A shocking news . . .

came to us Saturday evening. "Friends and colleagues of my sister - Anne, she is now confined at Manila Doctors. She had an Ischemic attack yesterday afternoon. Please pray for her quick recovery". The text came from Anna, my HS bestfriend. I was quite confused the first time I read the message so I asked hubby to read it for me. He immediately called the number to verify what happened. Indeed, it was Anna who suffered the attack and still confined at the hospital. I immediately called or texted the rest of my HS buddies who are still here in the Philippines. Of course we were all worried about her since we don't really know her condition. They were asking me if she's in ICU and other questions which I can't answer myself as well.

Hubby asked me if I wanted to go and visit her right there and then but luckily we were in our right state of mind and decided to go the following day since it's past the hospital's visiting hours already. So the following day, our whole family visited Anna in Manila Doctors Hospital. Honestly, I was quite nervous and I don't know what to expect. Fortunately, Anna is healthy from the outside. Her speech was not affected so we were all laughing while having our usual tsikahans with hubby. It was the left side of her body which was affected. She's still under medication and is undergoing a therapy. Don't know until when she's staying in the hospital but I'm sure it'll take a while before everything gets back to normal. We are all praying for her quick recovery and I hope she remains to be healthy after this incident.

This is another wake up call for us. We are too young for this kind of illness but what happened? It can happen to anyone and at any age for that matter. We are just 33 y/o. Who would have thought that one of us will be inflicted with this illness. It's really important to live a healthy lifestyle and most importantly have a stress free environment.

Eyeglasses anyone ? ? ?

I've been having some terrible headaches lately. I'm not sure if this is due to stress or I might need to have my eyes checked. I also wonder if my prolonged exposure to the PC causes this headaches. Because of this, I again browsed $8 Prescription Zenni Glasses to look for their new arrivals especially their Holiday Fun Eyeglasses . These eyeglasses are very economical at the same time they are durable and lightweight. I am really considering buying this if in case I would need to have glasses already. You can check out their site for you to see their various designs and I'm sure you'll have you're choice that would fit in to your budget as well.

APE . . .

I had my annual physical exam last week and so far the results are good. My vision is still at 20-20 though I think I need to have a more thorough eye check-up. My cholesterol and sugar level are within the normal limits. Other test results have yet to be known but I hope everything is fine. With all the health conditions of some of my family members, I am very thankful that I'm fit and healthy. I'm not getting any younger so I need to be cautious as well. I need to be healthy for the sake of my husband and my two kids. I still have to take care of them so I have to keep myself healthy all the time.

The Big "C"

My father-in-law was diagnosed with liver cancer last January, just a week after his birthday. It came as a shock to everybody because there were no earlier symptoms seen. FIL had his first check-up in Binan Doctors and it was the diagnosis. He further underwent several tests in Asian Hospital and they confirmed the diagnosis as well. 2 weeks ago he had an MRI in Medical City and that's were they've seen the severity of the cancer. Other organs were infected by the cancer cells as well. The doctors informed the family that he has 6 months to live. Huh??? How could it be? It's so fast! Everybody is hoping and praying that FIL can still be cured and recover from his illness. More than medical intervention the family is hoping for a divine intervention so that we can spend more time with him especially the two kids - his source of strength at this point.

The family can attest that my two kids really makes wonder. Normally, my FIL would just stay in bed because he's too weak already. But when he knows that we'll be visiting, he would regain his strength so that he can see and play with the kids. With this, we make it a point to visit him on weekends and on other times at least once on a weekday.

To all, please include my FIL as well as the whole family in your prayers. That they may find hope and strength amidst this difficult time in their lives.

Endoscopy . . .

As scheduled, we were in Asian hospital last Wednesday, February 11. Hubby was requested to be there as early as 5am since the endoscopy is scheduled at 6am. We came in a little late since we slept so late that morning. We went to the admissions office to facilitate the processing of the documents prior to the operation. In no time, we were on the 2nd floor already where the operation will take place.

Hubby was endorsed to the nurses and he was asked to prepare himself already. I on the otherhand was instructed to wait in the lounge area. I just gave hubby a pat on the back to assure him that everything will be ok. The next hours was so looooooooooong! I don't know what to expect. I tried to sleep on the sofa but I can't. I flip from left to right hoping to get a comfortable position but to no avail.

