Jojie's home!!!

Jojie's home now! He was discharged from the hospital yesterday. I am so, so, so happy, I can't stop smiling.

I'll post a longer kwento tomorrow. I have a wedding kasi that I'm preparing for (back to the real world).

Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who texted, called, tagged, emailed, sent cards, visited, and prayed for Jojie's recovery. We are humbled by the support we received and very much grateful for everything. Thank you.

Fourth Day

It has been a really good day. Jojie's spirit was up today. Probably because it's the first time he's not attached to an IV so he can move more freely. He was very cheerful today. Nakakatuwa kasi he's his old self again.

Because I've been so tired the past few days and because Jojie slept late last night, we woke up late this morning. I was awakened by Maye's text message asking what time she'll send Nik, our helper, to the hospital. I called her and we chatted for a while. Told her about the internet articles I read about hyperthyroidism and she offered to bring her books to the hospital so I can read more on it.

By the time Mama and Papa came by to visit at around 9am, Jojie was still sleeping. They didn't stay long, just made sure that we were okay.

Jojie and I were looking forward to today because of his scheduled thyroid scan. Although we won't have the results by today, knowing that we'd be doing the test itself felt good. Our nurse for today, however, gave us the not-so-good news that Heart Center's thyroid scan machine is not yet assembled. Sa sobrang bago, walang nakakaalam kung paano i-operate. They told us that we have to go to St. Luke's for the procedure. That was okay with us but we later learned that since the ER is understaffed, there's no doctor who can accompany us to St.Luke's. The nurse told me that we can go there by ourselves but I didn't like the idea of just the two of us going to St. Luke's. What if something happens? What if his heart palpitates or his blood pressure shoots up? So I opted to just go tomorrow when we can be sure that the ambulance with the doctor will be available.
The rest of the day passed by quickly. Maye and Nik arrived in the morning. They stayed for the whole day since I had a scheduled meeting in the afternoon. My meeting was originally set at 1:00pm in Makati but when I talked to my client, they were okay with moving the meeting to QC. I was really grateful. Dahil nahiya naman ako sa kanila, told them I'd meet them in Morato para at least hindi super out of the way for them but Geraldine was even the one who offered to have the meeting nearer to the Heart Center. Thank you so much, Ge and Luigi! *hugs*

Was also able to run errands for my husband. His projects kasi are still on top of his mind and since I couldn't ask him not to think about his work for the time being, we compromised that I'd finish the task he wants done but after that, he'd relax. The problem kasi is his heart is affected by the hyperthyroidism. This is the reason why his heart palpitates or why his blood pressure increases every once in a while. Kaya rin may medication siya for the heart. My mom explicitly told me that I should take care that Jojie doesn't get too stressed. So I figured tatapusin ko na lang yung kelangan niyang gawin para pagkatapos, wala na siyang reason para magpaka-stress over it.

My mom and I agreed today that I won't rely on the nurses anymore to give Jojie's evening meds. Minsan kasi pag nakakalimtan ng nurse ibigay sa morning, okay lang kasi npapa-alala ko pero sinabi na sa akin ni Mama na I should be the one na lang para sigurado talaga ako sa oras kahit na sa gabi. What brought this about was Jojie's passing comment that he was given the med for 6am at 5am. Since it's the med for the heart, ayoko sana na hindi maayos yung pagbigay kasi Ninang Zeny also takes the same med and she said that she was hospitalized once because of wrong dosage. Masyado namang bumagal yung heart rate niya. Nye! Ayoko namang mangyari yun syempre. So tama, ako na lang.

As I mentioned above, Maye stayed the whole day. Super nakatulong talaga that Maye was here. She kept us entertained (hahaha! parang dancer!). Okay kasi si Jojie with my siblings so kwentuhan lang sila. When I went to the meeting, si Maye yung naiwan with Jojie and since Maye is also studying Nursing right now (due to graduate next March), hindi ako nerbyos to leave Jojie with her. Thanks, sis! Mwah!

