latest on bea

last thursday we brought bea to her pedia for her monhtly checkup. the doc said she gained a little bit. we also had her ears checked because she has been pulling at it for some time now, dry wax, drop baby oil in her ears everyday and wait for the oil to drip out. the doc had her scheduled for an xray of her upper GI tract on monday to check if there is something wrong with her gastrointestinal tract. plus urinalysis and cbc. too bad we couldn't get a sched for the weekend. everything's fully booked. halfday na naman on monday, and again on tuesday for the visit to the gastro pedia. oh well.

i hope they find something treatable.

a night at the emergency room

last wednesday, I started my day as usual. when i got off the shuttle, i bought viands from the food stall on jupiter st., bought oatmeal and crackers at 7-11, then pineapple from my suki fruit vendor. when i got to the office, i ate my breakfast, then my pineapple. at around 10:30 i ate some snacks then at 12:30 my lunch... at around 1:30 my tummy started to feel funny. i felt bloated and gassy. i knew my hyperacidity was acting up again. only this time, i wasn't burping or passing gas. just the gassy bloated feeling, and the tummy ache. parang ang asim sa tyan. an officemate was kind enough to give me kremil-s, but my tummy didn't improve. it was really hurting. by the time i met hubby at mega, he gave me kremil-s extra strength. but still no improvement. i only had batchoy for dinner since i was thinking the warm soup will help, but it didn't. we weren't able to attend the prayer meeting coz i wasn't feeling good. hubby decided to bring me to the hospital since he said if it was just hyperacidity, the meds would've alleviated the pain by now. i was apprehensive at first, but finally consented.

so off to st. luke's. it was a busy night. there were a lot of waiting patients, no beds were available. we got there by 9pm, got attended to at around 10:30. super tagal talaga. there were patients who already opted to transfer to another hospital because of the slow service they were getting. we were a bit disappointed too, considering the fact that st. luke's one of the best hospitals in the country, and even though services here are a bit pricey, the quality was worth it, well until that night.

urinalysis and cbc was to be done. i delivered my wiwi in a cup promptly, but waiting game started again for the nurse who will take my blood to show up. she finally did at around 11:30. we were told that results will not be available for another 3-4 hours, given the busy night they were having. what?! wait... wait... wait... all the while tummy was still aching. ache... ache... ache...

hubby finally confronted the doctor, after an hour, kindly check if the results are in already... please. the doc did and guess what, the results were there already, just waiting to be printed. grrr. results: not preggy (hmp!), acidic, 10 pus cells, almost a thousand bacteria. verdict: uti. ha? then why is my tummy aching? i've had uti before but usually it is my lower back that aches not my tummy. referred pain daw. the nerves of my kidney may be causing the nearby nerves to act up too, hence, the acidic reaction of my tummy. whatever. just give me the meds to stop the pain. ok, just wait and a nurse will give you the meds by IV coz that will be faster than if i give you a tablet. ok, fine. wait... wait... wait... at 1:00am the nurse comes to put the meds in my vein. i warned her that my veins are hard to find so please be very sure before she sticks the needle in. no reaction. tusok! in fairness she got it in one try =) i thought i was going to be discharged already, but we still had to wait for the pain i was feeling to subside. another 30 mins. actually i was still feeling pain pero i really wanted to go home na. i was given prescriptions for my uti, acidity and pain, plus a list of stuff i can't eat or drink: coffee, softdrinks, spicy food etc.

hay sa wakas. natapos din. 1:30 we were on our way home. super sleepy and dead tired. well, that's what you get for spending the night at the emergency room.

celebrity sighting

while we were strolling in megamall last sat, we spotted these two celebs sharing a venti banana java chip frap. they looked awfully familiar.... hmmm... what do you think?!

it was more than a fever

i just want to share the experience of my cousin Aleli with her daughter, my pamangkin, apple. their ordeal started with fever (pretty common for kids huh?) then rashes started to come out. they thought she had the measles or some kind of pox, they brought her to a walk-in clinic only to be told that it was just probably eczema (she had a history). by this time her temp was reaching 40 already! (by ear thermometer). they were given meds and sent home. the following days were spent just observing little apple but she is not getting better. she still has fever and polka dots all over her body. good thing they decided to bring her to a bigger children's hospital in Vancouver. nilagyan sya agad ng IV and meds( antibi0tics and electrolytes) tapos blood tests. it turned out she had acquired a deadly bacteria in her blood. "Invasive Streptococus". it could've been fatal but good thing she was diagnosed on time and was given proper medication. the docs said most of the patients in the hospital with this ailment are admitted to the ICU, it is that serious!

