28 December 2012

Her Lesions and Hospital-Hopping

The day after we moved in to our new house, we went out with R for some huge errand. We bought our first car, a pre-loved gray Vios. Sophia already had mean red rashes all over her face that resulted to absences from school since it obviously showed.

Still smiling, despite of.
I didn't know what it was then, so my only reasons why I didn't want her to go to school was for her not to catch more germs. She was actually makulit, malikot and ever a ball of energy but her face said a different story. Nakakaawa talaga. Everything was normal, she even had a cup of strawberry ice cream before going to the hospital. But her nose was somehow rotten na. :(

After lunch, we headed to Marikina Valley Hospital (MVH) to have her checked. Sa ER front table pa lang, alam na ng mga doctors ang gagawin nila. Tinignan ang palad ni Sophia pati ang talampakan. The doctor said it can be HFMD or head-foot-mouth disease. I remembered what the concerned mommy in Shakey's, where we had our lunch, said. Her son daw had HFMD. It looked the same as my girl's lesions. Shucks, hindi pwede 'to. 

I was super emotional and strong-willed at the same time. When we were at the ER of MVH, the attending nurse told us that she will be admitted. We were not financially ready; we just bought our first car. It'll be Christmas in a few days. Although R is always a superman when it comes to these situations, gusto ko pa din makatipid. So we thought and decided to take advantage of our benefits as a military family. One of those is the free stay and service at the AFP Medical Center (AFPMC). For the 3rd time (and might be our last), nainis lang ako sa intern na doctor ng Pedia Ward, who attended to us. I forgot her name. Siyempre mas focused ako to have Sophia checked. Ang style pa namin nun was we won't let the doctor know na 2nd option na sila. Aba eh mukhang gusto pang kuwestiyunin ang pagiging nanay ko ha! Kesyo ano daw ang sabong panlaba na ginagamit namin, sino daw naglalaba ng damit niya at pati ang suot na PJs ng bagets, pinakielamanan niya! Problema niya ba yun? Wala siyang ginawa kundi isulat ang mga sagot ko sa tanong niya tapos paghihintayin lang pala kami ng matagal? Hay naku mga muthers, nairita talaga ko. Pero wait galore pa din kami. You know, patience is a virtue daw eh.

R got bored, too. Lumabas na siya ng ER.

Nung may dumating na isang nanay na may dalang barely a month-old baby, pinagmasdan ko how this uncompassionate doctor talked to her. Aba, aba! Antipatika talaga. Torn na nga yung mommy at may pneumonia yung anak niya, nagawa pa niyang tarayan. She's blaming the mom kung bakit nagkasakit ang bagets. So I got really pissed, ang ending, dahil nahiya na kami sa MVH na umuwi pa kami (which mageempake pa din kasi kami ng hospital stuff namin), we went to St. Victoria Hospital (SVH), where I've been hospitalized

It is not as classy as St. Luke’s Hospital or at least as clean as MVH but I felt at home there. I like how the nurses respected that I'm the mother when I asked them to delay the intake of the medicine for an hour because she was still sleeping. The ER doctor at SVH didn't advise us to admit her but I decided to. I called the shots, since I really want her lesions to heal fast. I really wanted her to perform for her school's Christmas presentation. But when Sophia's pediatrician, Dr. Ordoñez, said that she really wants to ensure that she's really well before she goes home, we all lived in room 202 for 3 days. That made us decide not to make her perform the day after she was discharged from the hospital, as R needed to go back to work. And that he didn't want to leave us at our new house with our girl's case. Therefore, we went with him to the camp. Yes, we are here. 


I was aware that our Christmas won’t be as bongga as the others would celebrate it because we have spent some of our money in moving in to our new abode and in the hospital bills. But then again, I realized that it’s not the Christmas decors that define the season, it’s not the gifts that you could give your friends and family, it’s not the brand of ham that will be your dinner's star - it’s who you spend it with. Oh my, we still had a bonggang celebration that we shared the kids of Sta. Cruz, Zambales! I have yet to make kwento about that. 

Sophia took that photo of me with her left hand! 
Anyway, I was the most puyat. Hindi ko talent ang humimbing ng tulog 'pag may labas-masok sa kwarto eh. And since the room has only one bench for the bantay, I make baluktot myself na lang sa bed. And though nakakalabas si R to buy us food, nakakalungkot kumain sa ospital. Everything tasted bland. Tapos walang cable channels ang TV dun, kaya super boredom talaga. Ni wala ngang channel 2 eh. Kung bored ako, mas bored ang bagets. 


She can't use her right hand kasi dun siya nilagyan ng dextrose. So, very minimal lang ang mga nagawa niya. But it didn't stop her pa din. Gora pa din ang bagets sa mga ganap niya. Speaking of suwero, she gave the nurses a scream like no other when they were pricking the needle to her na. Gusto ko ng mang-away ng nurse nun eh, pinalabas na lang ako ng amang hari ng ER kasi naiiyak na ako. But after that, kalma na siya at f na f niya ang ospital. 


R bought her Disney Junior magazine to entertain her, kahit papano. At first pa nga she didn't like it kasi she wanted the Disney Princess magazine daw, eh wala naman makita sa 7-11 ang ama. Pero ayun, sa sobrang wala ng magawa, hindi na niya ito nilubayan.

Iniwan kami saglit ng aming amang hari mula sa hospital arrest para umattend ng retirement honor program ni MIL. Bago pa man siya makaalis eh may annulment issue na ako sa kanya. So para makipag-areglo, pinasalubungan niya ako ng isang jar ng chocolate crinkle cookies. 

After a lot of pahid of Mupirocin and that dizzying effect her antibiotics bring her, Sophia was finally discharged from the hospital. The final diagnosis in her instructions slip was mild pneumonia. Labo no? Dr. Ordoñez said that her lesions, rashes and skin problems were all bacterial. It was not from a virus. Yes, it was not HFMD. My theory was, she's fond of making kamot her wetwet - so maybe when her nose was itchy then due to her colds-gone-boogie, she used the recently-gone-to-wetwet hands to her already-infected nose. 

Kaya ang peg ko ngayon, OC mom with wipes, alcohol and kung pwedeng muriatic acid ang bitbit ko sa bag eh gagawin ko. Wala akong pakielam kung kontrabida ang tingin sa akin ngayon ng bagets, basta bawal ang maruming kamay. That's how it should be, after all. Right?

2 comments:

  1. shocked,pampasira ng holiday, :( but I wish okay na si LB,at ang hello kitty,-----naka-ka-good vibes sa paningin!Happy New Year Ms. Denise!:)

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  2. I can relate sa doctor na masungit, ang sarap sabihan na dapat mas caring sila, lalo na at pedia. Yung pedia naman dati ng my little girlie ko, parang robot at laging nagmamadali. Alam mo yung di ka pa nakakapagkwento ng mahusay, nagsusulat na ng magkano ang babayaran :(

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