On a more salbahe note, I was able to retrieve the car from the nearby hospital's (East Ave Med Ctr) parking lot today. I was actually scared that they already towed the car since I left it last Saturday pa. Hirap kasi ng parking dito sa Haert Center so dun na lang. Buti na lang pagbalik ko, andun pa. Funny pa, last Saturday when I got it, I paid P150 for overnight parking (from Friday to Saturday). Tapos kanina when I got the car, I was prepared to pay P300 for two night's parking but since theparking ticket just indicated the time (3:30pm) and not the day and I left the parking lot at 8:30pm, the guard just asked me to pay P35.00!! I actually felt guilty. It's a government hospital and I know they need the additional funds but heck, I also need the money right now.

I have to go. It's 10:30 pm and I have to wake up at 1am to give Jojie's med then we also have to wake up early so we can prepare for our trip to St.Luke's. We're leaving at 9:30am and JOjie needs to fast pa for a few hours prior so maaga siya kelangan to be able to have breakfast pa. But before I go, I'm so happy right now because Jojie and I started a novena to the Divine Mercy together. :)

Good night.

:)

THIRD DAY

This is becoming harder and harder. I made a really major booboo today. I gave Jojie a shampoo and a sponge bath. Since the dextrose stand was too high, I had to step on a chair to reach it. I accidentally moved the hose and the IV needle was dislodged (or at least Jojie attributes what happened to the needle to what I did). He was furious at me. At first, the nurse told him that the needle was still in place but when he was given Benadryl intravenously, he was in such excruciating pain that he knew something was wrong. When we told the evening nurse about the pain in his hand, she made a simple procedure to make sure that the needle was still in place. Ang dali pala namang malaman kung in place pa or hindi,nainis ako na hindi ginawa nung day nurse! It turned out that the needle was in fact dislodged and had to be transferred to the other hand. Because they knew Jojie was violently opposed to having the needle transferred (plus the fact that Tita Normie requested that the IV be removed asap), the resident doctor just decided to have the IV removed. Hay!

Although I was endlessly apologetic about what happened, Jojie could not be appeased. I know it was my fault but I wasn't able to rein my temper that I snapped at Jojie. I know Jojie's going through so much so I should be more patient but I'm also physically tired and emotionally, I'm still anxious over what's happening to my husband. The good thing was we were able to talk after and he was able to tell me for the first time that he's having a difficult time. That is a big deal you know, to be able to say out loud what he felt. We were both able to verbalize our fears. I think this litle spat came at the right time. In hindsight, it helped us to be closer during this trying time.

On a more cheerful note, Ninang Zeny (one of our Principal Sponsors and Jojie's favorite tita) came to visit with Randy, her son. Kwento-kwento lang. Yun nga lang, when they visited Jojie wasn't in a very good mood (come to think of it, he wasn't in a good mood all day anyway so okay lang yun).

Called Abie in the evening to update her. Nakakatawa kasi although my mom and my sister reads up on hyperthyroidism, it didn't occur to me that I can also do that. But because Abie told me that she's been surfing the net about thyroid abnormalities and then she mentioned something about the procedure being used to treat hyperthyroidism (thanks again, Abie!), I was inspired to read up on Jojie's condition. I connected to the net using the hospital's phone line (Hahaha! Naka-tie up lang yung line the whole time I was surfing the net) and read up on hyperthyroidism and the usual treatments being done. Reading really helped us understand and put together the bits and pieces the doctors have told us so far. Mas hindi na ako nine-nerbyos kasi alam ko na yung nagyayari. Although hindi pa rin definite what's really the cause of Jojie's hyperthyroidism (I hope it's just a simple thyroiditis and not something serious), nakaka-empower talaga pag alam mo na.

Jojie and I surfed together and I read aloud to him what we were able to find out. I think it's the first time nag-sink in sa kanya what's happening to his body. He was subdued for a while but was better after we talked.

Tomorrow is Jojie's thyroid scan. Yey! At least we won't be in the blind for long.

