Why Filipino Nurses are the Best

In the last few weeks I have been under the care of many nurses, most of them are Filipinos. I was honestly more at ease when it was a Filipino nurse tending to me (especially when they needed to draw blood). The first Pinoy nurse who took care at me at the ICU was Ate Benny. She has been working at that hospital for over 20 years already. She said she would have remembered me if she was around when I had heart surgery. It was the first week of new year so she was on leave that time in 2013. I really felt her concern for me and she made sure I was comfortable. 

Beautiful Thank You cards from Ms. Myna. 

The Filipino nurses I met were from different parts of the Philippines. From Valenzuela, Binan, Batangas, Iloilo, Bacolod, Davao and even Sarangani. They always spent time talking to me and I'd always share my favorite things from their provinces. They also shared how hard it's been for them since they haven't been able to go home for over a year already. They're just thankful that the situation here has eased up a bit and they're not as busy. 

Filipino nurses are the best because they show a lot of empathy to patients. When my arm was already hurting from the plot (that thing they stick on your vein with a needle), they looked for a doctor to properly place it on me (it's normally nurses who put it on here). They also understood my need to clean up in the morning and evening. And they always made sure I was comfortable. At the ICU, I knew they would check on me while I was sleeping (probably when my vitals were not good). And they were always on point for my treatment.

My cardiovascular surgeon has a lot to say about Filipino nurses. He said they are the best people to be with during a crisis. He said they are resilient, always full of good vibes, and they never give up. I think he was also referring to Ate Benny because she told me she's worked with him a lot. 

Happy selfie after visiting my nurses :)

So today I visited the nurses who took care of me at the ward and ICU. I brought them a nice thank you card and some chocolates. They were so happy to see me when I dropped by and wished me well. I thought it was important for me to show how grateful I was for their care. They work so hard and hope they would enjoy the chocolates I left for all of them. 

Of course, I am also grateful for the non-Filipino nurses. They also took care of me very well. In fact, the last nurse who took care of me made sure I wasn't hurt when she drew blood from my arm. She had a magic trick up her sleeve and I didn't even feel the 6 vials of blood she got from me. Haha. 

They are true heroes <3

CB///287 #StuckAtHomeDay/317 #StayHome #BeKind 

Road to Recovery: One Step at a Time

I never went back to normal after my first pulmonary embolism (PE) in 2018. It was really hard for me especially since part of my job requires me to travel. Many health articles say that it takes one to two years to recover. You also basically become allergic to exercise. Just before my doctor diagnosed my second PE last week I would be out of breath walking ten steps to and from the bathroom. 

Enjoying the fresh air by the pool.

The medication will not dissolve the clots in my lungs. With thinner blood it will hopefully disintegrate as blood flows or it can become a scar. The danger lies when a clot gets dislodged and travel somewhere where it blocks the flow of blood. It's like getting bubble tea pearls stuck in the straw. I did some research about post-PE exercise and it is a must. 

Yesterday I insisted on walking to the taxi stand. I didn't want a wheelchair because I wanted to see how far I could walk without huffing and puffing. It was adrenaline haha. I hope to go back to my physiotherapy sessions next week, but that would only work if I don't get easily exhausted (the first step is to commute to the clinic!). Today Sweetie accompanied me on a short walk to the pool. It was just a thousand steps and I'm now exhausted. 

My doctor told me to take it easy, but I have to work on getting my stamina back. I hope to add more steps when we go out for a walk tomorrow. I'm also doing some stretching exercise (more on the legs) to get my blood circulating properly. I'm also walking around every 30 minutes so my legs won't swell. 

Sweetie said we should set a goal so I can get myself moving more. We'll set this during dinner tonight :)

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Home Sweetie Home!

Thank you Lord I'm finally home after 11 days at the hospital. I'm so thankful my doctor followed his instincts and figured out what was wrong. It is the second time he saved my life. I am grateful to the teams of health workers who took care of me 24 hours a day, and the uncles and aunties who made sure I ate properly and kept my room clean. And thank you to Sweetie, Miggy, my siblings and friends who supported and prayed for me throughout the ordeal.

Today my doctor finally discharged me! At one-thirty in the afternoon I finally stepped out of the room and was greeted by so many nurses at their station. It was probably two shifts of nurses because they usually change teams at 2pm. It was so overwhelming because all of them were wishing me well. I wish I could send them something to show my gratitude. Maybe I'll bring something next week for my follow-up appointment. 

