SOPHIA: the lady with the tumor in the eye...no more

By Warren Sun

Sophia Savillaga, a 19-year old lady hailing from the depressed area of Tungao, Butuan City located southeast of Manila, carried a heavy burden in her past.

When she was still seven months old, her mom noticed something like a pimple under her left eyebrow but just ignored it. By the time she turned seven years old, the pimple grew like a lump around 5cm almost covering her left eye. By 10, she completely lost her left eyesight.

Sophia’s dad passed away when she was very young. Her mom wanted to have her checked in the hospital but they cannot afford to go there as they are relatively poor. By the age of 15, the mass of the eye tumor loomed large. She had serious bouts of headache, pain and bleeding from her eye tumor when exposed under the sun and rigorous physical activities that’s why she was adviced to sleep early at night.

With her condition, she tried growing her hair longer so she can cover the tumor in her left eye for she was being bullied by her classmates in her elementary days in school. She eventually stopped schooling with this scenario and decided to stay at home. Living in seclusion even in her neighborhood, she often gets teased and yelled “bukol” (Tagalog for lump) by other kids.

It was her cousin Jeany who convinced her to go out and assist her at the beauty salon she was working for. From there, Jeany taught Sophia how to do basic hairstyling but still experienced getting stared at from other customers.

She began posting her glammed up look with her hair covering the tumor over Facebook and she got a lot of beautiful comments. One day, she made a crucial turning point of letting the whole world know that there will be no more hiding. One of her cousins posted her picture revealing the big bulge!

She eventually received comments stating it was fake and all but more people believed and sympathized with her. There were many people who got her attention from local to foreign media and luckily was given financial assistance via Crowdfunding which answered her biggest prayer.

If it weren’t for the brave and courageous idea of conquering her fears and insecurities, it would not lead to receiving monetary assistance for her initial treatment. And so, she underwent biopsy and CT scan in Butuan City. She was later on recommended to undergo operations in Manila.

On the big day of her operation, it would definitely be a life-changing moment as she closed her eyes and was placed under anaesthesia. Just imagine the big tumor that became the product of mockery and bullying which lowered her self-esteem and detached herself from the many people trying to misjudge her, is now gone for good. The operation went generally successful.

The tumor may be gone but something else was missing as the eye prosthesis was the next proposal to make Sophia look complete. Now, she was referred to UP-PGH and it was a long journey to apply as indigent for their charity patient medical funds. Though the results were not satisfying and convincing, it was still far a wiser move than not having it done at all.

Sophia even got Japan’s media attention. Summer of 2019 when she was featured in Sekai Gyouten News. I was there and witnessed the year-in-the-making production of the documentary and drama re-enactment of her life story.

I realized and saw the changes with Sophia. The old Sophia was a lady of few words, afraid to socialize with people and very reserved. She would leave everything to her cousin Jeany to act as her spokesperson. The now Sophia is quite promising, getting on the sociable stage and creates an effort to initiate a conversation. Though she may not be expressive enough, you could read the smile she’s wearing is full of gratitude.

With things looking bright on her side, she plans to go back to school to continue her studies in the near future. But during this pandemic crisis, she is helping her family in the fields harvesting corn during the weekdays and goes back home on the weekends. It is heart-warming to know that Sophia is bold enough to face the world with no more pretensions.