mOon$hyn

... that the hospital was really wrong to send my grandmother away, only to let her back in. it was really such an added stress to everyone, specially for my grandmother who had to travel when she was really not feeling well. besides, hers was an emergency case, she needed blood ASAP, and she was treated like that. and get this, we were more than willing to pay for it! not because we had so much money, but because we were willing to do what it takes to get her the treatment she needs. there was a point when the doctor asked my grandpa where we were going to get the money to pay for her bills, my grandpa said "kahit mangutang kami hanggang sa dulo ng mundo" (we'll borrow money to the ends of the earth!). that was my grandpa trying to be funny. :wink: as i said, they have retiree benefits that would cover the expenses.

my uncles, my mom, and some friends, had to pull strings to get the hospital to guarantee that even if my grandmother gets private care for now, she will still be eligible for the social service privileges when they get their funds back next week. because we really need that SS program.

suffice it to say, my grandma's doctors were quite infuriated with the ER doctors that let her go the previous night. we all are.

and my grandmother kept on saying she had travelled so much that night that she is so tired. and so many needles have been poked into her too. i just hope she gets better.

i hope my blood screens out fine too. that it is acceptable for transfusion. so many people came forward to volunteer their blood too. we are very greatful that we have so many friends. that so many people care about my grandmother too. she needs a minimum of 10 units of platelets and RBC, i think. 10 people had donated blood last night. there are more who are willing, should she need more or if some of those who donated do not screen out fine.

it was a different experience for me too. taking my grandmother to the hospital and staying with her till she was settled in. and donating blood. i'm glad i stayed. i'm not looking forward to doing it again though. because i would rather that my grandma stayed healthy and well. but with her illness, it is a reality we have to face. that she will be in pain again, and perhaps will need more blood. maybe in a month or two. but we will still be here for her.

my grandmother's in the hospital again. it was such a terrible experience for her. :( we already know that she is suffering from an illness that requires her to have regular check ups and blood transfusions every once in a while. she was filling really restless on thursday evening so she was brought to the ER for treatment. they said she needed blood transfusion asap. but the hospital refused to admit her!! you see, my grandparents are under this Social Service program of the hospital that gives them privileges like free check ups and discounts for hospitalization and other medical benefits. but the thing is, the SS program is low on resources right now. the doctors at the ER said that funds for SS patients won't be in until June. so that was just fine. but since my grandma needed immediate attention, the family was quite willing to go private and be a paying patient. specially since my grandparents also have retirement benefits from the church that entitles them to medical coverage too. but the doctors refused to take her in! they said it was because if they took her in as a private patient, her SS privileges would be taken away for good. but that was unfair! specially since it wasn't our fault that the SS does not have funds for now.

so after almost 6 hours in the ER, after a number of tests and a 6000+ pesos bill, my grandmother was discharged and transfer orders were given. my uncles took her to other hospitals but there wasn't type O blood available either. and the last hospital they went to agreed to take her in but she had to just come back earlier the next morning with blood donors in tow. so at around 3am, my grandma was back home.

and there i was in our living room, trying to get some sleep. you see, i was due to wake up at 415 am to get ready for an office outing that required me to be at the office at 6am. i was gonna take one of my nieces with me to this overnight trip. i was awakened by my the door closing after my mom. she had just been on the phone with my uncle. she was really agitated by what has been happening, specially with the fact that my very sick grandmother had to be taken all over the place because the nearest and the best hospital refused to take her. so i asked how things were and she told me. i told her i was type O. and so she got it into her that perhaps i should forego the office outing and stay to donate blood. of course i would be willing to donate blood, specially for my grandma. but i was also thinking that my blood might not be accepted because i had slept late and had woken up too early. i was awake till about 430 am trying to found out where we could get the much needed blood, and to find willing donors. and of course, i had decided to stay and donate too.

at around 530, i was up again for breakfast and a bath. we took my grandma to this hospital at around 630. straight to the emergency room. she had been there the previous night too. they wouldn't admit her either unless we knew a doctor that works in that hospital, and my cousin who was talking to the hospital didnt know any. and if she just picked a name out of a list, we would be charged 20% more! luckily, my dad had an aunt who had a clinic in that hospital, but she was an ob-gyne, not a hematologist. so we called her up and she referred us to a hema specialist. so with that settled, we were given admission order and a series of tests were on their way before we could be able to determine how much blood my grandma needed, and what kind.