Second day

It's our second day here at the Heart Center. I woke up at 4:00am to check on Jojie. Before I can get up, I realized he was also awake. He said he was awakened by my stirring (which I couldn't understand since I was pretty sure I didn't make any significant noise). I got up and asked if he was feeling okay. He said he was okay; he just needed to go to the bathroom. Before assisting him up,I checked his dextrose and this is where I screwed up. The lights were still turned off and since I just came from sleep,I mistook the micropore tape as the level of the liquid inside the dextrose bottle. Since I thought the bottle was till half full, I proceeded to assist Jojie in getting up. Before going backto bed, Jojie noticed that the hose attached to the IV needle had about 3 inches of blood;the dextrose bottle was already empty! shit! I was instantly awake. Went to the Nurses' station to inform the nurse. It was actually his fault because he wasn't able to time the IV drip properly so the bottle emptied long before it was supposed to (about four hours before it was supposed to, in fact). The nurse changed the dextrose and fixed everything up. By then, I was really watching everything to make sure that things were how they were supposed to be (as if I'd know the difference but still... hehe! Basta I just made sure that there were no bubbles inside the IV hose).We went back to sleep and was next awakened by the arrival of Dr. Navarro and Dr.Sabido, both neurologists. They just asked Jojie if he still had a headache. When Jojie replied in the negative, they left us to sleep again. I got up after several minutes to start the day. I had a pretty good sleep considering I was just in the couch. :)

My mom called and I asked her to bring some stuff for us. I forgot to bring some necessities like a small knife, sponge and dishwashing liquid, an all-around basahan, etc. It's a really good thing my parents live just 15 minutes away from the hospital.

A really good surprise came next. Candice, one of my closest friends and my Maid of Honor, called from the U.S. She got my text and was worried. Good old Candice! Sobra ko na siyang miss. Although we also didn't see each other much when she was still here,iba pa rin na nasa ibang bansa na siya at ang layo niya talaga.

After an hour, another neurologist came, Dr. Yumul. She explained that the paralysis was caused by low levels of potassium which was in turn caused by an abnormality in Jojie's thyroid. She said that they will still perform more tests to pinpoint the problem exactly. She performed a neurological exam on Jojie and okay naman. When she left, Jojie and I felt much better that the problem was really caused by a thyroid abnormality and not by a kidney problem.

After the doctor left, Jojie called his dad. Since I could see that he wouldn't be able to tell his dad that he was in the hospital, I had to be the one to explain to daddy everything that has happened. He asked me why I didn't inform him earlier and I didn't know what to say except "I'm sorry po. Magagalit po kasi sa kain si Jojie eh. Sorry, 'dy." My father-in-law was understandably upset. And although Jojie repeatedly told him that he should not come to Manila anymore (he lives in San Pablo, Laguna), I had the feeling he'd be over here in no time. My mom and sister arrived after 9am with everything I asked for and McDo longganisa meals for us (with Milo, of course, for JOjie). My mom helped me arrange the stuff in the room. I really, really appreciate everything my mom's doing for us. Thanks, mama!

My mom left after an hour. Maye, my sister, stayed behind but had to leave after several minutes to run errands for me (had to send a marriage contract to a church for a client and since I couldn't drop by the church, for obvious reasons, Maye just sent the documents through courier and I just coordinated with the church to make sure that was okay. Buti na lang mabait yung taga-church office).Lunch time, Daddy arrived from San Pablo. Sabi ko na nga eh! He was really worried about Jojie and we had to assure him that Jojie's okay na. Further tests just had to be done to My mom arrived after lunch. She wanted to be here when Tita Normie makes her rounds but decided to just go home after an hour. She'd just call Tita Normie in the evening, she said. Before she left though, Kuya Alex arrived to get the Eastwood longest buffet tickets. Since I had to get the tickets at home, I decided to drive Mama home. When we were in the car, my mom asked me how I was doing. I could see she was worried about me. Kasi nga naman nakita niya akong umiyak kahapon and she was worried how I was doing. Told her I was okay, much better than yesterday. It felt good to talk about my fears and how I felt. I remember a topic we discussed in class before, Taking Care of the Caregiver. Kasi di ba when you take care of a patient in a hospital, everybody's focus is on the patient (rightfully so) but then everybody also forgets that the caregiver (the spouse or the parents or the children) are also very stressed and very worried and very tired.

After I dropped Mama off, I went home, took a shower, and got the tickets. God! I miss home!

Went back to the hospital. Tita Normie made her rounds while I was away but she was also in a hurry that Jojie wasn't able to ask her much. Kinamusta niya lang si Jojie then she had to go. Nakakatuwa na kahit na hindi na siya yung doctor ni Jojie, she still makes it a point to visit. Maya-maya, Daddy and Kuya Alex left na. So it was just me, Jojie, and Kuya Jon, Jojie's older brother who also arrived when I wasn't around.

