Posts

Showing posts from December, 2007

A CHRISTIAN'S WAY TO REDUCE STRESS

[This is a forwarded email. I thought I'd share it.] "Never borrow from the future. If you worry about what may happen tomorrow and it doesn't happen, you have worried in vain. Even if it does happen, you have to worry twice." 1. Pray 2. Go to bed on time. 3. Get up on time so you can start the day unrushed. 4. Say No to projects that won't fit into your time schedule, or that will compromise your mental health. 5. Delegate tasks to capable others. 6. Simplify and unclutter your life. 7. Less is more.. (Although one is often not enough, two are often too many.) 8. Allow extra time to do things and to get to places. 9. Pace yourself. Spread out big changes and difficult projects over time; don't lump the hard things all together. 10. Take one day at a time. 11. Separate worries from concerns. If a situation is a concern, find out what God would have you do and let go of the anxiety. If you can't do anything about a situation, forget it. 12. Li

MAEMAE

Image
This will be my last update on Maemae.  As of this writing, she is still in Baguio General Hospital completing her Meronem therapy.  Last time I heard, her typhoid fever caused her hepatomegally (liver enlargment) and they have also prescribed meds to correct that symptom.  They also removed her NGT the very next day when we brought her there and allowed her to go on a soft diet.  The day before, Maemae was telling her dad, "Paano naman kase ako makakabawas eh di n'yo ako pinapakain!?"   I'm glad the MD in BGH saw it ok for her to eat again. Her bowels work fine now.  On the 26th, she will have her last shot of the antibiotic and they hope to finally get out of the hospital.  They will stay in Baguio until the new year for her follow-up checks. Robert and Medy would like me to extend their gratitude to all of you who have been with them through those trying times by sharing your time in prayer and financial resources.  May the Lord richly bless you. Praise God for H

MAEMAE IN BAGUIO GEN

At around 1PM today, her parents and I brought Maemae to Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center for further evaluation.  We took the backroads of Ambuklao considering that it takes less time to get to Baguio via that road.  PTL, most part is now paved. An NGT was inserted last Dec. 14th at the hospital here and it helped a bit in reducing the distension in Mae's abdomen from 63cm to 57 today. She is feelng very weak now because she hasn't eaten anything for 8 days. I just came back from Baguio and I am a bit tired cuz B and I left for Manila on Sunday night to see his family, came home Monday night, and then I went to Baguio this afternoon and came home again after Maemae was taken to the E.R and I gave her mom a little tour of the hospital (where to find the pharmacy, laboratory, canteen, etc.).  I came back with the vehicle that transported her. It's good the roads in Ambuklao are better now and it only took us 4 hours to go and 3 hours to get home. Robert and Medy

my brother wore my sandals

No, you're thinking wrong. :) My brother is not gay, but he was forced to wear my sandals when we had to make a U-turn in the middle of nowhere. I was on a jeep (packed like sardines with sacks of rice, chickens, bags of junk food and boxes of various goods) that travels the worse-than-your-halsema road going to my birthplace. We left town at around 1PM and expected to arrive at around 6. Almost half way up the road that looks for the most part like a water buffalo mud pool, the jeep broke. The pile of metal (differential is it?) under its belly fell off because it has been "leveling off the stony 'hill' in between the path of the tires" for the last couple of hours. There were no houses in sight so we had no option other than to walk up the road and find a house while the guys try to do something about the jeep. After over half an hour of hiking, we came to a dwelling. There was a little sari-sari store with lots of ripe bananas for sale. We attacked the

UPDATE ON MAEMAE AS OF DECEMBER 14TH

I just came from visiting Maemae at the hospital.  I found her asleep in her mom's lap.  After a few minutes, she opened her eyes and gave me a weak smile.  The first thing I noticed is her abdomen.  It was too big and looks everything but normal.  There are both bad and good news about her illness.  The good is that her temperature which has been seesawing at 39 and 40 degrees C for the last week went down to 36 for the last 6 hours. The doctor said that this is a strong sign that the antibiotic (Meronem) is finally combating the infection on her swollen bowels.  The bad news is that they will have to insert a tube into her stomach.  As I said on the previous update, treatments being considered are surgery and an NGT (naso-gastric tube) for suctioning of the paralytic intestine.  This morning, the MD was preparing her for NGT insertion.  The parents asked me what I think about it and I didn't know what to say. Patients with NGT that I took care of years ago floode

