They were ‘born for each other’

Rey and Peachy Platon and their sons. CONTRIBUTED

Boy meets girl. Boy leaves. After many years, they meet again, become a couple and live happily ever after. This is not a burger company advertisement but a real love story destined by God, according to Rey Platon, 63, a former mortgage broker and now a chaplain for Marketplace Chaplains in Nevada. His wife, Peachy, is a practicing pediatrician for Reno-Sparks Tribal Clinic.

Born on the same year, July 11, 1953, in the same town in Tanauan, Batangas, Rey and Pacita “Peachy” Salisi were delivered by the same obstetrician at the same hospital but 15 hours apart.

Living in a small town, Rey and Peachy attended the same public elementary school and became classmates until Grade 3. In Grade 5, Peachy transferred to Maryknoll in Lipa City until she graduated from high school. The two did not meet again for the next 19 years after going their separate ways in 1963.

However, Rey never forgot the image of the little girl he learned to cherish. He tried to forget her and focused on his studies.

Migration to America

Coming from a large family with eight siblings, Rey and his siblings’ future were almost cut short due to a tragedy that claimed their father’s life; he was a bus driver.

“I was only 16 years old then. My brother was recruited by the United States Navy in Cavite in 1969, which paved the way to petition my mom who then petitioned all of us and we migrated to America by the early 1970s,” Rey says.

While waiting for his brother’s petition, Rey worked as a laborer in the public market to help support his studies as well as his siblings. After two years in college in Manila, Rey left the Philippines with his family.

The Platons through the years. CONTRIBUTED

Rey earned a BA in political science at California State University in Northridge and began his long career in banking, real estate finance and marketing.

Meanwhile, Peachy finished as a valedictorian in 1970 allowing her to become an entrance scholar to the University of the Philippines. Eventually, she went to UP College of Medicine. She is listed as Pacita Lascano Salisi, MD, at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine Class of 1978. She had an internship at Philippine General Hospital and four years of residency training in family medicine.

Balikbayan for love

Missing his hometown and hoping to find Peachy again, Rey came back in September1982. He learned from a family friend that Peachy was now a doctor at PGH. Rey was quite intimidated. Dr. Peachy Salisi was the Chief Resident at the Department of Family Medicine at UP-PGH along Taft Avenue.

Despite his apprehension, something in him persisted, so he decided to go to PGH to visit her as an old friend. Rey was amazed by her humility, kindness and professionalism.

“She was shocked and asked me: ‘Reynaldo Platon, what are you doing here?’, Rey chuckles at the memory.

Even after 19 years, Rey still recognized the girl from his Grade 3 class. But he was more surprised that she still remembered his full name. From Reynaldo, Rey legally changed his name in America when he became a naturalized citizen in 1984.

Rey did not want to lose this chance. Both of them realized that years and distance could not hinder love. On May 14, 1983, Dr. Salisi became Dr. Pacita Platon. The following month, they flew to Los Angeles to begin a new life.

Life together

In the United States, Rey engaged in sales, marketing and real estate and Peachy in medicine.

Peachy passed two US Medical Board Examinations allowing her to practice pediatric medicine in the states of California and Nevada. She did three years of residency training at the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles and Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, California.

In December 2016, Peachy was awarded a 15-year Service Achievement Award by the Reno-Sparks Tribal Health Clinic in Reno for her outstanding service.

Their union was blessed with two boys: Justin, 30, finished pre-medicine and entrepreneurial leadership at Gonzaga University and is a freelance travel photographer; Andrew, 28, a graduate of Linfield College is a State of Oregon Certified Public Accountant and is working in Portland as a company comptroller for a small start-up computer company.

Answering God’s call

Rey had an epiphany on October 22, 1989 during the Loma Prieta Big Earthquake in San Francisco, California. He realized that life was not simply a matter of financial contentment, but also sharing blessings with others, especially poor Filipinos He retired from his corporate work to become an ordained traveling missionary sent by the local Bible Baptist Church through the Central Missionary Clearinghouse Inc., an independent Baptist Mission Agency. Since then he has traveled to different parts of the world, including the Philippines, to share God’s words. Peachy supports and encourages Rey’s newfound mission.

Rey Platon on a missionary trip to Coron. CONTRIBUTED

“God willing, when we both retire as a certified corporate and hospital chaplain and as a practicing pediatrician, we plan to partner with a friend, a pastor and a doctor based in Coron Island, Palawan, to help in health care education and conducting medical missions,” Rey shares their plan.

Rey also plans to recruit Peachy’s retiring doctors and nurses to come to Coron and help the underprivileged. He says that the island has more than 60,000 people but only two general practitioners. Peachy plans to work part-time as a traveling doctor to support their travel needs as they do missionary work in many places.

Thirty-four years of marriage are not without adjustments and misunderstandings. Rey admits that Peachy has a profound influence on his life in a way only someone with an unconditional love can understand.

To all the couples, Rey advises: “Always put Christ at the center of your marriage. To husbands, always express your love to your wife and compliments her. Wives, always accept the compliment and appreciate each other at all times.”