RH Bill, eh?

It's all over the place. The Reproductive Health Bill (House Bill 4244) has caused commotion in both the church and the state. It's on the news everyday. Latest of which is the glitch between Pacman and Miriam. It was even a topic in one of our dinners at home with me letting my parents (who are active in church) understand that the church is misleading them. With the way the church is tackling this problem, it reminds me of Padre Damaso.

The great debate between the church and the government is what that irritates me. Both of them have closed minds and ears. Both simply do the talking without listening. Could they just shut up and listen to each others argument? If there's something in the bill that they go against with then trash that part. Can they just do this and leave all of us in peace?

I am not pro or anti-RH bill. As a physician all that I am sure of is that I am a protector of life. I am a catholic and I am against abortion. I believe that I have faith in my creator and that I respect His ministers. What bothers me however is that why is the church pushing its stand that the RH bill is pro-abortion when in fact the bill states that abortion remains illegal and is punishable by law? Why does it have to exaggerate facts or be very strict with semantics? That contraceptives are abortifacients? Abortifacients since it stops fertilization then basically "aborts" life. Man! Kalurkey! What kind of argument is this?

Yep! There are means of contraception that may cause abortion based from the little knowledge that I can remember from long ago. Tops the list is the intrauterine device or IUD. Its purpose is to prevent the sperm from meeting the egg so the sperm goes around the maze created by the IUD inside the uterus until it dies. Abortion happens when a wise sperm finds its way towards the egg and fertilization begins. This fertilized egg should implant itself in the uterus in order to live. Abortion takes place if the moron, er morula gets lost in the maze and dies before it can implant itself. If there's a problem with the IUD, can the RH bill authors just remove it from the contraceptives they are proposing?

The guiding principle of the bill so they say is responsible parenthood, reproductive health and population development. The church is afraid that should the bill push the use of condoms and introduce sex education among the youth it will promote promiscuity and pollute the minds of these adolescents. Why don't they agree on one thing then? Since it's the money of the taxpayers that is involved in this debate, then these contraceptions be only given to married couples. The church should also hold responsibility on the morality aspect. Sad to say, the media is more influential than the church in promoting the so called "norm" in our society. The church can't blame the RH bill if it wants sex education to be included in the school curriculum. It maybe just wanting to do some damage control. In the first place, being the moral advocate, the church should have strengthened the value formation and religion classes. It should have drawn the youth towards them before wordly influences overpower their young minds. If this is happening now, then do we still need sex education if our youths are aware of what is right and what responsibility is all about?

How about the newly married couple? I am aware that an about to be wed couple needs to attend a seminar with the church and this included family planning. Why not the RH bill advocates help with the church in inculcating knowledge to the couples for the so called responsible parenthood instead of emphasizing on sex education? A friend who happens to be a doctor underwent this kind of seminar before her wedding. What she couldn't take was the misconceptions of the old woman who gave the seminar regarding reproduction. Good for her she has a knowledge of it. How about those who needed the right knowledge? Will they forever be misled by the seminars given to them by the church? Are these women who are giving seminars certified to give such training by the way? No wonder, regardless of these seminars that the church gives, our population growth is still uncontrolled.

As to the pro woman aspect of the bill, RH bill advocates promote use of contraception so that women who are forced by their intoxicated husbands to have sex are prevented from getting pregnant. Blimey! So where did the Anti-Rape Law of 1997 go? One of its amendments is the recognition of marital rape as a crime. Will contraception promote good relationships among married couples just because the wife gave in to her husband's call of the flesh without fear of getting pregnant? A good relationship I believe is not measured on the number of times that a couple have sex. This too isn't an assurance that it will protect women. I'm afraid, this will even be a venue of exploiting us. You are taking pills, so I can have sex with you anytime I want for you are safe. Is this our idea of protecting women? I would rather go for the strict reinforcement of this marital rape law. Women empowerment must be emphasized here and not just submissiveness to a husband who is under the influence of alcohol.