I was expecting that it'll be over by 7am since the actual procedure is about 10 to 15 minutes only according to the doctor. Another 30 minutes have passed and hubby is still inside. My mind was preoccupied with a lot of "what if's ". I was worried if something went wrong during the procedure or hubby did not respond well to the anesthesia or the doctor found something wrong and has to do another tests . . . oh, well I'm just simply worried and a lot of baseless thoughts are coming through my mind during that time. Another 30 minutes have passed and it's 8am already. I went to the cubicle wherein there was an attendant and I asked the condition of hubby. She told me to wait for another 15 minutes and hubby will be out. I assume hubby is ok so I just have to wait for the test result.

I transferred in the lounge area in the other wing since hubby will be coming out from that side. In about 20 minutes, hubby was already out. He showed me the test result and everything is ok. Nothing serious. The diagnosis is gastritis. As per my research, it's the inflammation of the stomach lining and it's very much treatable. The doctor prescribed some medicines and instructed hubby to have a low fat high fiber diet. Caffeine and alcohol is a no no! ! ! So no more coffee in the morning and no more softdrinks during snack time. Alcohol won't be an issue since hubby is not a drinker. We also have to check if he can continue to be "on diet" since it can be another cause for his condition.

Hmmmm? This is in contrary to his initial illness last year wherein he has to be on diet. Well, I guess hubby should just eat in small amounts and just increase the frequency of his meals. He really has to check his diet and eat healthy foods instead of avoiding mealtimes.

Dad, be careful and stay healthy. We need to be healthy for the kids. I want to grow old with you as we watch Kaila and JM have their families of their own. Perhaps we can have more kids in the near future. :) Lets grow old together taking care of each other and maintain the friendship & companionship that we have right now. I don't see myself growing old with somebody else. I love you so much and I'm looking forward to the next 50 years or more of togetherness with you.

Heartburn . . .

strikes back! Exactly a week ago, hubby suffered another heartburn attack. It was almost the same time when he had it last November. It was between 2am to 3am. But it was more serious as compared to the first attack. Hubby ran out downstairs from our bedroom catching up his breath. Sensing that there was something wrong I followed him and saw him pouring cold water on himself. He was sort of panicking at that time. He went upstairs to wake up his grandma. He then went to the bathroom and opened the shower. He kept on pounding his chest. All of us were nervous since we don't know what might happen next. We kept on giving him cold drinking water. He pours the cold water on himself from time to time. He was chilling already at that time. I asked our yaya to get him new clothes so that he can dress up. While dressing up, Lola Norma and our yaya went to our neighbor to ask help. We need somebody to drive us to the hospital.

In time, we were on our way to Calamba Medical Center already. We went straight to the emergency room and his vital signs were taken. His BP was quite high at 150/80. He had his ECG as well. We waited for the resident doctor to interpret the result of the ECG. Of course the doctor asked us again what happened and we recalled the series of events. The diagnosis of the doctor was GERD . Same diagnosis as before. But the doctor found some abnormality on his heart. According to her, the size of his heart is quite big but nothing serious. It may not be serious for her but for us patients knowing that there's something different or abnormal is something to be worried about already. She prescribed some medications and asked us to consult a gastroenterologist for further tests on hubby's condition. We were then discharged from the ER.

Upon arriving home, Lola Norma was waiting for us. We told her that hubby is ok already and she can go back to sleep. Hubby and I then talked and I told him that we should go to a specialist already since this is the second attack in a matter of 3 months. Plus, his BP was high and there might be something wrong with his heart. We decided that both of us we'll be on leave for the day so that we can go to Asian Hospital later that day for another check-up. We went upstairs to have some more sleep before we go for another round of check-up.

I'm not sure if it was past 8am or 9am when we were awaken. We had our breakfast first and started to prepare so that we can leave before lunch. The kids were so happy to see both of us. They asked if we'll be going to the office. I told them daddy is sick that's why we're home. Kaila was asking if she'll go to school or not. Hubby agreed to let Kaila stay home.

On our way to Asian Hospital, hubby had another attack. This time he was driving the car by himself. I told him to park in the nearest gasoline station so that he could rest for a while. I bought a mineral water so that he could relax himself. In about 15 minutes or so we were driving again. After a while he was having another attack. We had to park on the next gasoline station again in SLEX. Another 15 minutes or so passed. It took us almost an hour to travel all the way to Asian Hospital. Normally, this is just 20 minutes away from us without traffic.

