Wednesday, February 27, 2013

I Dream



In a room so dark, I entered to pay respect for someone dead. Someone died whom I do not have a clue. The coffin was huge it filled up the whole room and a lady in black was standing beside. Streaming towards the coffin, the room seemed quite but full of people who were mostly familiar to me and I felt comfort. My skin feels nippy with the airy space but went ahead closer to the coffin to check who it was. She was all wrapped in black; it was hard to recognize her. To her, I ask who died and she responded to me in a soft voice “I do not know”. That moment, I came to realized who this lady was. She was long gone to rest. She died 5 years ago. How could she be here? Then, without expecting an answer, Donna responded to me “Bert is dead”. And she cried like the whole world is upon her shoulder. It was a heartfelt scenario to see her crying so heavily, she was shaking. I did not even bother to ask who Bert is.


As I tread along, a door opens and I was in a separate room. There I saw that it was raining hard outside and I woke up to the sound of the rain drops hitting the metal roof.
It was a morning dream. After taking my child to school; I decided to take a morning nap because I was feeling tired.


Upon waking up, the rain was heavy outside the window just like in my dream. I wonder if there is any hidden message in my dream as it connects to the reality of raining around my neighborhood. I even pinched myself to make sure I am wide awake... 


I decided to give Donna a call and shared the details of my dream. Donna is the youngest daughter of the lady in black that was standing beside the coffin in my dream. I told her about my dream, seeing her mom wearing this black dress, wrapped around her. I ask her if anybody died recently. She said to me “You did not know Bert died”? She confirmed to me there’s truth in my dream. She did not elaborate what caused Bert’s death. How could you dream of me crying furiously, she asks? Did you know that I was crying really hard because my husband and I had a big argument last night? 


I dream of someone dead long time ago, someone dead in the coffin, someone crying and I am separated from the rest until the rain comes...
What do you think of this dream?





The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer The fruit of PRAYER is Faith The fruit of FAITH is Love The fruit of LOVE is Service The fruit of SERVICE is Peace

Monday, February 25, 2013

If you're a nurse in the Philippines


A nursing student asked me one morning "Sir, where can I find a Urinal?"

Here is my answer:

My dear student, you are not in a private hospital. Be creative. Find an empty plastic IV bottle, cut it and make sure no sharp edges, for urinal purposes. Use the same way when you encounter a sick patient who needs to throw up and you need emesis basin!

If you do not have ampule BREAKER and you are giving IV Meds? I understand it is difficult to open the medicine, therefore use those bandage scissors with you. You might need to saw it slowly on the neck part, maybe it will break easy.

If you need to SUCTION, take a syringe, remove the needle and plunger. Wrap in gauze and have the patient bite for easy suction. Just make sure to remove after use. That will work as bite block for the patient and saves them from too much bills as they hardly had enough to pay for the hospital bills. 

When doing Blood transfusion, you need COMPRESSOR when it stops leaking?  Use a BP cuff and save time from looking for something that is not available.

If you need to cover those IVF bottles because some are mixed with drugs that are sensitive to light? Cover the bottle and tube with a CARBON PAPER ..

No Hot Water Bag and Ice pack? Use GLOVES, and speaking of gloves, sometimes you need to do AUTOCLAVE for multiple uses, until it breaks.

No Hot Water Bag and Ice pack? Use GLOVES, and speaking of gloves, sometimes you need to do AUTOCLAVE for multiple uses, until it breaks.

Now, if you need a
FACE MASK for your pedia patient to perform Nebulizer and there is no supply for patients who can’t afford to buy one,  secure a CLEAN BOND PAPER, SHAPE IT INTO CONE AND ATTACH to the KIT USING TAPE. Some nurses use STYRO CUPS, durable compared to a bond paper.!! hehe..

W
hen OXYGEN TANK is outnumbered by the number of admissions, my HEAD NURSE will SPLIT the MAIN TUBE, connect the NASAL CANNULA to two patients. 1 oxygen tank is good for 2 patients!

My superior instructs me to find some wire if there is no available IV stand. What? A wire? How would a wire help? Stick it to the ceiling, with a really good clasp and secured, hook the IV bottle. And so I did while at the back of my mind, praying that it won’t come to a point where we have to improvise the bed as well. Hmmmm… I may have to use the wheel chair first and to stop worrying before I get sick.


Where’s the cardiac board during Code Blue? Wait, here it is. What is this? A plywood? Where did you get this? It was by the window. OMG! And if you have a pedia patient, just pull the wood at the bedside that would help revive the patient.

We don’t really have the power to improvise the mechanical ventilator even if the patient can’t afford one. We are the AMBU BAG (BVM) throughout the day, super nurse to the rescue when patients’ watcher is only one person. I offer to relieve the watcher so he or she can rest or eat, even for just an hour. The sad thing is learning that the patient’s family has to sign up for HAMA because they just can’t come up with the money even as charity patient class D.  Life is that hard!

