The Challenge of October

I miss writing. I miss putting my day’s accounts. I miss writing my daily views, feelings, triumphs and cries.

I have been so so so busy. I still am. I have been listing my To Dos in my wall and it seems not to decrease a single bit. I have been juggling school, work and personal problems.

Tough October
October was a tough month. With Ondoy and its aftermath in the first few days, school was put off for the entire week, pushing the school to extend. My prof didn’t adapt though as he squeezed everything to our exhaustion. I have to deal with a take home exam with a 12 hour grace period, final presentation of the laboratory project, Work was also tough with all the reports needing your undivided attention. Almost 7 reports has to be finished and passed on time.

It was also tougher with Mel getting sick. He was running a fever for an entire week after Ondoy. Not that we have been flooded. But he trudged the waist-high waters coming home from school in the height of Ondoy incident. It all started with a bite in his knee, then the fever that has no reason of being there…The fever wasn’t subsiding and so we decided to get some test, blood and urine, but everything was normal. Unitl the 6th night when he was already having chills because of high fever. The following day, he was very weak and wasn’t up to going to school. He was pleading of going to the hospital and get admitted.

So I sent text messages to Frank informing him of my absence and my dilemma. We intended to go to East Ave Medical but on the way while in a cab, we were thinking of how public it was (as the looks of it), we decided to go to New Era General Hospital. Although it was an Iglecia ni Cristo hospital, we were quite relieved that they administered health and welfare services to non-INC. We requested to have some tests, again blood and urine. And after so, we discovered that his platelets are no longer at the normal range. We were advised to get admitted in their hospital.

Funny was, there was no available room for male adults in their Men’s ward. But since Mel was still 18, he is could still be considered minor, a child, so they put him in the pediatrics ward with 3 other boys the oldest I think was 8 years old!

All throughout the day, Mel’s fever seem not to drop… and he had chills so very often. Mama arrived around 7pm after taking a 4pm flight and a very long bus ride. And I was quite proud of my mother for her courage and strength to go through everything alone.

I went home around 9PM since it could only be one guardian to stay with the patient at the hospital.

Mel was released 2 days after and was recommended for home medication and rest.

What was so superb about everything is mama’s composure and strength… She seems to be very calm about Mel’s situation especially when she arrived at the hospital. Although she has been frantic all day texting me for updates, I was sure proud that my mother has come out strong and triumphant like a champion that she is.

Double Celebration
When Mel was released, it was also the end of Rolan’s Board Examinations. He took the Mechanical Board Exams while Mel was in the hospital. We couldn’t tell him of Mel’s situation because it would definitely worry him and would cause trouble for his board exams. So the news came to Manong when we were in search of results of his board exams.

So we were checking the internet from time to time until my brother called excited at the other end of the line. His opening line to my mother, “Ma, may engineer ka pa gid nga isa!!!”

Of course my mother was jumping about the good news… My brother is not the studious type. He is brilliant but lacks the belief that he is. So for a long time during his schooling years, he doesn’t excel and sometimes gets failing marks. But we always believe that when he puts his heart and soul into what ever he does, he will come out victorious.

I love it when my brother told me when I got hold of the phone, “Day may partner ka na!!!” Hehehe! Now I call him Engineer while he returns the title back to me.

to be continued..