We went straight to the ER so that he'll be immediately attended by the nurses. His condition and vital signs were again checked and later brought to a private room. He also underwent another ECG and this time the result was normal as well as his BP. The diagnosis was almost the same and he was referred to a gastroenterologist. But he was given a medication through an IV so we stayed for a while until he feels better already. We then went to Dr. Novenario who is the accredited gastroenterologist of Maxicare.

As expected, there were a lot of people for consultation. I just stayed in the lounge area while hubby was inside in the waiting area of the doctor's clinic. It was more than an hour or so before hubby came out. He was scheduled for an endoscopy on Wednesday so that his condition will be evaluated more thoroughly. We went from office to office to finish all the documentations needed for his test on Wednesday. We were finished by around 5pm. We went to Festival Mall afterwards and ate in Old Spaghetti House.

It was another tiring and stressful day. But I thank God since hubby is safe and nothing is serious with his condition.

Good health . . .

is what I wish for my family and loved ones for this year. We are just on the second week of January and both kids have become sickly lately. Last week, we had to bring JM to the hospital because of vomiting. He started to vomit on Sunday morning. We thought that it was just an indigestion because he was able to finish one pack of Yan-Yan all by himself just before we slept the previous night. But the vomiting continued until the afternoon. He had fever already in the afternoon. He got better during the night so we thought that JM was ok already. Monday was the first working day of the year and I was already on an emergency leave. Hubby requested me to stay home to monitor JM's condition. It was the same as the previous day so we decided to bring him to the hospital already.

In the ER, vital info was provided to the attendants. In just a short time, the doctor was already attending to JM. I told her about JM's condition. She just prescribed a medicine to JM and requested us to submit a urine and stool sample. In the meantime, we'll just observe if JM will continue to vomit. If his condition won't get better he'll be admitted already since he's showing signs of dehydration already. Since hubby's office is just across the hospital, I told the attending doctor that we'll just stay there while JM is under observation. The doctor agreed and we were discharged immediately from the ER. I went back and forth from the hospital to Mercury drug then to the hospital again for the stool sample. Luckily, the result didn't show any viral or bacterial infection. JM, on the otherhand, was improving already and didn't vomit from the time that he took the medicine prescribed by the doctor. So, we just waited for daddy to finish work and we went home altogether. JM got better and better on the succeeding days.

Since this morning, Kaila has an on and off fever. Thank God that it's just below 38 degrees. Actually, we were suppose to go to Enchanted Kingdom today but we have to postpone it until Kaila gets better. We hope and pray that this is nothing serious. Kaila is the type of kid who doesn't want to go to the hospital. I'm sure it will be difficult if her condition would require us to bring her to the hospital.

As a parent, it's really stressful when the kids get sick. I would often recall how our parents would say "kung pwede lang kami na lang ang magkasakit at wag na ang mga bata." That's excatly how I feel as a parent everytime the kids are sick. I hope Ate Kaila gets better already.

A Visit in PHC . . .

Last Sunday, together with my mom, we visited my uncle who has confined in Philippine Heart Center. He was under observation by the doctors if he would really need a pacemaker. His heart rate is only 46 which is way below the normal rate of 60-100 per minute. Because of this, he lacks oxygen that causes poor eyesight, severe headache and joint paints to name a few. While we were there, he got a text message from his doctor and confirmed that he would really need a pacemaker already. Total expenses for the operation will be around P400k. Good thing that they have their savings and he can undergo the procedure immediately. As of this time, I have not confirmed with my mom if my uncle has already undergone the operation.

Heart problems seems to be the common illness of my mom's family. That's why my uncle was advising us to take it easy on our diets. He advises us to eat healthy as early as now because definitely the effect of our diets today will only be evident once we are old. Better to be healthy now than spend thousands or even millions of pesos just for medications.

It was a busy weekend . . .

for all of us. I'll just do some bullets so that I won't forget the things I need to blog.

(1). Corduroy project of Kaila

(2). Setting up of the Christmas tree

(3). Supposedly malling but cancelled due to my mom's highblood pressure

(4). Weekend in my parents house

(5). Visit to my uncle in Heart Center

(6). Monday was banking day

A Terrifying Monday . . .

