NURSE Kristia Gaile Bisnon PHOTO TAKEN FROM KRISTIA’S FACEBOOK ACCOUNT
DAVAO CITY—For Mayor Sara Duterte, the death of nurse Kristia Gaile Bisnon in Friday’s bombing at a night market here came as a shock.
“I knew her personally,” Duterte said of Bisnon, who was her private nurse when she was confined in the hospital in July due to pregnancy complications.
The mayor, who is expecting triplets, surprised Bisnon’s family at Cosmopolitan Funeral Homes at dawn on Monday, just a few minutes before they left to bring her body to their hometown in Tacurong City.
“I visited Kristia first because she is set to go back home,” Duterte said. She had intended to visit the wakes of the victims on Tuesday.
“I was really shocked when I was informed last night. The first thought was what was she doing there,” she said.
Bisnon’s mother explained that her daughter was always at the market on Friday nights or weekends to dine and have a massage.
Duterte told the family that Bisnon was a dedicated nurse and was always on her side, ready to provide any assistance, when she was in the hospital.
“I told her to grab some sleep because she need not to do anything, but she refused to sleep. She was very dedicated to her work,” the mayor said.
She said she clearly remembered Bisnon as a caring nurse who was always on her feet to give water and medicine even without the mayor telling her what to do.
Evalyn Suarez, a close friend of the nurse, said the family appreciated the gesture of the mayor.
“We were not expecting her presence, and we were shocked when she suddenly arrived. We really felt her sympathy,” Suarez said.