The Unknown

My day started with a call from my doctor's secretary to let me know that they were in process of reviewing my scans. After that I went on my usual routine. Breakfast, drink my medications and I usually read after breakfast. I skipped reading to take care of some documents for my doctor. 

Things drastically changed by noon. I had an emergency to attend to. Good thing it's a good day for me and I was able to provide the support Sweetie needed. I'm back home now and just resting. We were not expecting what happened today. It made me realize that you can never predict what could happen in a day. 

The unknown can be a scary thing. It can make you panic. Good thing my Mom taught me how not to panic during stressful situations. My Mom's secret? Praying and trusting God. That's what I held onto throughout the ordeal I've gone through in the last few months. It's what I'm clinging to now that we're going through another bump in the road. 

CB///364  #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/27 #StayHome #BeKind

Foiled

I had a good idea about what i wanted to blog about today, but I've been having a hideous roll of headaches and migraine the whhole day. My doctor said, "Let's terminate it now!" Ohhh, it did for about two hours and then it came back.

So now I'm in a semi-dark room trying to blog on my tablet while watching super cute puppies on BBC. My grand post got lost because of the headache. Oh well, maybe tomorrow will be a better day. 

CB///272 #StuckAtHomeDay/302 #StayHome #BeKind 

Muffin Time and Positivity

Day two today at the hospital and it is supper time. Auntie brought in a muffin and Milo. This is what I was looking forward to all day haha.

It's been an exhausting day with the tests and treatment. My doctor hopes we're on the right track because he said I'm a special case (it's complicated hehe). Looks like we are because my breathing has been okay. Once this is resolved I hope the giddiness will be gone too, that's imperative before I can go back to work.

I had Sweetie bring me the books I ordered from Manila. I was so busy today I haven't gotten around to reading it. Hope to read before I go to sleep. I should probably stop watching BBC Earth noh? Since we don't have cable this is a channel I usually watch when I travel. Got to keep learning! 

I'm so grateful a number of Pinoy nurses are on my floor. They come in every so often to check on me. Sometimes it's hard to describe what you're feeling in English! I remember the nurse at the other hospital who was so worried that not all my allergies were listed. I ended up having more flags on my bed dashboard lol. I hope by the end of this ordeal I can send something for the nurses who took care of me in both hospitals.

My other doctor messaged me to send some reminders and said, "Keep positive!" He told me before how amazed he is with my spirit. A few years after my surgery he said they almost lost me and said he believed that it was my fighting spirit that got me through. I've overcome several illnesses that have high mortality rates, so I should be able to get through this small hump soon enough. It's just weirdly taking so long.

I'm on a strict diet right now, but since muffins make me happy I wonder if auntie can give me more heehee. 

CB///271 #StuckAtHomeDay/301 #StayHome #BeKind 

Whoops I Did it Again

I know its not good to start the year like this.

I'm back in the hospital again. I just went in for my follow up consultation, but since I've been unwell my doctor decided to keep me in to figure this out properly. 

Please pray for me.

CB///270 #StuckAtHomeDay/300 #StayHome #BeKind 

Discharged!

Staying at the hospital is really exhausting. At the ICU, I'd wake up hourly because the blood pressure monitor would turn on every hour. At the regular room someone would also come in often. Since we had a breakthrough last night, I asked my doctor if i could go home.

Before I could go home, I was still assessed by an additional doctor. Within a minute of waking up, she was assessing me and then the other doctors arrived too. I only got to pee two hours later LOL. I must've looked hideous.

Got cleared to go home by one in the afternoon. Luckily, we still got served our lunch. Hospitals used to have this bad reputation serving tasteless food. I think I gained weight during my stay because food just kept coming non-stop. Check out what I had before going home.

The ride home was a bit stressful since the Grab driver drove so fast. I couldn't even spin any Pokestops! I remember that time I went home after heart surgery. I clutched on to my chest because I was scared it would open up haha. 

Arrived home before two and we both promptly fell asleep on the couch. I'm on medical leave until month end and doctor's order is to rest. Christmas is going to be definitely quiet this year.

