The Autobiography of Ariston P. Awitan, Jr., M.D.: Which Prevailed, the Son's Goal or the Father’s Dream?

By Ariston P. Awitan Jr. M.D.

Let me start by saying, “This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it.” This reminds me that my life is a gift from Him and what I can do with my life is my gift to Him.
After I retired from my medical practice, it has always been my desire to write the story of my life, mainly for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, so that they would know me as nobody would ever be in a better position to relate what I did during my life journey.
I would like them to know how a small boy’s dream became a reality, a boy from the remote area in the Philippines, his ambitions, determinations and strong belief, trust and faith in Lord Jesus, that gave him the strength to persevere and achieve the full potential that he dreamed of.
This is the story of his struggles, the difficult obstacles that he hurdled, the challenges that he had overcome, the blessing and problems of the various relationships that he went through, and the successes that he achieved during his life journey.
Out of these experiences, he gained some wisdom,
worth remembering to add to your own experiences in your life to guide you to achieve what you want and maintain a balanced life that the Lord wants us to do in this life to prepare us for eternal life of everlasting happiness forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 10, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664179844

Ariston P. Awitan Jr. M.D.

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Copyright © 2021 by Ariston P. Awitan Jr., M.D.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 06/23/2021

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CONTENTS

Dedication

Introduction

Chapter 1   My Early Years

Chapter 2   My Pre-Medical Education

Chapter 3   My Medical Education

Chapter 4   The Son’s Goal Overpowered the Father’s Dream

Chapter 5   People Who Influenced My Life

Chapter 6   My Plan to Go to the United States

Chapter 7   From Lakeville, Massachusetts to Staten Island New York

Chapter 8   My Residency Training at Newark New Jersey

Chapter 9   Why I Chose to Practice in Pasadena Texas, Southeast of Houston

Chapter 10   My Orthopedic Private Practice

Chapter 11   My Other Activities During My Private Practice

Chapter 12   The Succeeding Years

Chapter 13   My Decision to Move to Palm Coast Florida

Chapter 14   My Life at Lakeside, Palm Coast, Florida

Chapter 15   Important Information I Learned To Live a Long Life

Chapter 16   Seeking to Apply the Acquired Knowledge

Chapter 17   Valentine’s Night 2020 I Won’t Forget

Chapter 18   The Carnival Caribbean Cruise March 7 to 14, 2020

Chapter 19   My New Life in Palm Coast

Chapter 20   Application of My Researched Knowledge

Chapter 21   Thy Will Be Done, Lord, Not Ours

Chapter 22   Seven Values to Live By According to Norman Vincent Peale

Chapter 23   A Bit of Wisdom I Earned

Chapter 24   My Favorite Quotations from the Bible

Chapter 25   Songs That Relate To The Stages of My Life

Chapter 26   Disclaimer

Chapter 27   How To Stay Healthy Prevention of Chronic Diseases The Ten Items You Should Do.

Chapter 28   On The Last Lap of My Journey

About The Author

References

This Book Is Dedicated

To The Following:

To my recent late wife, Josephine Reynolds Wheeler Phillips-Awitan who accepted me purely out of who I am, without consideration of monetary riches which I did not have, who was patient and willing to overlook all my faults and shortcomings, who taught me to be happy with what I have, and who told me, and I believed her, that I was the first man in her life that she said the words, I love You; to my first late wife, Josefina Capistrano Awitan for helping me raise my four children; to my second wife, Donna Ray Frolich Awitan who taught me that I was not too old to learn snow skiing, enjoy the beauty of the mountains and the green and blue slopes; to my third late wife, Juliet Gran Ringer Awitan who taught me that we are best remembered not by our riches but by the people we have helped and the relationships we have nurtured long before we are gone; to my children, Ariston Joselito Matthew Capistrano Awitan III, Maria Cecilia Awitan-Ivy, Edward Winston Awitan, and Brian Raymond Awitan who are my real reason to work hard and ventured to come to the United States; to Joanne Foote, the wife of Ariston III, to Leah Wells, the wife of Brian, Wendy Martin, the wife of Edward, to Iris, the mother of my 4 great grandchildren, to Ray Wheeler, the only son of Josephine Reynolds Wheeler Phillips-Awitan, to my grandchildren, Nicholas Awitan, Ariston Awitan IV, Matthew Awitan, Jade Awitan Ivy, Ava Josephine Awitan and Marlena Awitan, and to my four great grandchildren, children of Nicholas and Iris Pacheco: Nico Alexander Awitan, Marcelo Joe Lee Awitan, Robert Lee Awitan and Joseph Lee Awitan, who have all given me the satisfaction for having worked hard and realized my dreams and achieved my full potential in life.

INTRODUCTION

Let me start by saying, This is the day that the Lord has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it. This reminds me that my life is a gift from Him and what I can do with my life is my gift to Him.

After I retired from my medical practice, it has always been my desire to write the story of my life, mainly for my children, grandchildren and great grandchildren, so that they would know me as nobody would ever be in a better position to relate what I did during my life journey.

I would like them to know how a small boy’s dream became a reality, a boy from the remote area in the Philippines, his ambitions, determinations and strong belief, trust and faith in Lord Jesus, that gave him the strength to persevere and achieve the full potential that he dreamed of.

This is the story of his struggles, the difficult obstacles that he hurdled, the challenges that he had overcome, the blessing and problems of the various relationships that he went through, and the successes that he achieved during his life journey.

Out of these experiences, he gained some wisdom, worth remembering to add to your own experiences in your life to guide you to achieve what you want and maintain a balanced life that the Lord wants us to do in this life to prepare us for eternal life of everlasting happiness forever.

CHAPTER ONE

My Early Years

I want to tell you the story of my life so that you will know where I came from, the journey that I went through to achieve what I dreamed of, hopefully, the challenges, failures, and successes that I went through and the wisdom I gained through my journey will touch and improve your own life.

My father was Ariston Palad Awitan, Sr. and my mother Was Clara Pallugna. My father’s father was Mateo Awitan and my mother’s father was Hugo Pallugna.

What I knew was my parents originally came from Mambajao, Camiguin Misamis Oriental, the place which became famous because of the eruption of the volcano, Hibok-hibok. (The eruption of 1949, originating from Itum crater caused 79 deaths due to landslides. In the morning of December 4, 1951, the volcano erupted again. This, time, however, it unleashed boiling lava, poisonous gases, and landslides enough to destroy nearly 19 square kilometers (7.3 sq mi) of land particularly in Mambajao. All in all, over 3,000 people were killed. Before the eruption of Mt. Hibok-Hibok in 1951, the population of Camiguin had reached