THE HOLE STORY
... a 4-part blog about fafa Jay's first hospital experience ever
PART 1: A LUCKY TWIST OF FATE
From the beginning, things were happening in this vacation that we didn't expect. We were supposed to fly out of Singapore on the 22nd of May, that's a Saturday. That would have been the perfect timing for this trip. I would have been done with KR, with a week to take it easy and prepare for the trip. It would have allowed us to attend my mom-in-law's 80th birthday bash on the 29th and fly back the following day. One week was all we could have because Papa had this conference to go to in LA the following weekend. It was stiff, but we were happy, nonetheless.
But then, he had this client who couldn't wait until then to meet up with him. If they weren't as important as they were, we probably wouldn't have ruffled our skirts. But dang, they were important. We left instead on the 15th, 3 days after I was done with KR... my mom was out of town for her sister's birthday, Kuya Bong, who usually met us whenever we made these visits, was indisposed. So there we were, back home, in the bosom of friends and family supposedly, and we were all by ourselves. And on my first day home, I found myself crying... there were no warm embraces to welcome us. Bless my younger sister, Darlene, for making it right, however. That night, she gathered up husband and son, went up to Antipolo in time for dinner and shared what was left of the day with us.
That week was a hurly-burly of activities. Papa was away at work all the time. While he was at it, I spent the time inspecting our house, taking note of things that needed mending and pointing out things to Ana that she needed to pay close attention to. We were scheduled that Saturday to go swimming with my family, so I spent a lot of time coordinating with Darlene to set that up too (that's another story with a lot of pictures to boot).
Sunday, Papa flew back to Singapore to work for 3 days. He was scheduled to come back that Thursday, attend his mom's birthday party, and fly back to Singapore the following day. I was scheduled to leave that Saturday, the morning of the party, as my airticket was good for only 14 days and couldn't get the agent to grant me an extension.
Come Thursday, we met Papa at the airport. I think one of the first things he told me was that he was having loose bowels that morning. When we got to Antipolo, Ana had sinigang prepared for lunch. Papa ate... a lot. We left soon after the meal to get back to the city as Papa and Kuya Bong were meeting up with their buddies that night at Pepeton's. We also wanted to order a cake for his mom. I stayed with Darlene and Lucas while they were at it. After drinking, Papa and Kuya Bong had an early morning repast at what was formerly known as Persia House (forgot the new name) and picked me up on the way home. During the trip, Papa complained of indigestion but thought nothing of it. I wasn't surprised cause that day, he did eat a lot. He's had the same experience last December and we both knew that he only had to sleep it off, and he would be good as new. Of course, throwing up would help, but he wasn't feeling like it yet.
The following morning, Papa woke up with an unmistakable tummy ache. That was so not a good time cause we were supposed to meet up with Ate Sienna's sister, Gretchen and another friend, Ate Sharon, at Megamall. There was no way we couldn't turn up cause Gretchen was supposed to hand over something that Papa was bringing to Ate Sienna in LA.
All morning, he couldn't take in anything, save water, and he just seemed so weak and drowsy. I let him rest and sleep, hoping he would feel better just in time.
By noon, we had to leave for the mall. Papa got up from bed, took his shower and started the car. He still didn't look good... well, he wasn't feeling good. He asked me if it was alright to ask Gretchen and Ate Sharon to just come up to Antipolo instead. I called them up and bless their hearts for understanding. They came, Papa met them in town, and they convoyed back to the house. It was a very pleasant visit. We chatted the whole afternoon away, not a minute passed that somebody wasn't speaking, not a beat was missed, like we just picked up the conversation where we left it last.
All these time, Papa was in the bedroom, sleeping.
When they left, I tried to get Papa to eat something cause he hadn't had anything the whole day. I made him some soup but he could only manage about 3 spoonfulls and that was it. Now I was getting worried but there wasn't anything else to go by. Still, we thought it was just indigestion, a very bad case of indigestion at that. After several minutes, Papa went to the bathroom and threw up and it went on for quite some time. That made me feel relieved cause I thought then, he would be comfortable. I took his hand, wanting to lead him to the bedroom so he could go on resting but when I did, his hand felt warm on mine. I touched his forehead and he was feverish alright. So I gave him Biogesic and tucked him in bed.
The following morning, Papa was still feverish. That was the morning of the party, the morning I was to leave for Singapore. I had to do some fast thinking then. Tummy ache that's gone on for a couple of days without relief? Fever? That didn't seem to me like an ordinary indigestion anymore. So I called up our friend Dennis, who's a doctor, told him what was happening, asked him what I should do and if he thought it would be alright for me to leave Papa in this state. He told me to observe Papa and not to give him anything solid for the meantime. As for me leaving... that was a no-no. That worried me a bit, but made me happy to be spending one more day home.
