13 Things I Learned From My Hospital Bed

And so I was hospitalized for 4 days.  In between getting high on fever and f***ing-hard-on-the-abs chills, I found myself looking at my life from the outside of my body and realized a few things.  At one point, I even had that Insidious-movie-like experience wherein I felt myself dreaming and going somewhere else astrally.  (if there's such a word)

Anyway, here goes some of my musings.

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1.  I'm a dextrose addict.  I almost always feel better when attached to it.

2.  I will never look at mocha-flavored icing cake the same way again.  Very graphic in my mind so I won't explain anymore.

3.  True caring friends surprise visit you and you're all touched coz they remembered you....... and then they go out for lunch.

4.  The transvaginal whatever apparatus!

5.  Extracorporeal Shock Wave Lithotripsy.  No, it's not some house music that makes you tipsy.  It's a non-invasive treatment of kidney stones.

6.  The hubby is imperfect and it took this trip to the hospital to prove that even more.

7.  Even if nothing hurts, you don't know for sure that you're not sick somewhere inside so it's always best to see a doctor.

8.  100% of male doctors are gay.  (Well, at least, based on the doctors I saw during this confinement.)

9.  A warm blanky can only do so much when the chills kick in; but a cuddly little girl beside me drives the cold away.

10.  My Mom will always, always be there for me.

11.  I cannot be a Mom and be sick at the same time.  And so, the decision has been made.

12.  That old adage that goes, "Health is wealth."

13.  I am Superwoman.

There is one consolation in being sick;

and that is the possibility that you may recover to a better state

than you were in before.

- Henry David Thoreau

heart problem

it was too easy to find the doctor's clinic near the old city municipal building, in front of the signage that reads PULIS.  the weather wasn't too hot, a little bit windy in fact.  i was calm.

less than a week before, the bad news was spilled out to me and had to wait for this day to confirm the truth to this.  i had so many morbid thoughts about it.  one night, i couldn't even sleep thinking about it.  i even got teary eyed upon reading something about living only up to five years.  

so after one and a half hours, the secretary finally summoned me to the doctor's office as it was already my turn.  the heart doctor had a kind face with chinky eyes and a nice smile.  he asked me why i was there and i presented to him the medical findings and the ECG result.  he looked it over and asked me about my family's medical background, if i smoked, if i drank liquor, if i was into sports.  to all of which, i replied no.  he grinned.

he stood up and put his stethoscope on my back and listened.  then he asked me to lie on his examination table.  more listening.  and me breathing, in, out..... in, out.....

it turned out i wasn't sick at all.  the doctor and i with hubby ended up laughing at how paranoid i had been for the past week.  he even kidded, in exasperation, "your mom kept calling me, i was playing tennis!"  i realized my mom was probably worried about it too but didn't show it, just as i didn't let it show too.

and so, for now, i can rest assured that i will live to see the day my kids become adolescents to which a week ago, i almost thought i won't.  i will still have the chance to earn my first million.  i will still be able to go back to running and aerobics, maybe shift to kickboxing or something more rigorous.  i will still be able to do a lot of things i have yet to write on my bucket list.  for now, i am more than thankful that i am healthy and i am happy. thank God!

mortality

what a morbid way to start a day.

i was sitting in the cab on my way to work and started recalling the events of the day before.  it was the first time i was by myself since i read the medical recommendation.

i shut my eyes tight and thought how it would feel like in the last few moments before i die.  it would be totally dark, exactly like the state i was in with my eyes closed.  i would still hear the sounds around me.  i would shiver in the sudden cold that envelopes me.  then slowly, slowly, i would slip into oblivion... i imagine this to be the way i would like to go.  no pain, just peaceful.  happy.  ready.  no worries about those i would leave behind.

it was yesterday afternoon when they called everyone at the office to get the results of our annual physical examination.  i went up casually to kathy who was releasing the print outs of the results and she told me -- casually too -- that i needed to consult with a cardiologist regarding my ecg exam.  it didn't sink in right away.  i took the print out, randomly went over the report and found at the bottom what she was talking about:  ADVISE CONSULT.  Further, i checked the other half sheet of paper where it said the following:

Electrocardiogram

Rhythm: Sinus Bradycardia

Interpretation: Poor R wave progression

 Left axis Deviation

upon realization what this means, i tried to find a chair to sit on.  what if i have heart failure and i'm gonna die soon?  (i know now that i was overreacting but what did you expect?!)  

i thought of my kids and how young they still are to lose their mother.  (ok, ok i can see you're slowly breaking into a smile, whoever you are reading this!)  

then came flashbacks of me having those episodes of having shortness of breath in the last 12 months or so.  (could those have been symptoms?)    also those headaches..... fatigue usually after work hours..... headaches...

when i got back to my table, i immediately googled the diagnosis.  sinus bradycardia is a sinus rhythm with a resting heart rate of 60 beats per minute or less. however, few patients actually become symptomatic until their heart rate drops to less than 50 beats per minute. the action potential responsible for this rhythm arises from the sinus node and causes a P wave on the surface ECG that is normal in terms of both amplitude and vector. these P waves are typically followed by a normal QRS complex and T wave.  (lifted from emedicine website)

simply put, my heart is beating slowly.

today i am reminded of my mortality. and  today i resolve to see that cardiologist this weekend and get this over with.  my health is more important now more than ever because my children depend on me to always be there for them.  i cannot afford to miss out on all those meaningful events in their lives.  i cannot NOT be strong enough to defend them in times of trouble.  any problem with me or my state of being simply CANNOT BE.

Walk, jog, run!

So hubby and I started brisk walking again this morning. We actually started doing this way back in August but when we discovered aero every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, we stopped. Aero we did but it's gotten boring now coz the routine has become too easy and it hasn't evolved yet due to the fact that most of our co-members are 50y/o and above, so the choreographer has that to consider.

I have since lost 5-7 pounds though and am (I think) close to achieving one of my 2009 New Year's goals which is to gain back my pre-pregnancy figure. I still have some love handles and lotsa flab but I'm feeling way better about myself than 6 months back.

Life in general has changed a lot over the last 6 months since my last weblog.

Migo has started taekwondo lessons last summer and has developed way, way much. Last Saturday (November 14), he won his first Gold medal at the Region 3 Championship held in Cabanatuan City. Hubby and I were so proud. And so was my Dad and older brother who were there with us. My 2 nephews Gelo and Tyrone are attending tkd classes now.

Julla started school (nursery) too 6 months ago. She's turning into a wonder child, in my opinion. (Hur-hur!) She likes to sing and dance a lot. Singing involves also creating her own lyrics based on whatever she feels like talking/singing about. Dancing, on the other hand, is a lot of calisthenics and body-bending that she herself choreographs. We're thinking of getting her involved too in tkd or ballet. My dad says yes to tkd. Mom says ballet. Oh, and my dad says violin lessons too. Me and hubby, well, we'd let her do whatever she wants when she's 4 years old.

I like to have cool kids with cool things to do.

Hubby and I. We're ok. Some potholes here and there in our sweet life together but I can say we're becoming stronger as a pair of nitwits trying to survive this l.i.f.e.

So there. Hope I can start blogging regularly again. Thanks to Sir Jojo. :)