These are just a few scenarios in the hospital. The orthopedic department might be improvising traction too! The nurse supervisor said to us “you’re working in a government hospital, if you’re idealistic, your patients won’t survive. You have to find a way for the patients to survive without complaining for things that are not available and just be a great nurse!

If you are in a private hospital or taking the board exam, it’s alright to be “ideal” by following all methods from the book. But if you are in a poor hospital taking care of a poor patient, be creative and become skilled with strategies for the book doesn't teach you all the ways to be a great nurse if you’re a nurse in the Philippines.




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The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer 
The fruit of PRAYER is Faith 
The fruit of FAITH is Love 
The fruit of LOVE is Service 
The fruit of SERVICE is Peace

Brother and Sister Love


I was born in a secluded village on a mountain. Day after day, my parents plowed the yellow dry soil with their backs towards the sky.

One day, I wanted to buy a handkerchief, which all girls around me seemed to have. So, one day I stole 50 cents from my father’s drawer. Father discovered about the stolen money right away.
‘Who stole the money?’ he asked my brother and me.

I was stunned, too afraid to talk. Neither of us admitted to the fault, so he said, ‘Fine, if nobody wants to admit, you both should be punished!’ Suddenly, my younger brother gripped Father’s hand and said, ‘Dad, I was the one who did it!’ He took the blame, and punishment, for me.

In the middle of the night, all of sudden, I cried out loudly. My brother covered my mouth with his little hand and said, ‘Sis, now don’t cry anymore. Everything has happened.’ I will never forget my brother’s expression when he protected me. That year, my brother was 8 years old and I was 11 years old. I still hate myself for not having enough courage to admit what I did. Years went by, but the incident still seemed like it just happened yesterday.

When my brother was in his last year of secondary school, he was accepted in an upper secondary school in the central part of town. At the same time, I was accepted into a university in the province.
That night, Father squatted in the yard, smoking packet by packet. I could hear him ask my mother, ‘Both of our children, they have good results? Very good results?’

Mother wiped off her tears and sighed, ‘What is the use? How can we possibly finance both of them?’

At that time, my brother walked out, he stood in front of Father and said, ‘Dad, I don’t want to continue my study anymore, I have read enough books.’ Father became angry.

‘Why do you have a spirit so weak? Even if it means I have to beg for money on the streets, I will send you two to school until you have both finished your studies!’ And then, he started to knock on every house in the village to borrow money.

I stuck out my hand as gently as I could to my brother’s face, and told him, ‘A boy has to continue his study. If not, he will not be able to overcome this poverty we are experiencing.’ I, on the other hand, had decided not to further my study at the university.

Nobody knew that on the next day, before dawn, my brother left the house with a few pieces of worn-out clothes and a few dry beans. He sneaked to my side of the bed and left a note on my pillow; ‘Sis, getting into a university is not easy. I will go find a job and I will send money to you.’ I held the note while sitting on my bed, and cried until I lost my voice.

With the money father borrowed from the whole village, and the money my brother earned from carrying cement on his back at a construction site, finally, I managed to get to the third year of my study in the university. That year, my brother was 17 years old; I was 20 years old.

One day, while I was studying in my room, my roommate came in and told me, ‘There’s a villager waiting for you outside!’ Why would there be a villager looking for me? I walked out, and I saw my brother from afar. His whole body was covered with dirt, dust, cement and sand. I asked him, ‘Why did you not tell my roommate that you are my brother?’

He replied with a smile, ‘Look at my appearance. What will they think if they would know that I am your brother? Won’t they laugh at you?’

I felt so touched, and tears filled my eyes. I swept away dirt and dust from my brother’s body. And told him with a lump in my throat, ‘I don’t care what people would say! You are my brother no matter what your appearance.’

From his pocket, he took out a butterfly hair clip. He put it on my hair and said, ‘I saw all the girls in town are wearing it. I think you should also have one.’ I could not hold back myself anymore. I pulled my brother into my arms and cried. That year, my brother was 20 years old; I was 23 years old.

After I got married, I lived in the city. Many times my husband invited my parents to come and live with us, but they didn’t want. They said once they left the village, they wouldn’t know what to do. My brother agreed with them. He said, ‘Sis, you just take care of your parents-in-law. I will take care of Mom and Dad here.’
My husband became the directors of his factory. We asked my brother to accept the offer of being the manager in the maintenance department. But my brother rejected the offer. He insisted on working as a repairman instead for a start.

One day, my brother was on the top of a ladder repairing a cable, when he got electrocuted, and was sent to the hospital. My husband and I visited him at the hospital. Looking at the plaster cast on his leg, I grumbled, ‘Why did you reject the offer of being a manager? Managers won’t do something dangerous like that. Now look at you – you are suffering a serious injury. Why didn’t you just listen to us?’

