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.