Can love be measured in tangible ways? For 10-year-old Edu Pareño, it can.

One day in August, he was at an Operation Blessing medical mission in his province in Bataan. The next he was on his way to Manila, 3 hours away from home, for a much needed surgery. Edu was suffering from osteomyelitis, or inflammation of the bone, caused by a fall one year ago.

As it positively turned out, surgery might no longer be needed because he is responding fairly well to his medicines.

“His leg started to show signs of healing just on his second day here,” said OB volunteer nurse Mylene Mangalindan. “The doctors are carefully monitoring his condition, especially because he still complains of a little pain in his leg every now and then.”

Mylene has taken it upon herself to take care of Edu from Bataan to Quirino Memorial Medical Center in Manila just to make sure that he gets proper treatment.

While in the city, Edu stays with Mylene’s family, with food and groceries provided by OB. She is optimistic that Edu will continue healing and will no longer need to have his wound opened.

“He is such a generous and sweet boy. One time I saw him offer his bed to a child who needed it more than he did,” Mylene said. “Everybody at the hospital likes him.”

A year ago, Edu fell off a tree and dropped five feet to the ground. His leg started to swell and pus formed from the scar. He frequently got sick and complained of pain in his leg. And he stopped going to school. He walked with a limp. He could no longer swim, ride his bike, and play basketball or tag with his friends.

A town doctor finally confirmed what the family wasn’t ready to hear: the boy was fractured from the fall. Immediate surgery was needed to arrest further complications. However, it took four months before Edu’s wound was opened.

“We did not have ready money to pay for the operation,” his father Edwin had told Mylene. He tills a small plot of land and feeds his wife and seven kids.

Edu still did not heal when he underwent surgery last April. Thankfully, Operation Blessing was in their village last August for free medical consultation. That was when they met OB doctors, including nurse Mylene.

Not only that, Edu met The 700 Club Asia co-host Coney Reyes, who prayed for him and earnestly claimed healing. He felt lighter after the prayer, he said, having full faith that God will make things alright.

Indeed, four weeks since that fateful day in Bataan, Edu is now a happier and healthier boy as he waits for his healing to be completed.

He has learned to pray to the Lord and to trust in Him, Mylene said. “I know that God has a big plan for his life.”

“I can play basketball now, and bike, and run with my friends,” Edu said. “Thank you so much for helping me and for taking care of me.”

For a boy who wants to be a basketball player someday, going the extra mile is worth it for OB and its supporters. Every changed life is always worth the sacrifice.