First, I had Anna buy yogurt, which was all I could give Papa. Then, I had to call Singapore Airlines, ask them if I could get an extension and whaddayaknow! I could. My ticket was valid for 5 more days! Dang agency!
Papa was obviously happy about that. See, he's not the kind who complains a lot. He likes being self-sufficient and when push comes to shove, I know he can very well take care of himself. So him being so obviously pleased about my staying rang more alarm bells in my mind. I was thinking, he might be feeling really worse than he looked... and he wasn't even looking good then.
Feeling as he was that morning, his foremost concern was still his mom's birthday. So by noon, we were bathed and ready to go. We first passed by the mall cause he didn't bring anything to wear for the party. While we were there, Papa told me the constant pain was gone, that he only felt it whenever he bent down, from beneath his bellybutton, going towards his right side. That set off more alarm bells ringing in my head.
We had to fetch Darlene and Lucas as they were coming to the party with us. While we were there, I gave Dennis a call to tell him how Papa was doing. I made Papa talk to him and tell him about his pain. He did, but didn't mention just where he was feeling the pain. I took the phone back and told Dennis myself. And that's when Dennis said we had to bring Papa to the hospital cause he was already suspecting AP.
Before we left for the hospital, Papa called up his mom to tell her we might be a little late, just saying he's going for a check-up and nothing more. His mom mentioned that the cake we ordered had arrived... the surprise and the cake itself doing the job to make her so overjoyed. For the first time in two days, I saw Papa smile. That done, we went to St. Luke's.
Whenever I look back to that day, it still makes me wonder at how tough Papa is, the stuff he's made of. Through his pain, he had his mom's birthday in mind, he still had enough energy to drive the car, and he never complained except to tell exactly how he felt when asked. And whenever I think about it, what strikes me most is that, that's exactly how Papa is... he would always put a loved one first, get a job done inspite of the odds, and never complain.
With everything that happened the way they did, I say we were lucky. See, if Papa's situation got worse enough while he was in Singapore, all by himself, I couldn't even begin to imagine what would have happened to him. I'm pretty sure he would have toughed it out, not seeking help until he couldn't take it anymore, and by then it could have been too late. And if he did seek help, he would have been confined in the hospital all alone, if he would have agreed to confinement at all. Of course he would have called me up, but it would have taken at least a day for me to get to him.
Or... if he didn't have fever, which prompted me to call Dennis, I would have left that Saturday morning, and that would have brought about the same situation as the one I stated above.
Thank God for the small graces.
... a 4-part blog about fafa Jay's first hospital experience ever
PART 1: A LUCKY TWIST OF FATE
From the beginning, things were happening in this vacation that we didn't expect. We were supposed to fly out of Singapore on the 22nd of May, that's a Saturday. That would have been the perfect timing for this trip. I would have been done with KR, with a week to take it easy and prepare for the trip. It would have allowed us to attend my mom-in-law's 80th birthday bash on the 29th and fly back the following day. One week was all we could have because Papa had this conference to go to in LA the following weekend. It was stiff, but we were happy, nonetheless.
But then, he had this client who couldn't wait until then to meet up with him. If they weren't as important as they were, we probably wouldn't have ruffled our skirts. But dang, they were important. We left instead on the 15th, 3 days after I was done with KR... my mom was out of town for her sister's birthday, Kuya Bong, who usually met us whenever we made these visits, was indisposed. So there we were, back home, in the bosom of friends and family supposedly, and we were all by ourselves. And on my first day home, I found myself crying... there were no warm embraces to welcome us. Bless my younger sister, Darlene, for making it right, however. That night, she gathered up husband and son, went up to Antipolo in time for dinner and shared what was left of the day with us.
That week was a hurly-burly of activities. Papa was away at work all the time. While he was at it, I spent the time inspecting our house, taking note of things that needed mending and pointing out things to Ana that she needed to pay close attention to. We were scheduled that Saturday to go swimming with my family, so I spent a lot of time coordinating with Darlene to set that up too (that's another story with a lot of pictures to boot).
Sunday, Papa flew back to Singapore to work for 3 days. He was scheduled to come back that Thursday, attend his mom's birthday party, and fly back to Singapore the following day. I was scheduled to leave that Saturday, the morning of the party, as my airticket was good for only 14 days and couldn't get the agent to grant me an extension.
Come Thursday, we met Papa at the airport. I think one of the first things he told me was that he was having loose bowels that morning. When we got to Antipolo, Ana had sinigang prepared for lunch. Papa ate... a lot. We left soon after the meal to get back to the city as Papa and Kuya Bong were meeting up with their buddies that night at Pepeton's. We also wanted to order a cake for his mom. I stayed with Darlene and Lucas while they were at it. After drinking, Papa and Kuya Bong had an early morning repast at what was formerly known as Persia House (forgot the new name) and picked me up on the way home. During the trip, Papa complained of indigestion but thought nothing of it. I wasn't surprised cause that day, he did eat a lot. He's had the same experience last December and we both knew that he only had to sleep it off, and he would be good as new. Of course, throwing up would help, but he wasn't feeling like it yet.