Then, Dr. Manalo, an endocrinologist, arrived to explain to us what's realy happening to Jojie. Yey! The paralysis was really a result of low potassium levels in JOjie's muscles. Although the potassium level in his blood was normal, Dr. Manalo said we can't be too sure that the level in his muscles is, too, since this can't be measured. The low level of potassium is, in turn, caused by hyperthyroidism, an overproduction of T4,a thyroid hormone. This, in turn, can be caused by either thyroiditis, an inflammation of the thyroid, or thyroid hyperactivity (i forgot the medical term for it). If it's the former, then we'd just have to wait for the swelling to go down but there's a chance this can recur again. If it's the latter, then we have to remove Jojie's thyroid through a non-invasive process, something radiation. It's actually just a series of pills you take and presto, the thyroid will be gone.While waiting for the test which can determine which really is the problem (this will be on monday), medication will be given for Jojie's heart (two more effects of hyerthyroidism are heart palpitations and increased heart rate) and for his muscles (potassium supplement lang). He can eat anything except food rich in iodine. It felt so good to know what's causing all these. Parang it's half the battle na.After a while, Jojie was given the potassium supplement and the heart meds. Nye! He has an allergy pala to potassium! Nangati siya ng nangati so he had to be given Benadryl to combat the allergic reation. He was also having chills. After the benadryl, he experienced diziness naman. Hay, ang hirap. Naawa ako kay Jojie.

He was able to rest after that. He slept for several minutes until his friends from La Salle came to visit. They had Jollibee delivered so Jojie ate dinner again. He enjoyed naman his friends' company. Pag napapagod siya, pumipikit lang siya. Towards the end, they just watched UFC. You know guys, give them a very violent game and they'd be happy. Victor and Paul (and their wives) left after a couple of hours and we slept na. The end of another long day.

Jojie's confined in the hospital :(

It had been a really loooong day. We are here at the Phil. Heart Center where Jojie is confined right now.

Overview:
Jojie had a few episodes of not being able to move his legs when he would wake up. He said it's just gout and that his Kuya also had it. He further said that I shouldn't worry because he would be okay in a couple of hours. Kahit anong pilit ko that we should go to the doctor, walang nangyayari. He would agree while his muscles ache but when once he's okay, he would ocnveniently forget our visit to the doctor.
This week and Thursday:

Last Sunday, We checked in at the Linden SUites and stayed there up to Wednesday. After that, we transferred to Astoria Plaza naman, supposedly for just one night and check out again the following day, Thursday. When we woke up Thursday morning, Jojie's couldn't move his legs and arms because of pain. His back also ached. Since we assumed from experience that he would be okay in a couple of hours, we were not too alarmed. I informed the front desk that we would be staying for another night. Jojie and I just stayed in the room waiting for him to be okay. We just watched news and a James Bond movie. As the day progressed, his condition got worse. I went to a nearby
drugstore to buy liniment but it didn't do any good. Early evening, my mom and Dindon, my brother, went to Astoria since my mom needed to print a file from my computer. Everything was okay. We had dinner delivered since Jojie nga couldn't move. As the night wore on, my mom got more worried and decided that would sleep over. Around 10:15pm, Mama called our family's doctor, Tita Normie. Tita Normie has been our family's cardiologist for years now. Siya na nga rin ang doctor ng Daddy ni Jojie. Galing na, ang bait pa. She asked for the symptoms and prescribed two pain relievers, a mild one and a strong one. Jojie's supposed to take the mild one first then if it doesn't relieve the pain, yung malakas naman after an hour. Tita Normie also said that Jojie should have MRI as soon as he can move. Mama and Dindon went to the nearest Mercury Drug to buy the meds. They got back at 11pm na. Gave JOjie the mild pain reliever and waited for an hour for the pain to subside. Nung hindi pa, gave him the strong med and went to sleep na. That was past 12 midnight and I was pretty confident that he would be okay in the morning.