Now that I am home I will focus first on getting well. My doctor said to monitor my symptoms and immediately come back if I bleed. I bled a lot when my first PE was treated. I have to rest, eat properly and move around as much as i could. It takes months to dissolve the clots and one to two years to fully recover. I hope and pray it won't happen again. 

CB///280 #StuckAtHomeDay/310 #StayHome #BeKind

Don't Want to Clot Again

To be honest I did not really want to write about my ordeal. It is something very personal and only my closest friends know I've been sickly. It was on Christmas day when I started having severe asthma. I prayed to Baby Jesus to let me know what path I should go on next. 

The asthma attacks went on and I saw my doctor on the 28th. By new year I was in bad shape and I was admitted on the day of my follow-up checkup. Things took a serious turn when my doctor sent me for more tests and determined I had multiple blood clots in my left lung.

I decided to write about my ordeal because pulmonary embolism is very hard to detect. I suffered from it for 7 months before it was found after I insisted on getting a second opinion. I don't fall under the profile of people who are prone to PEs so it never occurred to my long-time doctors that it would happen to me. We all thought I was just having severe asthma and my lungs were clear as of mid-December. No one in my family had this issue, it can happen to anyone.

You can learn more about what pulmonary embolism is by watching this short video (please watch, who knows you may save a life) --

https://youtu.be/8UnPPZlnfbk

I'm part of a group of PE survivors. We provide support to each other because there's so many things you will go through when you have a PE. Joining the group helped me understand better what I was going through and the adjustments I had to make to have a better quality of life. You need to have a very strong will to survive a PE. It helps to have a strong support system of family and friends too.

I went through an additional test to check my brain today. My doctor wanted to make sure the blobs in my head are stable and not bleeding. I was really scared, but thankful it was a group of Filipino radiologists who took care of me today (actually the other scans too). They helped me relax by playing 80s music (Eternal Flame, Stand by Me etc). The blobs are stable. Whew! We still need to make sure I don't bleed from the medication. 

As a patient it is important to keep yourself informed. I started watching videos last night about what kind of nutrition plan I should follow and whether I could exercise already. There are a lot of resources online to understand dos and donts. If you have a loved one who is in a similar situation, it's best for you to be well informed too.

My doctor said he is sending me home tomorrow. That means he is happy now. Still have a blood test tomorrow and I hope my ddimer will be lower. I'm still out of breath and will have to rest to recover fully. 

Don't take for granted breathlessness. Pulmonary embolism is a killer clot.

Thank you for your continued prayers.

CB///279 #StuckAtHomeDay/309 #StayHome #BeKind

Voice Typing Today's Blog

Hi everyone! It has been a challenging day today. They had to switch my drip to my right arm. My veins are too small and keep swelling up, so I was told not to move my right arm for now. I'm right-handed so this is proving to be difficult.

I remembered that with Google Assistant you can use it to voice type. This is the first time I'm using it to blog. I remember that time I taught Lasallian Brothers in Rome how to use this feature together with Google translate. They said some of them had difficulty typing and some shared that it was hard not to have a common language to communicate with each other.

If my dad was alive today he'd be using this feature a lot. Growing up he used to ask me to type his writings but he had the most difficult handwriting to understand. Eventually I got used to it that's probably why Mom gave me his love letters to her. It's one of my treasures. 

Isn't technology amazing? What about you what new technologies are you using to make your life easier? What features have you used with your parents?

Happy Sunday everyone!

CB///276 #StuckAtHomeDay/306 #StayHome #BeKind 

It's Complicated

I was told after heart surgery I am one in one hundred thousand. It was funny because nurses, pre-med students flocked to my room to have a look at me. I didn't mind since I thought it could help someone they treat in the future. I even told my second opinion doctor that I may decide to donate my body to science once I pass. Seriously, yes. My family though would probably disagree. 

After PT yesterday. Must get stronger. 

I'm feeling a little bit sad today. I just read a summary my second opinion doctor wrote about my condition. She mentioned the term complicated a couple of times in the report. I've always known that my body is different from everyone else. It's an intricate system (don't worry I won't bore you with the details). My doctors told me I've been this way since I was born and it's never really bothered me. And I'm just grateful I'm still alive and can do to contribute. 

In a lot of ways I know I won't be me without being different. My doctor told me I'd probably be very different if I didn't have those tiny cavernomas in my brain. Sometimes though I cannot help but think, would my life be different if I had a normal body? If I did I would probably have more adventures. Maybe I'd be an extrovert. Maybe I'd be more friendly, more outgoing. I'd have more energy and be able to do marathons, climb mountains, hike, bike like crazy. 

