National Nurses United

"She would say, 'Let's barbeque and call the uncles and aunts to come over,'" said her son, James Anthony. With the family around, the karaoke would begin. "She had a singer's voice, she loved to sing and dance," said James Anthony. When she wasn't singing, she was playing pranks, such as putting cookies in his mouth while he was asleep. "She was a very joyful person." Music was part of Baclig's upbringing, said her older sister, Edita Agbigay Castro. Their father used to teach music and he taught Baclig how to play the guitar, the bass, and the mandolin. The entire family played the folk music of the Philippines in rondalla, an ensemble of string instruments. "She loved to sing and play her gui- tar. She was the best in the family." Amelia Agbigay Baclig was born March 13, 1957 in Batac, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. She was the second youngest of nine children born to Concepcion and Juanito Agbigay. She met and fell in love with her future husband, Nestor, when they were 16-year-old classmates in high school. The couple had three children, James Anthony, 39, Aubrey Joy, 34, and Joanne Mae, 27. They all live together in the family home in Walnut, Calif. "She never wanted us to leave," said James Anthony. Baclig followed her childhood dream to become a nurse, graduat- ing from Lorma Colleges in the Philippines in 1978. By then, the rest of her immediate family had immigrated to Hawaii. She and Nestor travelled to Hawaii to get married in 1984, before moving to South- ern California where Nestor's family had settled. "They were honestly each other's best friend," said Aubrey Joy. "Everywhere my mom went my dad went, everywhere my dad went, my mom went. They always laughed, they made fun of each other all the time. They were each other's rock. [They had] unconditional genuine love for each other." In 1992, Baclig started working at Emanate Health (formerly known as Queen of the Valley Hospital) in West Covina, Calif. She began her career there as a licensed vocational nurse before becom- ing a registered nurse a year later. "She was a very caring, very thorough nurse," said Celeste Miranda-Gungab, RN, who was precepted by Baclig and worked with her for more than a decade. "She taught me so many things I didn't learn in nursing school." Miranda-Gungab said Baclig was the "go-to" nurse on the unit when questions arose and she treated her coworkers like they were family. "She was like a mom to all of us," recalled Miranda-Gungab. She said that before the pandemic, "She would feed us. She would warm the food and call us to eat." "She honestly loved the people she worked with," said Aubrey Joy. The Baclig house was where the nurses would throw baby showers and holiday parties. Aubrey Joy said nursing was a true calling for her mother because she was intelligent and a natural caregiver. "I know she loved making a difference in peoples' lives and being able to work so hard knowing that she can have that patient go home to their family." Joanne Mae, Baclig's youngest child, credits her mother with leading her into the health care profession. It was her mother who brought her to the hospital to work in the medical records unit. Joanne Mae now works as a cancer researcher, a career choice that pleased her mom. "She taught me how to work hard; that is why I am so passionate about the health care field because it helps a lot of people," said Joanne Mae. Baclig was not only serious about hard work, she was also serious about her belief in God and the power of prayer. "She would always tell us to pray," remembered Joanne Mae. The family would often gather together to say the rosary, sometimes praying with their extended family and friends. When Covid hit, Baclig was concerned that her age and her dia- betes put her at high risk so she went on leave for several months. But when she ran out of leave, she returned to work and ended up caring for Covid patients during the winter surge. She took extra precautions at work, keeping her N95 on throughout her shift, only taking it off to drink or eat. "She was very scared, she was very careful," said Miranda-Gun- gab. She tried to protect her family from the virus by changing her clothes at work, switching out her shoe covers before getting into the family car, and even eating her breakfast in the garage if she was too tired to shower before eating. But in mid-December, she tested positive for Covid. She isolated herself from the rest of the family, but the entire family ended up testing positive. Baclig spent five weeks in the hospital before she passed away on Jan. 22, 2021. Amelia Baclig was 63 years old. On the day she passed away, James Anthony and Aubrey Joy went to the hospital to say their good-byes to their mother. "It was very gloomy that day," said James Anthony. But the two say when they stepped outside their mother's room for the last time, all of a sudden, the room just lit up. "I knew at that point that was the time when she was stepping away from her body and in my mind she was going with my grand- parents," said Aubrey Joy. James Anthony said the moment gave them both a sense of peace. "You could see the sun rays come out of the window and the angels came down from heaven to get her." —Rachel Berger Marjorie Imperial marjorie imperial, or ate margie, as her big family of nurse coworkers called her, very much lived up to her title of "big sister." At Sutter Solano Medical Center in Vallejo, Calif., where she had worked for more than 20 years, she was one of the most senior nurses in the telemetry unit and often served as relief charge. She always brought extra food to heat up and leave in the break room so that none of her colleagues would go hungry. Some of her coworkers would even request special Filipino dishes, and her husband duti- fully and gladly filled the orders. As a registered nurse, she was an "Ate," too. Imperial was extremely dexterous. Whenever there was a difficult IV to insert, or others had been unsuccessful placing a foley catheter, the nurses knew they could "go and ask Margie" because she would get it done on the first try, and was always willing to help. Off work, she would often knit, garden, and decorate with those hands; last Christmas, she gifted many of her coworkers handknit scarves. A joyous spirit, Imperial was also known as the games master among her coworkers, organizing party games at baby showers, birthdays, and more. Imperial's big circle of friends and family are all mourning her death on Jan. 11 from Covid-19 after a month-long battle against the virus in the ICU. She was 61. "Yes, she prided herself on her IV skills," said her daughter, Aileen Hinlo, who is also an RN, as is her older brother. "My mom is amaz- ing and generous. She likes to share and take care of you. She never J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 1 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 21

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