November 24, 2007

To those who celebrate it... Belated Happy Thanksgiving!!! Hope you had a great turkey with yummy stuffing! Mmmm...

But to my bestest buddy, Tatee Lubaton... HAPPY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you had a fun time on your Birthday. Miss you so much, Tateekins! Much love! Mwah!

Today was the start of our REAL duty at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, and it was a BLAST!!! I had a real good time, and it wasn't that hard at all!!!

We started our duty at 8:00AM in the Pediatrics Ward. We were given a tour by our Clinical Instructor, Mrs. Baltazar, and she subsequently, assigned us to Patients. We had to take their Vital Signs & assess their status. I was assigned to 6-day old Don-Ver Acosta.

Don-Ver was confined in the Pedia Ward straight from the NICU, after Birth to complete his medications, since he was a Preemie (Don-Ver was born 2 months premature). He was very tiny, but he had great Vitals. His heart was beating loud & clear, he's got normal breath rates & he was well behaved. He also sucked great when he was fed. Don-Ver is such a pleasant baby. He didn't fuss or cry when I was taking his Vitals, unlike the other babies in the ward.

I also met other babies & their Moms. Some of the babies that caught my attention were Baby Princess, Baby Mark Darelle, Baby Jasmine & the 3 other babies in Don-Ver's ward.

Princess is a year old with Down Syndrome. She was rail thin due to dehydration she got from her heart medication. She's also quite small for her age. She looked like she was only 6 or 7 months old. I guess it was because of the delayed development caused by Down Syndrome. She was hospitalized due to Pneumonia and Diarrhea. She's quite a flexible girl! She'd stretch her legs toward her mouth & she'd flail her legs as if she didn't have bones at all. She was reactive to all stimulation & she responds to you. Cute kid, really. Sad she got sick. We all hope she'll grow up well & we also hope she can recover from her heart problem.

Mark Darelle is 6 months old, but he's as big as a year old kid! He was also hospitalized because of Pneumonia. He fusses a lot, especially in the presence of Nurses. His mom, an 18-year old girl, said he's afraid of Nurses 'coz they gave him shots! Hahaha! I tolk her that we wouldn't be giving Mark Darelle shots any time soon! he was a very big baby! Cute too!

At first, I thought that Jasmine was a boy. She was wearing a grey & blue shirt, and she was bald. Her mom corrected us and told us that she was a Girl! Hahaha! She's got beautiful BIG eyes!!! She fussed a lot, but when we approached her & talked to her, she would settle down & smile sweetly. I think she's the complete opposite of Mark Darelle! She loves the Nurses! After we'd leave her area, she'd cry & fuss all over again! Cute kid! Jasmine was actually discharged a week earlier, but due to financial problems, they didn't have any money to pay for the hospital bills. Her family had to approach the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) so that they could pay for her bills. After our Lunch Break, Jasmine was finally discharged.

The 3 other newborns in Don-Ver's area were also quite memorable for me. The one right beside him was the one I'd call "Tisoy" because of his very fair skin. He was really cute! He just had some rashes due to the heat. The other baby in the ward near Don-Ver is the one I call "Yellow" because of his yellowish skin. Although he had yellowish skin, the mothers assured us that he didn't have Hepatitis or Liver problems. That kid was very fussy. The only way you could pacify him was if you'd carry him. And he's only a few days old!!! The baby assigned to my groupmate, Robbie, was also a cute baby. He's only a week old, but he had very cute facial expressions! He would wink & smile at Robbie & he would even smirk while sleeping!

Today was really something memorable! It took away the anxiety & disappointment of last week's postponed hospital duty. We learned how to plot the babies' temperature, heart rate & respiratory rate in the TPR Chart & we were able to interact with the mothers & the babies!

Tomorrow's another day, and we will be assigned to the babies who were just transferred from the NICU to the ward. These babies are more sick than the ones we just handled today. Hopefully, we can learn more tomorrow.

I'll be off to class in the next few minutes... I just wanted to share my great day! Hehehe! Here's to looking forward to tomorrow!!!

November 17, 2007

I just came from my first day of Hospital Duty at the Dr. Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital. I woke up real early, because we had to be there before 7:00am for the Orientation & Duty. Well, nothing happened.

Turns out our school's Clinical Coordinator did not forward a "Communication Letter" to the Hospital regarding our Duty Schedule, etc. That, after having to wait 2 hours in a mosquito-infested room!!!

Now, we'll have to undergo make-up duty during the Holidays (December 26 & 27)! Darnit! To think I had to have my Duty Uniform rushed from the Tailor! All the panic, excitement & anxiety gone to the sewers!

Well, at least I can sleep in this weekend. Sigh...

November 08, 2007

Wow! Its been a long time since I have posted anything here. Sorry. Hehe.

Finally, I was able to take a breather from school, even if its only for a few days. My supposed 3-day Finals Week, turned out to be a Week-Long hell of reviewing, endless reading & lots of papers to write. I also had to move back home since I'd get sick a lot the last few months. It would've been nice to be home, if not for all the temptations at home (and all the nagging!).

Nothing much has happened since the First Semester ended. The only highlight of my vacation was All Soul's Day... and it was a disaster! Well, not a total disaster, really, but it was not a very good experience.

First, I had to wake up early to take a bath and get ready. Then, I hadn't had anything good to eat before we left (which makes anyone quite grumpy!). Shortly after getting on the Expressway, the most horrible thing happened... There was a very disturbing sound emanating from our car's engine, everytime my Dad pressed on the Accelerator pedal, which got worse and worse after every 10 meters!

So we decided to get off on the next exit to find a mechanic. After finding a mechanic, who was open on a Holiday, we were a bit relieved. However, this relief would only last a few minutes. After 30 minutes of looking for the possible problem with our car's engine, the mechanic advised that it may take longer. And since we had to get to Malolos by Lunch to get together with our relatives from the US, my Mom, sister & cousin had to commute all the way from Meycauayan. Well, since we were already 2/3s of the way, it was okay. We left my Dad with the car and just brought our bare essentials with us.

The commute to Malolos was fine. We were able to take an airconditioned van to Malolos. We were able to arrive safely to my cousin's new restaurant where we met up with our relatives from Cali. We had a blast, coz the food was really great, and my Aunt was showing off the pictures of my new Nephew, Zion.

After Lunch, we broke off to go to the Cemetery to pay our respects to my Grandparents & Great-Grandparents. I think it was a great idea that we went to the cemetery the day after All Saint's Day, since it would be less congested. True enough, there were hardly any living people in the Cemetery. We were able to pray quietly & pay our respects, without all the chaos and commotion.

We also went to Atlag, where our Great-Grandparents' property was. We picked up another cousin and collected the rent from one of the tenants. We were able to go around Malolos, with the help of my Cousin's car. Thank goodness they were gracious enough to drive us around!

On the way home, we took another airconditioned van all the way to Quezon City where we rode the MRT to Makati. When we got to our Stop in Makati, we had to board a hellish bus, which had me, literally, hang on for dear life!!! This devil bus scared the bejeezuz out of me! I swear! By the time we got home, we smelled like traffic & pollution, but I was too tired to even think about it. I took a quick shower & dozed off.

Anyway, I have to run... I need to buy some charcoal so that we can cook dinner... Our gas ran out! Hahaha! Update you guys more later! Take care!