But that's not me. God gave me this body, challenges, and mission. I will not have it any other way. I am thankful and grateful for all my family, friends and colleagues who understand that I am not physically strong like everyone else. They know that despite all the challenges I face physically that I give what I can. 

I thought I'd write this for all other people who are like me. Especially for those persons who have bodies that science don't completely understand yet. We are all created different after all. So just live the best way you can. Just love and live happy. 

#CB//230 #StuckAtHomeDay/260 #WFH154 #StayHome #BeKind 

Do you have a Battle Song?

Two years ago I was diagnosed with pulmonary embolism. I had a huge blood clot in my right lung and was the reason why I could barely breathe (full story here). I was shocked and I asked myself what did I do to deserve going through another illness that has a high mortality rate. I spiralled down into a black hole. Honestly, I just wanted Papa God to take me then. 

But I lived. And I think Papa God chose to let me live so I could share my stories.

Other pulmonary embolism patients usually get hospitalized until they stabilize. I didn't take a break and still went to work and my treatment was done through medications. A few days after I got diagnosed Sweetie pinged me and said he got free tickets for us to watch The Piano Guys. I wasn't really up to it, but I decided to go since they are one of my favorite musicians. 

The Piano Guys were amazing! I was so touched by their music especially when they played this song --

It's Gonna Be Okay

By end of the evening I felt the burden I was carrying lift. I truly felt everything was going to be okay. I was feeling tired today so I casted the song to the TV and immediately felt better. The song has that effect on me. 

What about you? Do you have a battle song? A song that immediately perks you up when you're feeling down? 

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It's My Second Clotiversary

"If untreated, acute PE is associated with a significant mortality rate (as high as 30%), whereas the death rate of diagnosed and treated PE is 8%. Up to 10% of acute PE patients die suddenly. Two of three patients succumbing to PE die within 2 h after presentation." (Source) 

I am posting my clot story to drive more awareness about the risks of having this disease. My doctors never thought this would happen to me.

Two years ago after multiple tests my doctor told me what was ailing me. I had a huge blood clot in my lungs. No one suspected it because my open heart surgery was successful and I had resumed regular activities with heavy traveling.

Enroute to the hospital for a test.

I suspected something was terribly wrong. There were nights I could barely breathe and I would sleep sitting up. I thought it was just really bad asthma. I would even put the air filter right beside my bed. I suffered through it for more than a year. I was already seeing another doctor for over a year when I felt the medications he was giving me wasn't help. I was also in and out of the ER every other month.

I honestly had to fight for myself. Because I wasn't getting well I went to a clinic to request for a referral to see a respiratory doctor. The doctor in the clinic told me that I'd probably get the same diagnosis -- acid reflux that was causing asthma. I knew something was wrong so I insisted. At that time it would take me 15 minutes to walk, take an elevator to the next floor and reach another meeting room at the office. It would usually just take 2-3 minutes to do that if you can breathe properly.

It took a few weeks before I got an appointment with my new doctor. When I saw him he ordered for tests to see if I had COPD. I had a flurry of blood tests, allergy test, xray and a CT pulmonary angiogram. The CT clearly showed I had a huge blood clot in my lungs. After that my doctor had me do another series of tests to determine what caused the blood clot. It was undertermined and I didn't have a DVT. It was only ten months later when the cause was determined (May Thurner Syndrome, read about it here).

I'm grateful I was able to visit Rome, but I should have probably taken a break to recover first. 

My doctor was meticulous and knew exactly how to get me better. He even allowed me to go to Rome three weeks after diagnosis. It was a bad idea, but I survived and after that my doctor because stricter with grounding me when needed. It was my urologist who told me I am very blessed to have lived through it.

2nd anniv check up.

Recovering from pulmonary embolism does not have a set timeline. The clot is gone, but recovery is very slow. I rarely go out because I don't have the same energy as normal people. I read that pulmonary embolism affects both your lungs and heart, so it really takes time to recover. I joined a group where patients share their experiences and no one patient is the same.

To be honest, heart surgery was the most painful thing I've been through, but I was much better in about six months. My lifestyle changed a lot, but I still got to do a lot of things. PE and May Thurner Syndrome is a different monster. It's been two years and the effect has been more severe than undergoing heart surgery. To my family and friends who have been supporting me the last few years, thank you. The love, care and understanding means a lot to me.

CB//163 #StuckAtHomeDay/193 #WFH111 #StayHome #BeKind