it was time for me to head back to the condo. I was driving my pick up. I got back to the condo safe and sound, except that as I was driving up the ramp from 1st to 3rd floor, I forgot that i was driving on second gear so as expected, the engine conked out and I slowly slid back down to the ground floor...
Guard: dili kasaka mam? [It can't go up?]
H: hinde noh, kinakabahan lang ako... kaya ito! [Ofcourse not, I'm just nervous. I can handle this!]
...and i put the Hilux of first gear and climbed up (slowly, and on bated breath). I made it and even parked the car nicely in the middle of the yellow lines.
THE END
Sometimes we get overwhelmed with whatever is happening in our life. Sometimes we load up on too much work or take on too many projects that we forget we're on "second gear" and our engines (body, mind and soul) conk out on us and we slide back to the ground...
Sometimes all we need to do is to PAUSE, reassess, recharge and reassure ourselves that WE CAN DO THIS! Go back to basics, go back to first gear and try again.
I received a lot of gifts this Christmas. More than the actual value of the gift, I appreciate the fact that they remembered me and they considered me important enough to give a gift.
One of the more memorable gifts are personalized mugs, with one catching my attention because it had "Love, Engr Kevin" written after my name... so the next time I have a bad day, I will use this cup for my morning coffee to remember that someone loves me. He says "every day should be a love day..."
The other memorable gift is from Dr Debbie Abdul, my close friend from RESEARCH in Cebu Doctors' University. The gift is unexpected and has made my showers refreshing with sweet orange scent, much like aromatherapy to uplift the start of the day. This reminds me of Dr Helen Amorin who relished her lavander soaps and shower gels (God bless her soul). It is up to us to find comfort in the small everyday things we use and encounter to boost our mental health.
On the flip side, it also provides psychic fulfillment to GIVE more than to receive.
When Dr Bon Bala informed us that Ozamiz was flooded, we mobilized a donation drive to purchase much needed medicines, underwear, shirts and blankets for the evacuation centers.
With cash donations, we coordinated with the PHARMACY to purchase antibiotics, paracetamol, vitamin C, cough syrup, Oresol and other medicines. The girls also headed for the wholesale markets to buy clothes which were among the immediate needs of the evacuees.
This was received the next night at the Mayor Hilarion A Ramiro Sr (MHARS) Medical Center in Ozamiz.
I am praying for the eternal repose of the soul of my 16 year old patient who finally breathed her last. The cause of death: poverty.
When doctors know what needs to be done to provide their patients with the best prognosis, and yet do not have the resources to treat - what else can we do but pray and offer consolation in death and dying, and hope that we have done absolutely everything we could.
While waiting for funds for her treatment, she personally asked my permission to allow her to spend christmas at home with her family. She even asked me for "pamasko". She was happy and hopeful and relatively healthy. Little did I know that this would be her last Christmas.
In my mourning, my mother comforts me with her prayer: "I pray that the family and her doctors have the wisdom to accept God's will. Death is just a transition. Not the end."
Help me to remember that I am just your instrument Lord. You are the musician. Some music are allegro, others legato. Some are fortissimo, others pianissimo. Even silence has a meaning, a pregnant pause. It is not the end. It is just the beginning of a new page.
*written on December 28, 2014 on facebook.
Today we celebrate my parents' 46th wedding anniversary although my father passed away in 2001. The life event of her wedding is a milestone in my mother's life that she chooses to celebrate beyond my father's death. Til death do you part seems poignant since my father's presence is felt in the closeness of my family over a quiet dinner, taking a break from a busy day's work.
We pay tribute to my father and his life of service to the Filipino people and his love and devotion to his wife and his duty to his children.
I hope someday I may also contribute enough to have an impact on someone's life to be remembered long after my death. Some music are allegro, others legato. Some are fortissimo, others pianissimo. Even silence has a meaning, a pregnant pause. It is not the end. It is just the beginning of a new page.
This Christmas, we finally had some rest days for family time and my niece MaJian wanted to keep playing the board game Snakes and Ladders. After the nth game, I asked MaJian what lessons she had learned from the game:
1. We shouldn't cheat because that's bad. Sometimes you win. Other times you lose, but the important thing is that you're having fun and you enjoy the game.
2. Ladders help you climb fast in the game. Ladders in life are hard work, discipline, good communication, persistence, kindness and respect.
3. Snakes make you slip down the board game. Snakes in life are anger, shouting, not listening and not helping.
4. Sometimes we are up and sometimes we are down, but always we need to keep playing.
We had a visit from a DOH Undersecretary this week, and she brought tears to our eyes when she commended the hospital for its COVID-19 pandemic response because although DOH officials, Philhealth officials and COA staff were also doing their best to cope with the crisis, it was the hospitals that bore the brunt of the work in making sure patients had access to quality healthcare services.
While other government personnel worked from home, it was the frontline healthcare workers who risked their own health to provide care for those afflicted with COVID-19.
We already conducted mass interviews this week to hire health professionals for available plantilla item positions.
Most of the questions asked were "tell us about your educational background, your past work experiences and the skillsets that you have that you think may be useful for the position you are applying for..." as well as questions about "given the thrust of this government hospital to provide quality service with total patient satisfaction, what do you think you can contribute as a frontline healthcare worker to make this happen, to achieve this goal?"
I also met up with our OBGYN residency training program graduates, and my heart is full to hear that they are making waves in their own areas of influence to improve the Philippine health care system. I do hope that they receive the support that they need to implement reforms for improvement.
We invite everyone tonight to discuss what characteristics patients would look for in their frontline healthcare workers tonight at 9PM on #HealthXPH:
T1. Share your most memorable experience with frontline healthcare workers. Was your experience a negative one or a positive one? We all get sick at one point in our lives. The patient experience affects how we react to accessing healthcare services in the future.
T2. What characteristics do you look for in your frontline healthcare workers? Customer relations and feedback is very important for further improvement in services provided. How do we provide our criticisms constructively? The patient is the primary reason why healthcare workers exist, therefore we must have that listening ear to hear the voice of the patient.
T3. How can we support healthcare workers to be what we need them to be? Filipino healthcare workers have been lauded globally for desirable traits like being hardworking, enduring, persistent, compassionate and being selfless. Many of our Filipino healthcare workers, nurses in particular, are leaving the country for better opportunities abroad. How can we support Filipino healthcare workers to be what the Filipino patient needs them to be?