I know I'm blabbering. My diminutive mind however can no longer grasp the arguments of both parties. Instead of the church giving emphasis on abortion and morality issues against the RH bill, why don't it tackle the issues on the success rate of this RH bill in the countries that already implement this? Was abortion lessened in these countries? Did it decrease divorce rate among couples and improved relationships? I don't think so. If this is their argument, maybe I would be one of those who will be supporting them.

Question is, at the end of the day, is this all worth it? Whoever wins, will this holistically upgrade the lives of the Filipinos? I just hope that everyone will be enlightened on this issue that they start to listen instead of talking. I'm a tax payer. I have the right to air my opinion. This is my blog so violent reactions must be reserved in your own cozy nook of a blog.=)

Nostalgic

If there's one word that can describe my day today, this would be it. I went to visit my alma mater to submit some documents. While walking along its corridors, I had this weird, overwhelming experience. I first set foot on those corridors exactly twenty years ago. I was a young incoming high school freshman then. I was with my mom that time, on our way to the guidance counselor office where the admission requirements were submitted. The corridor was a plain, finished cement with coleman jugs and stroller bags at the sides. Gradeschoolers just leave their things in the corridors while they played with their classmates. All these without fear that their stuffs will be stolen. That was the sense of security that each student had back then.

The corridor I was walking on was already tiled. If I can remember it right, this was tiled after I graduated from college. Everytime it rains these tiles get wet and boy where there a lot of college students who slipped on those corridors. I guess we were better off with that finished cement. since my classmates in high school even deliberately slide their way on those halls without fear of falling.

Other than the tiled floor, gone are the signs on the beams of the corridor's roof. Back then, I could almost memorize what was written on those beams. Now, I tend to forget them already. A La Sallian is a man for others....a La Sallian is etcetera etcetera. These stuffs actually. Today, those signs on the beams were replaced by huge tarpaulins on the sides (must be a way of covering the corridor from the rain.wehehe) The lines written on those tarps were almost the same though. Reminding La Sallians who pass those corridors how to behave.

The rooms where different too. Some rooms already have double doors with grills. I am no longer aware if the school is as secure as 20 years ago. Based from what I saw however, I think things have changed too in the security aspect. A number of buildings were also built on a previously grassy park. I could no longer see the tennis court while I was walking through that corridor because of the new infrastructures. The ever memorable tennis court where I used to play tennis after school. Why memorable? I was kind of conscious in my shorts then every time I play. There were only a number of us girls in high school that time, being the 2nd batch of girls when La Salle high school turned coed. The tennis court was very visible from the corridor and all boys who passed that corridor can see me in my shorts running after the ball. Even my high school crush noticed me then. I was playing doubles with a grade school kid that time. When I got out of the court, my crush told me that I was playing with his brother. I forgot who won that match but the ending of talking with my crush was a winner.hahaha Basically, the tennis court was very open to prying eyes.

As I was nearing the College of Medicine office, I passed by our old high school classrooms. They were now turned into college classrooms. The doors are still the same, with openings in it shaped as crosses. I forgot to check if the door knobs were the same though. Those kind where I learned to use a plastic card rather than keys to open them. If there was a skill in high school that I still have today, this would be it. Our quadrangle got smaller in area too. It was no longer a quadrangle where students gather for the morning flag raising ceremony. It was also during that time that us girls were always reprimanded by our assistant principal for a stinking comfort room.hahaha Since this area was already occupied by the college department, it's now an open space where I hypothesize, college students could get their daily dose of vitamin D since most of the areas in the campus were already covered.hehehe

Twenty years forward, I am now a young internist who came back to her alma mater to apply as a part time faculty of the college of medicine. The nostalgia that I had today even made me more excited for the said teaching job. This is just one way of showing my alma mater my gratitude for molding me into a kind of doctor and person that I am. No matter how my old school looks now, with all the improvements and new buildings, there lies a part of me within its walls. Same thing with me. No matter how old I've grown and how many institutions I went to, I still a have a green blood in my system.

Inspired

I have been feeling uninspired and idle for a month now. Truly when you oversleep you tend to be more tired and sleepy the whole day. This has been happening after my fellowship training ended. I just couldn't get myself to move and do something productive with my life other than sleeping. Yep! I sleep over my books and with the speed that I am running, I don't think that I will be able to finish all the topics that I need to read upon for my exam.

