Pinoy caregiver postpones wedding after getting stranded in patient's home in Israel

A Pinoy couple based in Israel had been planning to marry this year, but the country's lockdown had them changing their plans.

In an episode of GMA Public Affairs' "RTx," Mcdonald Garcia shared how his life was affected by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

He and his fiance Nora Agunias both work as stay-in caregivers, so when Israel went on lockdown, they were both shut in with their patients and separated from each other for two months.

He said that should he leave the house, he would have to be quarantined for 14 days. His employers had warned him that he would be replaced should he be gone for that long.

So Mcdonald stayed and instead took to vlogging about his life, which brought comfort to family back home in the Philippines.

"Nung nalaman ko na nagba-vlog si Kuya sa Israel, nalaman namin na OK lang naman pala siya dun," his brother Julius said. "Pinapanood namin ang mga vlog niya para maging masaya rin kami."

The eldest of six, Mcdonald is the breadwinner of the family.

However, he shared that he was preparing to start a family of his own, which was why he popped the question to Nora.

The two actually already have a newly-constructed house waiting for them in Pangasinan.

But with the way things are right now, Mcdonald said they have no set date yet for the wedding or when they would settle down in the Philippines for good.

"Sa ngayon wala pa kaming plano kung kailan ulit, hindi pa namin naisip, baka siguro next year na. Para kapag nakaipon na kami ng sapat. Uuwi na kami magfo-for good na kami," he said.

Israel started to ease lockdown measures starting April 19. The country has recorded over 16,589 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

And finally after two months, Mcdonald and Nora were able to reunite.

"Sa mga OFW na nakaranas ng lockdown dahil sa COVID-19, magtiis-tiis lang muna tayo. Kailangan lang natin mag-ipon ng mag-ipon para makauwi na tayo ng Pilipinas," Mcdonald said.

—JCB, GMA News