Grateful to all my doctors, nurses, radiologists, and health practitioners who took care of me. Will follow your orders :)

CB//253 #StuckAtHomeDay/283 #AdmittedDay5 #StayHome #BeKind

Will Mostly Be Offline

It's day 4 at the hospital for me. I now have four doctors taking care of me. I feel much better today and hopefully can go home tomorrow. 

Further investigation is still being done and may take until month end. My doctor wants to put me on an aggressive rest treatment and asked me to go offline for now. I'm on a mission though to complete 365 days of blogging so will just post updates here through my blog.

Tata for now.

CB//253 #StuckAtHomeDay/283 #AdmittedDay4 #StayHome #BeKind

Early Staycation?

Woke up this morning feeling nauseous and asked help from Sweetie to message my doctor. I was concerned that the change in medication is what has been making me ill. He suggested we go to the A&E.

And that's how I ended up having a staycation errrr getting admitted at the hospital. I'm in good hands so please don't worry. 

*My finger above looks like I'm phoning ET (80s kids ftw!).

#CB//250 #StuckAtHomeDay/280 #StayHome #BeKind

The Unexpected Rhythm

Started my day really early today, but after three meetings I just suddenly felt dizzy. Thought it would be gone after resting for 10 minutes and had to take the rest of the day off. 

It was an unexpected arrhythmia episode I guess. I'm still not okay despite napping most of the afternoon. I was supposed to have physiotherapy today so I checked in with my PT via Whatsapp. She suggested I keep my feet up and monitor for swelling. Yup, legs were swollen when I woke up. Sigh. 

My PT did warn me though that recovery won't go smoothly since I've also just transitioned to new meds. It's just so strange for me since I even went to bed earlier last night. 

Pray for me?

#CB//246 #StuckAtHomeDay/276 #WFH164 #StayHome #BeKind

Thank You for the Hugs and Love

I was feeling so unwell yesterday and asked hugs from everyone. After I asked for the hugs I went offline and focused on finishing work and rested after. I was so surprised this morning when I got an outpouring of hugs and messages of love from family and friends. Thank you from the bottom of my repaired  heart <3

Showing your support for us who get sick helps a lot. It makes us feel we're still needed and does wonders to our fighting spirit. My doctors believe so much in me I forgot to ask for some rest time. My friends here were telling me I should have taken a break. I'm so busy at work right now it did not cross my mind to ask for some rest time from my doctors. I figured since they only gave me dizzy meds I'd be okay after resting during the weekend. Not. 

I'm still oddly lucky because despite all these mishaps I never had to stay in the hospital. And that's a big thing for me. I dread having to stay in the hospital especially during this time. You also don't really get enough rest at the hospital since they check on you every other hour. So I'm grateful that I'm able to hold up even with my complicated body. 

Tomorrow I am scheduled to do some tests. I hope and pray that the tests would be positive and help me with my quest to reduce my medication. If it works out it means I'll probably get off one of my medications next week! This medication has a lot of side effects. I think I can only get better when I stop taking it. We'll see :)

#CB//231 #StuckAtHomeDay/261 #WFH155 #StayHome #BeKind 

Why My Heart Went Whoopsies

I'm back to my usual cheery self after the staycation Sweetie and I had. My body is still recovering after my heart went whoopsies two weeks ago. My doctors ordered a lot of tests and they said my heart and lungs are okay. I was still baffled though what really happened. 

My heart went whoopsies because I had a viral infection. It's a mystery how I got it since I rarely go out. I could only trace it to a taxi driver who was coughing really bad when I boarded his taxi (he opened his window, pulled down his mask and coughed). Unfortunately the virus affected my heart and caused other issues. And that explains why my immune system was so angry. 

Whatever it was that afflicted me my body combated it and my mind eventually shooed it away. We have been taking all precautions, but I still picked up a virus. I was advised to just wear a fabric mask and that's probably how I picked up the germs. My other doctor advised it's better for me to use a surgical mask since it could protect me better. 

I'm feeling much better now and went for my physio session today. My PT said we'll take it slow until I get confident again. My doctors said I have nothing to worry about. I just need to eat well, get enough sleep, exercise and be happy. Next week I will have some tests which will hopefully show that I can get rid of one of my medications (the one that's making me heavy in the last two years). 