With this, I forced myself to attend our department's weekly conference so that I could force myself to study. I forced myself to hold clinics everyday in the afternoon so that I could earn some bucks and therefore get rid of the title professional bum. The universe must have cooperated too that I was bombarded with referrals from the residents in the government hospital I am affiliated in. In short, I was forced to make rounds with them in order for me to see the patients they're referring. I was saying "force" for if I would only let my idle self decide, I would choose to stay in my room and spend the whole day reading...errr sleeping actually.

Just when I needed the inspiration to get moving, thanks to my other favorite hobby, channel surfing for I came across the show Bottomline last night. Its guest was Fatima Soriano, an 18-year old, blind, Marian devotee. This girl has all the energy that I longed to have. She was so bubbly, full of inspiration, full of zest for life. Looking at myself, here I am, strong and able yet very lazy to use my God-given faculties. A slap in the face that was. The kind of slap that rises one from slumber though. Not those telenovela type that provokes you to slap back.hehe A slap in the face, a pinch in the heart, I couldn't explain what I felt but I knew that this girl made me cry.

Where in the world was she getting that energy, that kind of zest for life, that kind of faith? I was like her when I was younger. People close to me call me their angel. I'm serious. I was even recruited by the nuns in my highschool to join their congregation.wahaha What happened to that young, energetic and full of faith girl then? Did she turn into a pathetic doctor whose life seems suspended in mid-air? A doctor who grew horns and tail instead of halo and wings? Is that what I have become after all those trainings, hardships and challenges I went through in achieving my dream?

After finishing my last leg of training, my life landed on a plateau that not even my upcoming diplomate exam would scare me and force me to study. Shame on me. Shame on me for it took a blind girl for me to wake up from my long slumber. I have a short life to live. Eventhough I have reached that dream of mine, I know that my career as a health care provider is just starting. My life does not end here. I know that I need not waste my time in bed for when I'm dead, I'll surely be sleeping forever. Thank you Fatima for the inspiration. Thank you to the Big Guy Upstairs for sending angels to inspire me. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a bucket list to finish.=)

Resurrect

It's been more than year since I posted something here. I have been wanting to post a new entry but there were a lot of reasons that hindered me from doing it. First, blogger has gone Chinese a few months back. I couldn't understand any of the tabs that I tend to memorize what those tabs were for. Afraid that I might mess up big time with my blog account, I forgo with the idea of posting something. Second, fellowship training consumed much of my time. Third, morphine served as my human trash bin that all I need to do was to talk to him rather than going online to post something. Lastly, there's facebook where I could post my short rants through my status.:)

I realized though that the therapeutic effect of blogging on my heart and on my psyche is way different than the substitutes I've found. One, there's this feeling that I have emptied everything out after posting something. The thought that this blog is a bit "private" than facebook and that shedding some negative thoughts in here could not affect other life forms unless they read my entries (at their own risks), make me more comfortable in expressing myself here.

I am supposed to make a new blog account. You know, leave all the negativities and all the rants of training behind. Now that I am in private practice, and have gone "instantly" more mature after I was released from my training institution, my posts may be more mature and more optimistic now. For the sake of "continuity of care" however, I've decided to resurrect this blog and continue with what I have started. After reading some of my old entries, I had a good laugh at myself on how I evolved from a whining resident to a less-whining consultant.hahaha Nah! It felt good to read old stuffs. They served as measures of my growth as a person. If I leave them behind in this old blog and start a new one, there would be no point of comparison on how I was behaving a few years back to the present.hehe

Now that I'm juggling my time between my practice and my review for my diplomate exam, I know that I will be able to post an entry here quite often. There may be some changes with the way I think and feel. Since this is my trash bin, my whinings shall predominate this blog still...a bit milder though I suppose. There's something that didn't change with how I blog however. I still post lengthy entries.hehehe

Beachy

Exactly four years ago, I took this pic in Bora. When your knowledge though on how harmful the sun is on one's health increases, you definitely will spare the beach. Hah! Rationalizing again for having no time to hit the beach this summer! Subspec training...training...what have you done to me? =)