Today:
Woke up at 4pm. No improvement. I was so scared. The possibility of this being something to do with the spinal cord kept crossing my mind. Went to the bedroom, curled up beside Mama (they slept in the room while Jojie and I slept on the floor at the living room), and cried my heart out. I couldn't imagine how life would be like if something happens to Jojie. Mom consoled me, said that everything would be okay and they would be there to help us. She knew how scared I was. We agreed that we would go to the hospital as soon as possible.

She called Tita Normie at 5:30am. Tita advised us to go to the Heart Center asap (this is where Tita has her clinic). Mama arranged for the Heart Center ambulance to pick us up but the ambulance would be available at 8am pa. We then scouted for other ambulance services and thankfully, we found one which can pick us up immediately.

Prepared Jojie for the hospital. Syempre and asawa ko, ang primary concern was Dindon would be late for school. When I toldhim that we'd be going to the hospital, he replied, "Hon, hindi pa ako nakakalakad. Pano tayo makakaalis dito?" Didn't tell him that an ambulance was on the way kasi hindi siya papayag.

Mama helped me fix our things. She was also the one who went to the front desk to check out and settle the bill. My only problem was the car. Since I'd be riding in the ambulance, I needed someone to drive the car to Heart Center. I scanned my phone book. All my friends have 8 to 5 work and I was hesitant to ask them to go to Astoria to get the car. I needed someone who (a) had a business of his/her own, (b) had no work for the day, (c) had a driver, or (d) worked but with a flexi-time sched. I had three people in my shortlist. Victor, Jojie's friend from college; Jonathan, my friend from high school; and Abie, my friend from W@W. Called Victor several times but since he is in the liquor shop business, he usually goes to bed at 3am; thus, it was not surprise that he was still sleeping. Called JOnathan. Was so surprised that he was awake. He said he could do it but after lunch
pa. Jonathan manages their family's hotel so I'm sure his schedule was also full. Told Jonathan that I'd call him if I don't get to contact another friend who can do it earlier. Then I called Abie. She
would normally still be sleeping that early in the morning so I was so surprised when she picked the phone with, take note, a very alert voice. Told her the situation and asked if she could help me with the car. She said she would send Mang Al, her driver, to get the car at Astoria and to bring it to Heart Center. Good old Abie! Super, super, super thank you talaga, sis!

The ambulance got there after a while. It was my first ambulance ride and hopefully, my last.

When we arrived at the ER, Jojie was examined and re-examined by the doctors present. Various lab tests were done to ascertain the cause of his paralysis. By then, he could move his legs about two inches from the bed. Tita Normie arrived and gave us a preliminary diagnosis. Familial Periodic Paralysis. She had to go kaagad so she just assured us that everything would be fine. A spinal cord problem had been ruled out so we're okay na.

Jojie had to be admitted so we had to wait for a vacant room. The waiting line for a room at the Heart Center is notoriously long so I braced myself for the wait.

Jonathan texted me, cOnfirmed my new surname and asked me to look for his sister who's probably on duty that time. Since I didn't really know his sister, nahiya naman ako to just look for her out of the blue. After half an hour, someone called my name, it was Jen, Jonathan's sister. Siya pa yung bumaba sa ER to look for us. She explained what Familial Periodic Paralysis meant; Jojie had low levels of potassium which resulted in the loss of muscle strength. She said that the next step would be to determinewhat causes the low potassium level. It might be a kidney or a thyroid problem.
The best thing was Jen helped us get a room. We were number 3 in the list. Thank goodness she was there or else, goodness knows how long we would wait for a room.

Abie arrived to keep us company. She had Mang Al drop her off at the hospital then she gave Mang Al instructions to retrieve the car from Astoria.

We were given a room around 11am. Buti na lang sa ground floor lang. I really like this hospital. Maganda, maluwag, efficient ang staff, and the price is very reasonable. Abie stayed with us na until afternoon. She just worked on her cases using her phone and Jojie's laptop. :)

Went home in the afternoon to bring all our stuff from the 5 nights hotel stay (ang dami nun!) and to check on our place na rin. I got so sad when I entered our door. To think that just a couple of days ago, Jojie and I were joking that it'd be nice to not go home and just live in Linden forever. Now, I just want to go home as long as Jojie were with me.

