Si Marizon ay naging rehistradong nars sa Pilipinas noong 1972. Siya ay nagsilbing clinical instructor sa Ortañez University. Nang magkaroon ng pagkakataon, napagpasyahan niyang umalis ng bansa at magtrabaho sa Amerika.
Nang mapag-alaman niyang aabutin ng matagal na panahon bago mabigyan ng Embahada ng Amerika ng bisa ang kanyang pamilya, napagpasyahan niyang umuwi ng Pilipinas. “At that time, Australia was needing nurses and it only took the Australian embassy six months to release our visas,” sabi ni Marizon.
“We started a hard life. To be honest with you I don’t know how I did my life to come to this stage of my life in Australia.”
Dahil hindi kinikilala ng Australya ang nursing degree sa Pilipinas, kinailangan niyang magtrabaho sa Blacktown Hospital bilang estudyante ng nursing sa ikatlong taon para maging rehistradong nars.
“It was supposed to be a 6-month third year training but because of my previous experiences in America, the matron cut it down to 3 months,” paliwanag niya.
Si Mrs Villanueva ay nagtrabaho sa Blacktown Hospital sa loob ng tatlong taon. Nanatili siya roon hanggang ma-sponsoran siyang makapag-aral ng Intensive Care course sa Westmead Hospital.
“I did my Intensive Care course at Westmead Hospital in 1982 and I never left Westmead after that (laughs).”
Nang matapos niya ang general ICU course, ginugol naman nya ang kanyang oras sa Cardiothoracic ICU. ”I’m still in cardio thoracic ICU up to now. We do open heart surgery, lung surgeries—it’s basically open heart” inilalarawan nya.
Nasa kanilang pangangalaga ang mga teenager na may congenital cardiac defects. “After having numerous operations from the time that they are babies, they come to us when they become teenagers. So we look after them and further do more constructive surgeries of the heart. Looking at them go home healthy is such a wonderful feeling.”
Sa kanyang pagreretiro
Inamin ni Marizon na tinangka niyang magretiro. “It was a short retirement and I got bored so I went back to work.”
“My husband and my son were going crazy because you know, all I did was yell at them at home. They said why don’t you go back to work? We’ll drive you to work. We’ll pick you up from work and that’s what they did up until my husband died.”
Sa darating na Agosto, magdiriwang siya ng ika-70ng kaarawan. Bagamat marami ang nagtatanong sa kanya ukol sa kanyang pagreretiro, sinasabi niya na nais pa rin niyang magpatuloy sa kanyang trabaho.
“I am still active, going to work gives me meaning and purpose to get up in the morning especially after my husband died and I intend to be active until I can’t walk anymore.”