Sleeping Beauty

Just got home from a sick leave. I did have the nerve to ask my bosses for a sick leave. After one year of fellowship here in the jungle of Manila, I finally decided to put an end to my recurrent tonsillitis. If not for my mom threatening me that it might lead to rheumatic heart disease, i didnt decide on this one. Now, im on my 3rd day post-tonsillectomy and I'll be back to work tomorrow. I didnt want to announce it here at first but i just want to immortalize in this blog on how good Bro really is. Anyway, Mom already started the text brigade for me that even if I would want this surgery to be discreet, everyone else knew about it. How did I find out? My aunt was with me in my hospital room when she received the text from mom. Mom's style worked too I guess.

I left Manila on the 17th and I got admitted straight from the airport. My OR was scheduled first thing the next day. I have already contacted my surgeon before i filed for a leave. People were wondering why I chose to go home when I am working in one of the best hospitals in the country. My only reason is - there's always an advantage when I'm in my homecourt. I want to be with my family. I'm more familiar with the people and the system in my hometown.

Early morning of the 18th, an orderly came to fetch me. All I could remember was I said goodnight to my parents after the nurse administered the midazolam. The rest were a blur. I had my first lucid interval and my first memory of my ordeal when i was already in the recovery room. A former intern came to my bedside and greeted me. I remembered saying "hi" then i once again drifted to sleep. I guess my anesthesiologist also tried to wake me up and I remembered thanking him. I didnt even had a glimpse of my surgeon or how the OR looked. I was asleep all along.

I was very lucid when I was already in my room and that was already late in the afternoon. Well, I could talk after my surgery. My pain threshold's quite high I guess. Thanks to the tramadol drip too. It made things easier for me to bear.

On my 2nd post-op day, I was discharged. My surgeon and my anesthesiologist gave me clearance and was surprised for my recovery. Well, if I'm bound to fly back to Manila soon, I dont have a choice but to act well.

Things happen as a breeze. Bro made things happen for me. I know that I couldnt thank Him more for what He's done. Enumerating those things here is I guess one way of thanking and praising Him for everything.
1. I was granted the sick leave
2. I didnt have a difficulty in scheduling for my OR
3. I had a good and comfortable hospital room
4. I was asleep during the operation and couldnt even remember that it happened
5. I was intubated! But then at least I didnt find myself in that state of being intubated or else I might have panicked. I was already on oxygen cannula when I woke up in the recovery room.
6. I feel less pain...just a bit of discomfort in my throat.
7. I was on ice cream diet!!! the best!
8. My surgeon's and anesthesiologist's fees were on courtesy!
9. Philhealth shouldered almost half of my hospital bill.
10. Ive got a very supportive family...my mom was with me all the time when I was admitted. Tatay's the errand boy bringing stuffs from home to the hospital.
11. Ive got visits from people who cared.
12. From the OR to the RR, Ive got previous interns who are now residents who took care of me.
13. My first experience as a patient was a good one. At least I finally felt how comfortable it is to sleep on a hospital bed without minding the time.
14. The best thing too was that the thing that i dreaded most didnt happen. People were threatening me that I might be catheterized since Ill be on general anesthesia. The first thing that i checked out when I was lucid was if I feel any discomfort down under and I felt nothing.hehe

Now, Im back to my feet after 3 days. Will be back to work on my 4th post op day. I just hope there will be no patients in the out patient tomorrow. I know I need to rest my voice for some time. Unless texting is allowed in talking with my patients. Anyway, thank you Bro! Thank you too for those who offered their prayers for me.

SUNny

I hope i'll be able to regularly post stuffs here after I switched my ISP to what else but the reigning network in my area. G and Sm step aside and stop comparing yourselves on who's the fastest for I am now happy with the speed of my broadband. I can now at least send a powerpoint file via email and can download files at a rate I didnt experience from my previous provider. At least i dont get to sleep while waiting for the web pages to load. I can now go bloghopping and leave or reply to comments. I'll be back to blogosphere and everything will be back to normal for me! Yipee!

Ooops! I forgot about the toxicity of this fellowship thing. I hope I still have the time to do all these stuffs I've just mentioned. It's now back to reality for me...back to work.hehe