I was on emergency leave yesterday. Hubby had a severe attack of chest pains early Monday morning so I rushed him to the hospital together with my mom and dad.

The night before, he was already complaining that it's too hot in our room to think that the aircon was already on. He said that he's not feeling well so we slept early that night. About 3am yesterday he was already awake. I asked him if he's feeling better already. He said no. He went downstairs to drink cold water. After a while he went back to our room. He was still not feeling better and the pain is getting worse. I asked him if he wants to be brought to the hospital already and he said no. He was tapping my head and caressing my forehead and tells me that he loves me as if he was saying good bye and I'm already nervous at this point. After a while, he went downstairs again and this time I followed him. He went straight outside the house to get some fresh air while he was punching his chest heavily. I was already calling my mom at this point and I was already crying while telling her what's happening. I told her we have to bring Philip to the hospital already.

When Philip felt better we went upstairs to dress up and prepare ourselves since we are bound to the hospital already. Feeling a little better after that severe attack he told me he doesn't want to go to the hospital anymore. He said he's ok but I insisted that we still go. Anyway, my mom and dad are already on their way to our house. When they arrived, we immediately headed to the hospital. We went straight to the ER of Calamba Medical Center.

We informed the nurse of what happened. He got hubby's BP and it was normal at 130/70. His temperature was normal as well. Then, the nurse performed an ECG to ensure the condition of hubby's heart. After a while, the resident doctor came and told us that his heart is ok. What happened was a case of GERD - Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. In short, it's related to his diet again. Hubby is already observing a healthy diet since he's prone to have a high cholesterol level but his current diet might trigger another disease as GER. Anyway, the doctor prescribed a medicine to be taken once a day for the next two weeks. She also reminded Philip of the foods not to be taken. Whew, what's left for him to eat? I can't think of anything right now except water. He was eating fruits and pasta but this can trigger GER. Hay, need to do some more researching. Anyway, we were home as early as 6am but we decided to stay home for the day so that we could rest.

It was a stressful day but I'm so thankful that it was nothing serious and hubby is still with us. Daddy, Kaila, JM and I loves you so much! Hugs and kisses to you . . . mwahh . . . :)

Kaila's performance . . .

During the PTC, teacher Liza informed us that by 3rd quarter, the class will be divided into three groups. The first group are those who finishes the activities in advance, the second group finishes just in time and the third group are those who needs more time for the activities. According to her, the Montessori principle stresses the importance of adapting the child's learning environment to his or her own developmental level, and of the role of physical activity in absorbing abstract concepts and practical skills.

We are so happy that Kaila belongs to the first group. According to teacher Liza, they are about 5 in the class who belongs to this level. This means that Kaila belongs to the top 5 of her class. So, they will be given more activities so that they don't need to wait for the others before they can start a new activity. Since they will be given more activities / lessons teacher Liza told us not to put more pressure on Kaila when she's at home. We told her that we don't really do a daily review of Kaila's lessons. We only do the review during the quarterly exams. Hubby even told teacher Liza that Kaila is not hooked on her lessons but on computer games instead. Teacher Liza on the other hand, reminded us to take care of the kids' eyes. Admittedly, I have overlooked this aspect. The kid's are on TV the whole day then they would play computer games for about 2 hours in the evening.

I could remember my niece, Sam, who was already wearing thick eyeglasses when she was just about 6 years old. They didn't even know that she had eye problems that time. It was only during their medical exam for their immigration to Canada when they learned that Sam needs to wear eyeglasses already. I wonder if she's still wearing those thick eyeglasses. The next time they call I will tell my sister about this great eyeglasses for less. Zenni Optical offers stylish glasses online for only $8. Zenni Optical was on FOX news! I have checked their site and they have variable dimension frames from Zenni as well. I checked on the kids' glasses and there are many styles to choose from. Of course I would not want my kids to wear glasses but at least if they would need it in time I would already know where to get their glasses.

An update on Bien

For those who have read my post about Bien, I just want you to know that he's alright now. He was discharged from the hospital after almost 2 weeks in the hospital. Currently, he's undergoing chemotheraphy treatment 3 times a week. This will be for a month then he'll have another bone marrow test and see the improvements. Hopefully, treatment will be less and less in frequency as it gets longer. We are all looking forward to his full recovery from leukemia.