The Long and Winding Road

This is one of my unforgettable trips - from my business trip to Baguio to trip to Makati Med.

My team mate and I went to our company's site in Baguio last Sep 25 (Thursday) for various meetings. It's been a while since I last went there so we extended our stay for just one day (Saturday). Since both of us have already seen the usual tourist sites, our focus is on 2 things - food and pasalubong.

Day 1 and 2 went okay - we did our work and ate good food (I will blog this in my Food Trip blog =)

Day 3 - Pasalubong buying day! We went to Baguio Public Market and bought a lot of stuff. We checked out of the hotel and deposited our things in our company's site since our bus to Manila was at 11PM. Since it started to rain hard, we decided to go around SM (a few minutes from the office), watched a movie and ate meryenda before we went back to the office at around 5PM.

We were just sitting in the conference room when I felt a stabbing pain in my lower right abdomen. This was around 6PM. I thought it might be due to the bibingka I ate (yup, katakawan ba). I drank a lot of water, hoping it will just go away. At 8PM, we decided to go to the Baguio Hospital since the pain is worsening. I can't even walk straight.

It was already 9PM when the nurses in Baguio Hospital got blood from me (it was pure torture - 3 attempts by 3 different nurses). Niway, the blood test and urinalysis yielded normal results and since I do not have any fever at that time, they have no idea what was wrong with me. Along with my experience with the hospital's rest room, I said to myself "Ayaw kong magpa-confine dito!!"

Off we go to the bus terminal and started our 6-hour trip to Manila. It was a good thing that I was able to sleep despite the pain but it started to spread to my stomach area.

At 5AM, bibi fetched me at the bus terminal in Pasay and thanks to my team mate's parents, they brought me Makati Med. Imagine, starting 5AM Sunday until Tuesday AM, no water and food for me (again, torture!!!) Niway, according to the doctors, the pain may be caused by uterus/fallopian tube problem or appendicitis. After the "Ob-Gyne" tests, which were normal, we were left with appendicitis. However, the surgeons cleared that it is highly probable that I have appendicitis but since I was not showing other symptoms aside from a spike in my white blood cells, they are not very sure. CT scans or x-ray will not help, according to them. Whatever is causing the pain, surgery may be the best solution. Since I am not taking any chances, if it is appendicitis, at least it will be removed before it ruptures. If not, then the docs can have a clear view. The result - both my appendix and a portion of my intestines were removed. The cause of the pain - an inflammation ruptured veins in my intestine. My appendix was fine. I now have two cuts in my lower right abdomen - from the hemicoleptomy (intestine) and appendectomy (appendix). The cut intestine is currently being "biopsied" (if there is such a word) but up to now, we are still waiting for the results.

I was advised by Doctor Michael Padlan, my surgeon that I will have to stay in the hospital for 7 days from operation. Here's my progress:

Day 1 (Sun) - Operation at 2PM; ended at 5PM.
Day 2 (Mon) – With catheter and in bed the whole day; but that did not stop me from talking a lot which resulted to kabag – wa!!
Day 3 (Tue) – After passing gas, I was put on liquid diet – ang sarap ng tubig at sabaw! Take note, gelatin is part of the liquid diet.
Day 4 (Wed) – No more catheter!; trips to the restroom in baby steps;
Day 5 (Thu) – LBM but diet changed to soft (rice, fish, meat, fruits with no fibers, etc); no more dextrose;
Day 6 (Fri) – Diet changed to regular (eat all you can na!!!) – side story – since all my meds are now taken orally, I was given a narcotic based pain killer (Oxynorm) – wow, man, I really got high – heightened senses but I can’t open my eyes and I was really feeling week.
Day 6 (Sat) – We can already go home! However, we were informed late in the afternoon. We decided to check out the next day.
Day 7 (Sun) – Went to our apt in Makati to get some stuff and then to Cavite. At least, my family can take care of me while bibi goes to work and do errands.

Now, at Day 22, I am still here in Cavite, recuperating. Per doc’s advice, I need a one-month bed rest. I am able to move better each day but I still walk slow, taking one step at a time to ensure I stay in my road to recovery.