good thing apple's guardian angel was looking after her. =) she is now at home recovering =)

learn more about the disease:

http://www.health.state.ny.us/diseases/communicable/streptococcal/group_a/fact_sheet.htm

we're bringing bea to a pediatric-gastro doc

recently i have been "talking" with other moms through a yahoo group forum regarding bea's feeding difficulties. she still refuses to take anything solid, still won't drink milk on her own, she'd suck on her bottle if it contained only water. she'd vomit everyday, sometimes more than once... no wonder she was never within the normal weight for her age. her pedia has been very helpful in trying to explore the possible problems that are causing this, but still to no avail. right now we're just force-feeding her, but my worry is about the future... what if she never learns to eat solids by mouth?! right now, she doesn't feel any hunger. we're thinking this could get worse as she gets older. hubby and i decided to ask our pedia for a referral to a specialist, maybe he/she can diagnose what's wrong. i called bea's pedia earlier this afternoon and she was very accomodating. she referred us to a pediatric gastro doctor, a classmate of hers from way back when... the only problem is her clinic in st. luke's is every tuesday and thursday... hay, absent na naman! =) we'll schedule it sometime next week, too bad the doc's clinic days didn't fall on wednesay, hubby's bday! derecho lakwatsa na sana! ;)

so that's the latest. we're really hoping the tummy specialist can help bea...

we're keeping our fingers crossed... toes too! =)

please include us in your prayers =)

ocean's thirteen

simple. loved the movie. this time their mission was personal. their friend and financier, reuben (eliot gould) , sufffered a heart attack when he was duped out of his share in a new casino built on the strip by willy bank (al pacino), a known double crosser. ocean's group vowed revenge, if only to give reuben a reason to get better. however, when their funds started to run low, they had no other choice but to seek the help of their old enemy, terry benedict (andy garcia) ahh... the plot thickens, especially when it turns out this was not the only reunion in this movie. ;)
their tactics were a bit complicated, i felt they depended too much on people that can be bribed. i just think it's not so smart to put too much trust in someone who can be bought by the highest bidder, but that's just me.

the movie is entertaining, funny, amusing. same as the 2 previous ocean movies. george clooney was as dashing and classy as ever. brad pitt again made me forget he's a darn adulterer.... cute and charming in this movie. matt damon was good at taming down his performance. i mean it had to be good acting to pretend you're a sidekick, when you already play the lead roles in other big movies. he's cute as he tries his best to measure up to his parents (known masters of heist) and to his group, particularly danny and rusty. too bad julia roberts didn't join them in this movie. she would've added more fun in the already great movie. =) the whole crew performed well, although basher (don cheadle) was a bit OA for me as the motorcycle guy. andy garcia, still sinister and handsome at the same time. al pacino, old but still scary and effective. ellen barkin... hmmm... collagen personified. nice bod still though. i felt uncomfortable when she started coming on to matt damon. for me, di bagay.

want to go in the movie house and amuse yourself for a few hours? watch this movie... fun!

zodiac

last week, we watched zodiac. a suspense movie starring robert downey jr., jake gyllenhaal, and mark ruffalo among others. one thing i got from this movie is my changed opinion of jake, i no longer see him as the homosexual from brokeback mountain. (that was really hard to get over!) he is a good actor, and his good looks is definitely a plus. he exudes such intensity... by a mere look. it's official i like him again. =) robert downey was at his best... as always. he has always been a good actor. he can transfom a small role into a major one. hmm... if only he can put the drug problem in check. mark ruffalo is different in this movie. he's serious and dark, a far cry from his 13 going on 30 movie. definitely a versatile actor.

back to the movie: it is based on a book by robert graysmith, a newspaper cartoonist obsessed with a cold case, slayings that have been unsolved for years. for a change, the movie evolves on the investigators and not on the victims, or the perp. the movie is about how the hunt for this suspect has affected the police and media through the years, professionally and personally. although the movie has been well researched and it gave so much details and leads, that you'd think a bad guy will get caught in the end, but ... there is no ending that will gratify your curiosity as to what really happened...so don't expect. there was no bruckhiemer-like effects either. the movie is based on the 60's era... ha! no cell phones!

the movie was long, but i didn't get bored. the movie took me through a myriad of feelings, from frustration to sadness, anxiety, fear and more... but that's just me =)

and i'm definitely not hard to please. the movie was ok in my book. something different from your usual detective/crime movie.

zodiac

last week, we watched zodiac. a suspense movie starring robert downey jr., jake gyllenhaal, and mark ruffalo among others. one thing i got from this movie is my changed opinion of jake, i no longer see him as the homosexual from brokeback mountain. (that was really hard to get over!) he is a good actor, and his good looks is definitely a plus. he exudes such intensity... by a mere look. it's official i like him again. =) robert downey was at his best... as always. he has always been a good actor. he can transfom a small role into a major one. hmm... if only he can put the drug problem in check. mark ruffalo is different in this movie. he's serious and dark, a far cry from his 13 going on 30 movie. definitely a versatile actor.