Went back to the hospital after fixing our place. I passed by the supermarket to buy some supplies and Jollibee Pinoy Burger Steak for Jojie. Also bought him this month's FHM to keep him busy. I still
needed to run a few errands for clients but I learned that Jojie has a headache so I rushed back to the hospital. Dr. Esguerra, the cardiologist of Jojie's HMO, dropped by in my absence. He said that
the problem was most likely caused by a thyroid problem.

Right now, Jojie and I are just waiting for the visit of his sister. She'd be dropping by anytime now and she has the medicine for Jojie's headache (the medicine they prescribed for the headache was not available in the hospital pharmacy so I had to ask her to bring it since I couldn't very well go and leave Jojie alone).

It had been a really long day. At least Jojie's leg and arm movements have been steadily improving since he was given potassium so I'm not as worried anymore. I just hope they determine the real cause behind all these soon.

japanese mayo

i wanted to buy japanese mayo the other day so i can make kani salad but the stocks in Cherry (a really good [read: cheap and complete] supermarket near our place) of the jap mayo were only in 1 liter packaging. nye! ang laki! ang mahal pa man din, P155.00 yung pinakamura!! i still wanted to buy it... hindi ko na lang pinapakita yung price kay jojie, hehe! but when he saw me put it in the grocery cart, sabi niya doble gastos daw yun kasi pwede naman ordinaryong mayo. duh! hindi yun pwede no! ang layo ng lasa! pero dahil mahal nga at i'm sure pag nalaman niya kung magkano yun, hindi talaga siya papayag, i put the mayo back in the shelf. i told jojie na hindi ko na rin bibilhin yung kani (i already got one earlier kasi) but he said na kunin pa rin daw namin kasi pwede naman yung ladies choice.

kanina, i wanted to eat kani salad for afternoon meryenda kaya lang wala nga akong japanese mayo (although i already made california maki before using ordinary mayo at okay naman, feeling ko dit hindi mag-wo-work). pero dahil gutom na ako, i got the kani and ate two pieces. i just dipped it in soy sauce, kalamansi, and wasabi. yummy but i really wanted to eat salad. so masama man sa loob ko, i tried ladies choice mayonnaise. i got iceberg lettuce, cucumber sticks, and kani (wala ako nung orange fish eggs eh, hindi available sa supermarket). tapos i topped it with ladies choice. i mixed it and tasted it. eeew!!! lasang mayonnaise! hahaha! then i had a sudden inspiration, i put a little of the soy sauce-kalamansi-wasabi sauce in my salad and voila! ang sarap! so for dinner later, i'll be serving lechon kawali and kani salad! yey! :)

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for those who are interested in making homemade japanese mayo, here's the recipe:

3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1-1/2 oz (50 g) white miso *
1 cup salad oil
salt to taste
sprinkle of white pepper
a pinch of grated yuzu**, lime, or lemon peel

* miso is salty paste of fermented soy beans. It is available in Asian markets and some health food stores. White miso is used for soups and dressings.

** yuzu is a Japanese orange used only for its rind. Kaffir lime used in Thai or Malaysian food is an alternative, as is lemon or lime rind.

Beat the egg yolks and lemon juice with a wooden spoon in a bowl. Continue to beat, adding the salad oil a few drops at a time until the mixture begins to emulsify. Keep on adding the rest of the oil, then stir in the miso and the seasonings."

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If you're not sanay making mayo from scratch though, mejo mahirap ito at nakakangawit. I remember my mom making homemade mayo when I was small. and the few times na pinakialaman ko siya, nasira ko yung mayo! hahaha!

i'm blogging again!

been so busy the whole month of september that i neglected my blog. and as expected, after a period of not being able to blog, i tell myself, never again! (of course, i know that when i get busy again, i won't be able to blog again as much as i want to... haaaay!).

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if there was a device which can directly blog my thoughts, siguro super blogger na ako. i've composed hundred of blog entries in my mind!!! posts about things as mundane as our latest diet (perricone diet... it's really yummy! fruits, veggies, and food rich in omega-3 and antioxidants) or as luxurious as my dream european itinerary are in my mind all the time.

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i want to go to boracay! we're planning a trip to boracay... sana maayos namin yung sched namin... at syempre sana kayanin ng budget! hahaha! and habang naghihintay, i'll just be content looking at mai's pictures.

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we're going to a walking tour of intramuros tomorrow. i'm so excited!!!