With a serious expression on his face, he defended his decision, ‘Think of your brother-in-law, he just became the director. If I, being uneducated, would become a manager, what kind of rumors would fly around?’

My husband’s eyes filled up with tears, and then I said, ‘But you lack in education only because of me!’

‘Why do you talk about the past?’ he said and then he held my hand. That year, he was 26 years old and I was 29 years old.

My brother was 30 years old when he married a farmer girl from the village. During the wedding reception, the master of ceremonies asked him, ‘Who is the one person you respect and love the most?’
Without even taking a time to think, he answered,’ My sister.’ He continued by telling a story I could not even remember. ‘When I was in primary school, the school was in a different village. Everyday, my sister and I would walk for 2 hours to school and back home. One day, I lost one of my gloves. My sister gave me one of hers. She wore only one glove and she had to walk far. When we got home, her hands were trembling because of the cold weather. She could not even hold her chopsticks. From that day on, I swore that as long as I lived, I would take care of my sister and would always be good to her.’

Applause filled up the room. All guests turned their attention to me. I found it hard to speak, ‘In my whole life, the one I would like to thank most is my brother,’ And in this happy occasion, in front of the crowd, tears were rolling down my face again.

Love and care for the one you love every single day of your life. You may think what you did is just a small deed, but to that someone, it may mean a lot.




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The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer 
The fruit of PRAYER is Faith 
The fruit of FAITH is Love 
The fruit of LOVE is Service 
The fruit of SERVICE is Peace

Faith, Trust, Hope

3 short stories:

1. Once, all villagers decided 2 pray for rain. On da day of prayer all people gathered and only 1 boy came w/ an umbrella.
That's FAITH.

2. When you throw a baby in the air, the baby laughs because he knows u will catch him.
That's TRUST.

3. Every night we go to bed, we have no assurance that we will wake up da next morning, but still we have plans for tomorrow.
That's H0PE.

Celebrate life with FAITH, TRUST and HOPE!
God is good!




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The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer 
The fruit of PRAYER is Faith 
The fruit of FAITH is Love 
The fruit of LOVE is Service 
The fruit of SERVICE is Peace

Friday, February 22, 2013

The Passbook


She married him today.
At the end of the wedding party, her mother gave her a newly opened bank savings passbook, with $1000 deposited in it.
She told her, "My dear daughter, take this passbook. Keep it as a record of your married life. Whenever something happy and memorable happens in your new life, put some money in. Write down what it's about next to the amount. The more memorabl
e the event is, the more money you can put in. I've done the first one for you today. Do the others with your husband. When you look back after years, you will know how much happiness you've both shared.'

She shared this with him after getting home. Both of them thought it was a great idea and couldn't wait to make the next deposit! This is what the passbook looked like after a while:

- 7 Feb: $100, his first birthday celebration after marriage
- 1 Mar: $300, she gets a salary raise
- 20 Mar: $200, vacation to Bali
- 15 Apr: $2000, She's pregnant!
- 1 Jun: $1000, He gets the big promotion
and so on...

However, as the years went by, they began fighting and arguing over trivial things. They didn't talk much. They regretted that they had married the most nasty person in the world...There was no more love.
One day she talked to her Mother. 'Mom, we can't stand it anymore. We have decided to divorce. I can't imagine how I decided to marry this guy!'

Her mother replied, 'Sure, that's no big deal. Just do whatever you want, if you really can't stand it. But before that, do one thing. Remember the savings passbook I gave you on your wedding day? Take out all money and spend it first. You shouldn't keep any record of such a poor marriage.'

She agreed with her. So she went to the bank, and was waiting in the queue to cancel the account. While she was waiting, she took a look at the passbook record. She looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joyful moments came back to her. Her eyes were filled with tears. She left and went home.

When she got home, she handed the passbook to him and asked him to spend the money before getting divorced.

So the next day, he went to the bank, and was waiting in the queue to cancel the account. While he was waiting, he took a look at the passbook record. He looked, and looked, and looked. Then the memory of all the previous joyful moments came back to him. His eyes were filled with tears. He left and went home.

He gave the passbook back to her. She found a new deposit of $5000. And a line next to the record: 'This is the day I realized how much I've loved you throughout all these years. How much happiness you've brought me.'

They hugged and cried, putting the passbook back into the safe.

If you like this story then from now on give a print out of this story to every couple who is getting married along with a nice notebook to record their happy times...who know you may just be able to help them !!


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The fruit of SILENCE is Prayer 
The fruit of PRAYER is Faith 
The fruit of FAITH is Love 
The fruit of LOVE is Service 
The fruit of SERVICE is Peace