back to the movie: it is based on a book by robert graysmith, a newspaper cartoonist obsessed with a cold case, slayings that have been unsolved for years. for a change, the movie evolves on the investigators and not on the victims, or the perp. the movie is about how the hunt for this suspect has affected the police and media through the years, professionally and personally. although the movie has been well researched and it gave so much details and leads, that you'd think a bad guy will get caught in the end, but ... there is no ending that will gratify your curiosity as to what really happened...so don't expect. there was no bruckhiemer-like effects either. the movie is based on the 60's era... ha! no cell phones!

the movie was long, but i didn't get bored. the movie took me through a myriad of feelings, from frustration to sadness, anxiety, fear and more... but that's just me =)

and i'm definitely not hard to please. the movie was ok in my book. something different from your usual detective/crime movie.

change

i want change, i do. the only problem is i'm too darn tamad to do anything about it!

i need change, i do. i'm so bored with my life, i feel so out of control.

i will change, i will. i plan to start with little things, in fact i've already started... i just need follow through...

i will need help though, good thing i've got my Lord to back me up.

small steps Lord... hold my hand.

just when i thought nothing will go wrong... everything did.

last saturday we had our 3rd post mss at the rivers center. in the past, we would always be late in these activities so we really tried to leave early this time. traffic in marikina was heavier than usual, there were sectional blocking going on in our streets, we were delayed there for a couple of minutes.

when we got to libis, i was still hopeful we'd get to st. paul's in makati on time. traffic was a bit heavy at ortigas, but the real problem was when we reached the edsa ortigas intersection. while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, an mmda traffic enforcer approached us, you see the ending number of our plate number was 5 so we were supposed to be registered by may 31, but due to financial and procedural constraints, hubby was able to take care of this only in the afternoon of last june 1, a friday. needless to say the registration was not finished since the whole process was still not done by 5pm. hubby had to explain to the officer our situation, showed him the necessary papers and proofs that we were in good faith. while all this was happening, we were both praying... please Lord, let this man understand our situation so that we can go to our post mss. we're late enough as it is. the Good Lord granted our prayer and the mmda let us go with only a warning. so, we were happily on our way.

we arrived at st paul's at about 3:30... we got out of the van, locked the doors, was about to go in when hubby realized that he left the keys inside! i had a spare but i also left it inside. one thing came into mind, the devil is definitely trying to do everything to keep us from attending our post mss! another 30 minutes later, we were able to open the door and get the keys (with the help of a good samaritan who gave us a piece of wire to pry open our window).

we were able to register at 4pm. the one in charge of the registration had already crossed out our names, assuming we were not coming. when we got in the room, as always we were so embarrassed... late again.

but my God is still good, despite the problems we encountered, we were still able to come and listen to sister Yna's talk about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. no tempers flared, no arguments occurred. thank you Lord. there's always the 4th post mss, maybe we won't be late then =)

just when i thought nothing will go wrong... everything did.

last saturday we had our 3rd post mss at the rivers center. in the past, we would always be late in these activities so we really tried to leave early this time. traffic in marikina was heavier than usual, there were sectional blocking going on in our streets, we were delayed there for a couple of minutes.

when we got to libis, i was still hopeful we'd get to st. paul's in makati on time. traffic was a bit heavy at ortigas, but the real problem was when we reached the edsa ortigas intersection. while waiting for the traffic light to turn green, an mmda traffic enforcer approached us, you see the ending number of our plate number was 5 so we were supposed to be registered by may 31, but due to financial and procedural constraints, hubby was able to take care of this only in the afternoon of last june 1, a friday. needless to say the registration was not finished since the whole process was still not done by 5pm. hubby had to explain to the officer our situation, showed him the necessary papers and proofs that we were in good faith. while all this was happening, we were both praying... please Lord, let this man understand our situation so that we can go to our post mss. we're late enough as it is. the Good Lord granted our prayer and the mmda let us go with only a warning. so, we were happily on our way.

we arrived at st paul's at about 3:30... we got out of the van, locked the doors, was about to go in when hubby realized that he left the keys inside! i had a spare but i also left it inside. one thing came into mind, the devil is definitely trying to do everything to keep us from attending our post mss! another 30 minutes later, we were able to open the door and get the keys (with the help of a good samaritan who gave us a piece of wire to pry open our window).

we were able to register at 4pm. the one in charge of the registration had already crossed out our names, assuming we were not coming. when we got in the room, as always we were so embarrassed... late again.

but my God is still good, despite the problems we encountered, we were still able to come and listen to sister Yna's talk about the fruit of the Holy Spirit. no tempers flared, no arguments occurred. thank you Lord. there's always the 4th post mss, maybe we won't be late then =)