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers and love. Hugs to all. 

#CB//223 #StuckAtHomeDay/253 #WFH149 #StayHome #BeKind 

Revenge of the Fifth

The moon is full outside tonight and this is one of those days I'd rather delete from the calendar. I missed my second alarm and woke up a bit dazed and worried that I may have missed my meeting. It was dazed when I got up. I told myself that maybe it was because I was having a weird dream just before I woke up. After I went to the bathroom I sat down on the couch to think whether I should go see a doctor or not. Sweetie then came out of the room and asked me how I was and whether I wanted to go see a doctor. 

I have been feeling some unusual symptoms since Sunday night. I thought it was just overfatigue from working 11-hour days since March and working to fix our new home during weekends. I took a sick leave yesterday to rest and by end of day yesterday I was feeling a bit better. I even checked my calendar to see my schedule for Tuesday. While sitting on the couch I realized that the heart is a delicate organ and it can betray you without any cause. I decided to see my doctor because work can wait and it's better for me to make sure there's nothing funny going on in my system.

Good thing I went to see my doctor. It wasn't just fatigue I was feeling. There's something wrong somewhere and my doctor had me do some tests today. I'm also on a holter for the next 24 hours to check if there's anything irregular with my heart's rhythm. I've been doing so well for a couple of months now. Working long hours probably took it's toll on me. I'm on forced rest for the whole week. I hope and pray that it's just fatigue and nothing serious. I guess Papa God is telling me to get some rest for now. 

I used the title "Revenge of the Fifth" because today my body revenged on me. It's what it does whenever I've had too much. And, yes, I'm also alluding to the revenge of the Sith in my country. They shut down the largest broadcast company during a pandemic. It's just truly unbelievable what some people can do because of greed. God please save the Philippines. 

#CB29 #StayHome #BeKind

Healing and the End of the Age of Indulgence

After hearing the first few bars of Freddie Aguilar's "Anak" when I boarded the taxi early this morning I knew that it was going to be a really good and happy day. I told the uncle taxi driver that I was surprised he was listening to a classic Filipino song. He said that it's good to start the day with good songs. He went on and on and at some point of our conversation I found out he was Catholic. Another surprise.

I asked him how and why he converted to the Catholic faith and he said that he was a bad husband. His wife left him because he (pointing to his mouth) was abusive. His wife moved in with her sister in law who was Catholic. She advised her to pray the novena and uncle mentioned that when he was alone he just had the urge to go to the church near his home. He went there and sat at the last pew, not really knowing all the practices we do in church. He realized that he had to go back to his wife. He did and told her that he wanted to become a good husband. They continued to hear mass and then eventually they converted.

Uncle went on to tell me that he had already visited the Vatican. He said he prayed for it and he managed to sell enough cars to buy a ticket to visit the Vatican. He's also visited quite a number of other places and he said that God gives you what you wish for when you pray for it. He's also had a heart attack and several surgeries but he's pulled through because of his faith.

Ask and you shall receive. Pray. That's what I did when I was in so much pain after my surgery. I honestly thought I wasn't going to make it because the pain made me want to give up. But I knew I had to be strong for my boys, Miguel and Jay, because I promised them that I would get well. It's been a struggle the last few months, but I'm happy to say the saga has reached its happy ending.

I had my sixth month check-up last week and both my doctors (cardio and surgeon) have declared that I have fully recovered from mitral valve surgery. I still feel a bit odd at times, a bit unbalanced, but surviving a huge event, climbing Borobudur and being able to do a lot of other stuff now (there are times when I feel I have so much energy!), tells me I'm good to go. Ready to rampa! Ready to take on my mission again.

And today I just felt so inspired from the uncle taxi driver's story. He wasn't born into the faith that he embraced when he was older, but in less than 30 minutes he managed to inspire me and bring me back on the right track. I also feel that God got him to drive me today because I've been missing my Dad the last few days. I've been wanting to hear from him and get guidance on my next steps because he always did that for me. He was my guiding light.

The age of indulgence is over. Time to diet. Eat more healthy and stop shopping!

Thank you Lord.