New Lifeline

August 24, 2015 Monday

I am thankful to a friend of mine who probably had seen my post re the medicines I’ve been taking supposedly to cure my pneumonia. He said Zihtromax may not be able to cure me. He suggested that I go see a pulmonologist. I tried contacting the one he recommended at St. Luke’s Global. It was past 5 pm and I was already in panic. I called St. Luke’s Quezon City and asked for a referral. The operator connected me to the clinic of a certain Dr. Franklin Yu, a specialist in pulmonary and chest problems.

He holds clinic in QC from 1-4 pm which was a big relief. When I asked the secretary if by any chance he also holds clinic in Cardinal, she said yes. Every morning from 10-12. That is a real bonus because going to Cardinal is faster from my house.

I was panicking and feeling so distraught, thinking that I’ve been sick for 11 days and it looks like I am not getting any better. Parang it’s worsening. Clearly, I have the wrong medications. I should have been better after 5 days. I started crying and crying. Edmund panicked also and offered to have me admitted to the hospital.

I told myself, hang in there, just one more day till you see this doctor. Maybe he’ll give me a new lifeline. Maybe he has the right medication for me.

My friend, who is connected with St. Luke’s, did some background check on the credentials of Dr. Yu. He got a good feedback.

I started preparing the things for tomorrow in case I would be confined in the hospital. My x-ray film and printed result, my prescriptions, two dasters, towels, etc.

Edmund slept at the study room so I could sleep in our bedroom without aircon. He was already suffering from very bad colds. kawawa naman.

I went to bed with a mixture of fear and hope. I fear for my life because I could die of untreated pneumonia and complications. There’s also hope that if I reach the doctor’s clinic alive, I would be well to recovery.

August 25, 2015 Tuesday

I woke up this morning looking so haggard and sick. I looked horrible in fact. I couldn’t help but shed a tear or two. Naawa ako sa sarili ko. My eyes were so lifeless and around it were dark circles. Pwede na ako pang horror movie.

My husband insisted on accompanying me to Dr. Yu’s clinic. He was anticipating that I would be confined.

I got ready, sobra pa akong nag-shampoo and body scrub in anticipation that I would not be able to take a bath for a few days while in the hospital. Ayaw kong tanungin na naman ako ni Edmund kung naligo na ako. Kaya kailangan mukha talagang ligung-ligo. Yun tipong kuluntoy na ang mukha sa tagal ng babad sa tubig.

We waited for about half hour before I was seen by the doctor. I could hear his consultations with two of his patients and he liked to explain the conditions in detail. Parang professor.

He also explained to me the haziness and the white lines on the x-ray.

My latest selfie. Kahit sino pa tayo, kahit si Bongbong Marcos, Si Jodi Santamaria, si Grace Poe, or si Ariana Grande, or Daniel Padilla, pare-pareho lang tayo ng itsura, mukhang kalansay.

I was given a new set of medicines. Zemfix (antibiotic), Sinecod Forte (antitussive), Co-Aliva (antihistamine, etc).

I was also given a throat spray to curb the pain and itchiness and maybe to cure me na rin of whatever. It’s also anti-inflammatory.
He said our brain precursor cannot distinguish between pain and itchiness. My throat is painful but the brain thinks it’s itchy.

I was sent home because doctor said I don’t have bronchitis and my lungs are clear. I do have atypical pneumonia, also called walking pneumonia.

I went to bed with a renewed hope that when morning comes, I would feel a lot better.