The following morning, Papa woke up with an unmistakable tummy ache. That was so not a good time cause we were supposed to meet up with Ate Sienna's sister, Gretchen and another friend, Ate Sharon, at Megamall. There was no way we couldn't turn up cause Gretchen was supposed to hand over something that Papa was bringing to Ate Sienna in LA.
All morning, he couldn't take in anything, save water, and he just seemed so weak and drowsy. I let him rest and sleep, hoping he would feel better just in time.
By noon, we had to leave for the mall. Papa got up from bed, took his shower and started the car. He still didn't look good... well, he wasn't feeling good. He asked me if it was alright to ask Gretchen and Ate Sharon to just come up to Antipolo instead. I called them up and bless their hearts for understanding. They came, Papa met them in town, and they convoyed back to the house. It was a very pleasant visit. We chatted the whole afternoon away, not a minute passed that somebody wasn't speaking, not a beat was missed, like we just picked up the conversation where we left it last.
All these time, Papa was in the bedroom, sleeping.
When they left, I tried to get Papa to eat something cause he hadn't had anything the whole day. I made him some soup but he could only manage about 3 spoonfulls and that was it. Now I was getting worried but there wasn't anything else to go by. Still, we thought it was just indigestion, a very bad case of indigestion at that. After several minutes, Papa went to the bathroom and threw up and it went on for quite some time. That made me feel relieved cause I thought then, he would be comfortable. I took his hand, wanting to lead him to the bedroom so he could go on resting but when I did, his hand felt warm on mine. I touched his forehead and he was feverish alright. So I gave him Biogesic and tucked him in bed.
The following morning, Papa was still feverish. That was the morning of the party, the morning I was to leave for Singapore. I had to do some fast thinking then. Tummy ache that's gone on for a couple of days without relief? Fever? That didn't seem to me like an ordinary indigestion anymore. So I called up our friend Dennis, who's a doctor, told him what was happening, asked him what I should do and if he thought it would be alright for me to leave Papa in this state. He told me to observe Papa and not to give him anything solid for the meantime. As for me leaving... that was a no-no. That worried me a bit, but made me happy to be spending one more day home.
First, I had Anna buy yogurt, which was all I could give Papa. Then, I had to call Singapore Airlines, ask them if I could get an extension and whaddayaknow! I could. My ticket was valid for 5 more days! Dang agency!
Papa was obviously happy about that. See, he's not the kind who complains a lot. He likes being self-sufficient and when push comes to shove, I know he can very well take care of himself. So him being so obviously pleased about my staying rang more alarm bells in my mind. I was thinking, he might be feeling really worse than he looked... and he wasn't even looking good then.
Feeling as he was that morning, his foremost concern was still his mom's birthday. So by noon, we were bathed and ready to go. We first passed by the mall cause he didn't bring anything to wear for the party. While we were there, Papa told me the constant pain was gone, that he only felt it whenever he bent down, from beneath his bellybutton, going towards his right side. That set off more alarm bells ringing in my head.
We had to fetch Darlene and Lucas as they were coming to the party with us. While we were there, I gave Dennis a call to tell him how Papa was doing. I made Papa talk to him and tell him about his pain. He did, but didn't mention just where he was feeling the pain. I took the phone back and told Dennis myself. And that's when Dennis said we had to bring Papa to the hospital cause he was already suspecting AP.
Before we left for the hospital, Papa called up his mom to tell her we might be a little late, just saying he's going for a check-up and nothing more. His mom mentioned that the cake we ordered had arrived... the surprise and the cake itself doing the job to make her so overjoyed. For the first time in two days, I saw Papa smile. That done, we went to St. Luke's.
Whenever I look back to that day, it still makes me wonder at how tough Papa is, the stuff he's made of. Through his pain, he had his mom's birthday in mind, he still had enough energy to drive the car, and he never complained except to tell exactly how he felt when asked. And whenever I think about it, what strikes me most is that, that's exactly how Papa is... he would always put a loved one first, get a job done inspite of the odds, and never complain.
With everything that happened the way they did, I say we were lucky. See, if Papa's situation got worse enough while he was in Singapore, all by himself, I couldn't even begin to imagine what would have happened to him. I'm pretty sure he would have toughed it out, not seeking help until he couldn't take it anymore, and by then it could have been too late. And if he did seek help, he would have been confined in the hospital all alone, if he would have agreed to confinement at all. Of course he would have called me up, but it would have taken at least a day for me to get to him.
Or... if he didn't have fever, which prompted me to call Dennis, I would have left that Saturday morning, and that would have brought about the same situation as the one I stated above.
Thank God for the small graces.
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