and I’d say ‘hey, I like to paint that,’
although some of my pieces have hidden messages and meaning in it, mostly about
life and nature,” he says, noting that in the past, he tried to follow the
styles and brush strokes of famous artists, but he finds that his unique and
own artistic expressions simply work magic and he attributes this to his mood.
“I
tried following famous artists’ works and I just couldn’t, I just have to make
my own style. I think it’s much better that way, uniquely my own. My paintings
are really greatly influenced by mood. I paint when I have free time, and when I
am in the mood for painting. I want to get the work done in one sitting, but I
can’t, given the very busy schedule in hospitals. So, it’s like when I am in
the mood and when I have a free time, I will grab it and continue painting. It’s
always fun and exciting to see your work unfold every time you sit there, and
you should know when you’re done, so you won’t overdo it,” explains Dr. Mancao,
adding “I would like to think anesthesiologists have steady hands, an advantage
for someone who paints. As a doctor, we always give much attention to details,
we love scrutinizing.”
Dr.
Mancao says his painting mediums are oil and acrylic and his beautiful pieces
are “somewhere along Art Nouveau and
realism art.” Although he wants to hold a solo exhibit, Dr. Mancao says the
Covid-19 pandemic remains a public threat.
Many
of his friends want to buy his paintings, but Dr. Mancao says “it’s really hard
to let go of the things I put much time and effort on. Just like when you breed
dogs, it’s just hard to let go of the puppies.”
Aside from painting, Dr. Mancao also busies himself in assembling scale models of battle tanks, among others and also paints them according to their colors during their era. “It so good to assemble scale models, it keeps my mind and spirit busy, especially this time of the Covid-19 pandemic. We need to do something, work on something that we love and that’s good enough,” he says. (Mindanao Examiner)