UPDATE ON MAEMAE

Image
After various tests including unltrasound of the abdomen, it was found out today that Maemae has a blocked and swollen intestine, medically called ILEUS-- a condition where a part of the intestine (large or small) is blocked or in this case of paralytic ileus, the bowel or intestine stops its peristaltic activity.  Treatment of this sickness is quite invasive since it might require total bowel rest, meaning the patient shall be required to fast for a few days.  Later on, a naso-gastric tube (a tube put into the nose through the nasal cavity then into the stomach) might be inserted for waste evacuation purposes and probably a surgery to empty the dysfunctional bowel and to correct the blockage.  Those are the treatments being considered but as of now, the doctor is keeping Maemae in a steady IV flow to give nutrients to her body.  She is also on that very expensive medicine to reduce the swelling of the intestine before any other treatment shall be done.  Hopefully the medicine will al

PLEASE PRAY

Image
Dear Praying   Ones,   Please help us pray for Maemae (Myrle Kris Malcat), youngest daughter of my aunt Medy.   She was rushed to the hospital last Friday due to severe diarrhea, among other symptoms.   She is still in the hospital and yet the doctor has yet to determine what really is wrong with her.   Her lab work is threatening with her white blood cell count continuing to go way too low.   Her doctor just shifted to a stronger antibiotic which costs Php3400 a vial.                  -   Please pray for wisdom to the doctor. -   Pray for Robert and Medy as they figure out what to do.   (I suggested that they bring Maemae to SLU hospital in Baguio or St. Luke in Manila for another opinion.) Pray also that may they continue to find strength and comfort in the Lord as they battle with this illness that befell their daughter. -   Please pray also for financial provision for them.

STRANDED NOWHERE

ARRANGE YOUR MIND

ATTITUDE Author Unknown The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.  As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. "I love it," she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. "Mrs. Jones, you haven't seen the room .... just wait." "That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not doesn't depend on h

BIRTH MONTH MEME

Rules: - Pick your birth month. - Bold the 5-10 that best apply to you. - Copy to your own journal, with all twelve months ( Click here for the months ). - Tag 12 people from your friends list. MARCH : Attractive personality ( di yata masyado kase maraming takot sa'kin) . Sexy (noon, hahaha) . Affectionate. Shy and reserved . Secretive. Naturally honest , generous and sympathetic (itanong na lang sa iba, kakahiya naman:). Loves peace and serenity . Sensitive to others (dati, di na masyado ngayon, medyo na-out of tune eh!) . Loves to serve others (in more general things, not much on washing dishes for someone or anything like that, c, i used to do that when I was younger but someone always told me na nagpapalapad ako ng papel so maybe i have a psychological thing with that aspect, lol) . Easily angered (hah! tumpak na tumpak). Trustworthy (guessed what? I got a most trustworthy medal in 4th grade, does that count? hehe). Appreciative and returns kindness (if i can). Obs

GOODBYE, NOVEMBER

This last week has been unbelievably frenzied for me because all the tasks that I kept shoving into the back burner had caught up on me and forced me to move really quick. As always, trust me to put off everything I don’t like to do until the very end. Thank God, it’s over! Here’s what made my last week of November very hectic. But here are what made it interesting too: Eight more books of the OT that my team has translated were published in Kalanguya (although I have yet to see the new books.) My very good friend D (known to most of you as Layad or Fongakhan) spent a week and a day with B and me. We had a good time catching up on our gossip J but most specially, she helped me finish my academic work so that I was able to turn them in on time. My nephew turned 8 and we invited him over to dinner. We had his favorite spaghetti and ice cream (though super lamig na sa Vizcaya) and D made a yummy dessert out of Graham biscuits,