so... about 3 or so hours later... i had a call from my brother saying my grandma should be tranferred back to her original hospital. that should have relieved us, but it didn't. because it meant we had to pull her out the hospital we were already in. and the doctors there had been really nice to us. and the already administered an ECG and blood was being taken for CBC. in short, things were going along just fine. anyway, my cousin and i managed to speak to the doctors and my grandma was discharged after some time. our bill wasn't so big too. really cheap actually. specially compared to the 6000+ bill of the previous night.

so anyway, my grandma was finally settled in at this hospital near home, at around 12 noon. i was able to donate bloOD around 4pm. 1 bag, about 250cc of blood was taken from me. was a bit woozy and really sleepy afterwards. i had my dad pick me up eventhough i could have easily walked the few blocks to our house. but i really was feeling a bit woozy. as we arrived home, my 2 yr old nephew greeted me, and i carried him. and he was sweet because he saw the bandages on my arms where the needles went.

anyway, i slept soundly from 5pm to about 10pm. haha. and at 1130, i was again in deep slumber :wink:

if anyone hasn't noticed, i have a new link on my blog. it's a link to this wonderful person's blog. you can read all about her and her sweetness [url=http://www.forever-tequila.ne...]here[/url]. check it out. now, if only my blog was half as pretty as hers, eh? maybe i'd write more coherent thought and have more comments. haha. :D

anyway, i also have other links on my blog worth checking out, so please do. :) i don't get anything when you click on 'em links. all i get is the knowledge that some people have found these great links to some pretty amazing people.

hmm... i'm rambling aren't i? too many things on my mind... not functioning well... ahhh

this afternoon, i was in this other office that kinda used to be my favorite hangout cause it was where i used to volunteer. anyway, the lady boss there noticed my new hair-do for the first time cause it was the first time she saw me since i had my historical haircut the other week. i had taken a picture of me today, and maybe i can post it sometime soon...

anyway, she kept on saying my hair looks good and that i looked real nice today. slimmer. :lol: yipee! it isn't just me! i really am looking great! (not that i haven't always looked great :D )

today is the day that new pages in the history of the philippines will be written. may 10, 2004 presidential elections. people are out to vote for a president, a vice president, 12 senators, and local officials (mayor, governor, etc.).

i am not one of them. i am not voting. and this makes me sad. :(

i was not able to register to vote. i can make a lot of excuses for not being able top register, but really, there's no excuse. nothing short of near-death is an excuse.

today, people are making a choice of whether to give the encumbent president the 6-year mandate to rule the land, or to give the king of philippine movies the driver's seat. there are three other candidates vying for the top seat in the government, but really, the fight all boils down to these two: president gloria macapagal-arroyo and fernando poe, jr. (erap's best friend and co-actor).

if i was going out to vote today, i would have spent the previous week pondering so hard on who to give my precious vote for. FPJ is not even an option for me. he has no experience in governance, and he has no clear platform of government that i think he truly comprehends. he did not even agree to a 3 minute interview by a major network just to answer 5 questions because he does not want surprise questions, he cannot answer without a script. and he does not speak, stand, nor act like a statesman. he acts unbecoming of a president. even his wife speaks better in public. Ping Lacson is also out of the question. he has a very hard heart. he is accused of being one of the torturers during martial law. and he appears to be capable of ruling with an iron hand. Raul Roco would have been my logical choice. but lately, he has seemed to me as one who only wants the limelight. he dwells on mudslinging. he's a politician. Bro. Eddie Villanueva seems to be someone who is sincere and who will rule with God in the center of his government. but, he also show signs of being capable of nepotism and that is not good. even if he won't be corrupt, who says his family would not? besides, i think he's being a bit too righteous at times. but i must admit that he brings a spark of hope. then there is GMA. i admit that she is the most likely candidate to win. and she probably would have won my vote. because she has the track-record and the right attitude. she might not have always done the right decisions, but i believe that given the people's mandate, she will govern well.

ah, if only i could vote.

i saw the lunar eclipse earlier today. i have not been feeling so well. real bad actually. i was so tired coming from quiapo with raechelle and UN yesterday. i was feverish by evening. by the time i went home, i was feeling so sick i did not get to do anything before i fell asleep on the couch. i tossed and turned all evening, until about 330 am when i decided to go up to my room. as i turned my lights off, my attention was drawn to what lay beyond my window, and there the moon was, in all its shadowy glory. :)

i've always loved looking up at the moon. i really like the moon. and i couldn't help but think that the eclipse had something to do with my feeling so down. OR NOT! :lol: