Halloween Nightmare

Found myself writhing in pain at around 4 a.m.

My breast had been hard-rock engorged since 1 a.m. and the milk cannot be expressed try as i might.  My fever had swelled to 40.1 degrees and the chills rocked my body endlessly.  It felt like New York in January! 

Helpless, Mr. P decided to bring me to the hospital emergency room…

to experience an otherwise early halloween nightmare. 

Me: Miss, I’m sick.  I have a fever and I have been having chills since 1 a.m. due to my engorged breast.  The milk wouldn’t come out.  Can you please call my OBGyne, Dr. ____.

Intern on Duty:  Bakit po kayo nandito?

Me:  Nilalagnat ako at giniginaw. It’s due to my engorged breast.  My breastmilk wouldn’t come out.

Intern on Duty:  Bakit po kayo nilalagnat?

Me:  Kasi nga my breastmilk wouldn’t come out, my breast is engorged.

Intern on Duty:  Bakit po ayaw lumabas ng milk?

Me:  Kaya nga ako nandito para malaman. Can you just please call my doctor.

Intern on Duty:  Mam, kailangan po namin malaman ang vitals niyo.

Me:  Cge, hindi niyo ba man lang ako pauupuin.

(Another Intern on Duty finally gets a chair)

Intern on Duty:  Anong pong pangalan niyo?  Ilang taon na po kayo?  Anong oras po kayo nilagnat kahapon?  Baka may nakain po kayo? 

Me:  Miss, hindi kahapon, ngayong madaling araw ng ala-una (1 a.m).  Wala akong nakain, it’s my breast.  My breastmilk wouldn’t come out.  Can you just ask them to bring out an electric double barrel breastpump so my milk can finally be expressed.  Hindi niyo ba man lang ako kukumutan?  Hindi niyo rin ba ako bibigyan ng hot water compress? 

Geesh!  It felt straight out of a Lualhati Bautista film!  I was Vilma Santos in Sister Stella L and Dekada 70 experiencing the degradation of Philippine health care.  No, I was not being treated unfairly.  No poor man rich man story here.  It was just plain ineptitude, incompetence and negligence.  I was in the damn E.R. for goodness sake!  At a respectable hospital!  And nobody even bothered to get me a wheelchair, let alone an ordinary chair!

Intern on Duty:  Mam, wala po kaming electric breastpump.  

Me:  Meron kayo, nasa Nursery Department, Medela ang tatak, nakita ko.

Intern on Duty disappears for a while and comes back.

Mam, hindi daw po puwede ibaba yung breastpump, kanila daw po yun.

Me:  Di ba isang hospital lang kayo, bakit hindi puwede?  Emergency to di ba?  Cge, kung ayaw nila ibaba, ako na lang aakyat.

Intern on Duty: Eh Mam, hintay po kayo, iki-clear pa po kayo bago umakyat.

Grrr!

At the Nursery Department,

Nurse:  Mam, sira po yung electric breastpump namin.

Me:  (Uuwi na lang ako!)

It was already 8 a.m. It’s been four (4) hours since I escorted myself into the emergency room.  No medication has yet been administered to alleviate my pain.  Only tests have been done – urinalysis and blood analysis.  I have been self-medicating so far, shouldn’t have come.

My OBGyne suddenly walks in.  All cheerful and sunshine.  Where have you been?!?

She dismisses my pain and forces my milk out…manually.  AAAAHHHHHH!!!

Milk surges out.  Done.

I walk out relieved.  Grateful.  Amazed at her expertise. 

Amazed that I waited four (4) hours for an easy 5 min. commonsensical procedure.

Amazed that no one thought of the solution, not even the resident physician.

Amazed that the emergency room didn’t give emergency treatment.  But only added to my troubles.

Amazed that I had to pay for tests and procedures that had nothing to do with my ailment.

And I grew mad!

I grew scared.

A nightmare comes in so many forms.  It doesn’t have to be all dark and ghoulish all the time.

Sometimes it happens within the confines of white sanitized walls with white-robed beings walking by.

Unsmilingly.  Unconcernedly.  Asking inane questions that saps the strength out of you.

About the Boy

 

“Nina’s named after me, right Tata Ging?  Her name is Antonia?”

“No, but the Baby Book of Names says that Nina is derived from your name Anton.”

 

“She looks like me.”

“That’s because I love you.   Remember, ikaw ang pinaglihian ko?”

 

“I love holding her fingers.”

“She likes you.”

 

“I have never felt this way before Tata Ging.  I will never get tired of  holding her.”

“Neither will I.”  🙂

@1st Birthday!

 

Nope, Nina has not yet turned one (1) year old, time doesn’t fly that fast.  

She merely has turned one (1) month old and in my family that’s enough reason to celebrate.  (Actually, there’s a tradition in my family to celebrate the child’s monthly birthday until she finally turns one.  There’s something about having babies that cultivates among us a sense of well-being and generosity prompting us, yes, to party every chance we get!) 

It was Nina’s first social event. 

Friday’s, Trinoma, was becoming to be such a favorite.  The family was there in full force to enjoy this festive occasion. 

Mama and Papa’s smile was so radiant upon seeing her.  Mama was amazed at the rate she has grown.  She already fits in the pajama suit Mama gave her.  Papa was elated to see her smile.  He said Nina will grow to be a happy child as she has a calm demeanor and loves to smile. 

 

Received this birthday cake from Mama Linda.  It was so touching, it’s Nina’s very first birthday cake.  Awww.

 

The cousins fussed over her.  They wanted to grab her hand, her toes and competed for her attention.  Had to hold tight as they each wanted to carry her!

 

It’s very heartwarming to learn that one’s child is so loved and welcomed. 

It’s very fulfilling to realize that finally we have become a family. Here, our first family picture.

 

It seems to be the beginning of so many firsts. 🙂

Lucky Pick 36!

It’s Sunday. 

And for my husband, aside from the family and religious obligations, that means its lotto day.

As usual, he asks me for my numbers.  And as usual, I gave him the same numbers I always do – 18, 22, 26, 29, and 34, numbers that refer to the ages when milestones occured in my life.   

At 18 – I was welcomed into womanhood

At 22 – I became a woman

    26 – I became a lawyer

    29 – I met my soulmate

At 34 – I married him.

But the lotto requires six numbers, I have never been able to complete it…

Until today.

I am 36 years old.

I am trying to decipher and entangle my emotions and have come to the conclusion that I have yet again reached a milestone.

My friend Ibyang sums it well on her birthday greeting –

“Good a.m. b-day mom! You are super blessed – a loving and supportive husband, a beautiful and healthy daughter, close family, loyal friends, good job where you make a difference, a nice and comfy home, plus a wealth of memories of travel, yummy eats and fine living.  Happy 36 years of the good life!”

I truly have had a good life.  My heart is overflowing with love received and given, my spirit strong with challenges faced and hurdled, lessons learned along the way, and my stomach is full too.  I look at my daughter, her smile reflecting that of her father’s, and realize how at 36 I have truly been blessed.  

Yes, apart from winning the lotto, I cannot ask for anything more.  🙂