What you don't know won't hurt you

Especially when knowing won't really make a difference.

About a month ago I went home from work feverish and weak. I took a quick shower to cool down. Had orange juice and a banana and then told Patty I'd just take a short nap.

By midnight I already had a sore throat. And the sniffles. And a bum stomach.

I was sick. Clearly. With all the tell tale signs of the flu.

The obvious question came to mind: Was this the dreaded A H1N1 flu?

Patty was understandably concerned. Media after all constantly told us that the disease was more dangerous for those with pre-existing conditions like diabetes (me), the young (Gabi and Bela) and the old (not me).

So she quickly separated me from Gabi and Bela. She gave me paracetamol for my fever, lozenges for my sore throat and lots of orange juice for my bum stomach.

First thing the following day, she brought me to the hospital emergency room.

The guard was obviously given strict instructions on how to deal with coughing and sneezing incoming patients. He didn't allow us entry and instead curtly pointed us to a solitary desk under a makeshift tent situated nearer the driveway and farther away from the hospital entrance.

Quickly donning a surgical mask, the male nurse greeted us with a blank stare, motioning for me to sit on the lone plastic chair conveniently placed a good foot away from the desk.

A barrage of questions ensued.

"Cold and cough?"

Yes.

Body aches?"

Yes.

"Sore throat?"

Yes.

"Diarrhea?"

No.

"Vomiting?"

No.

Then my temperature was taken.

"No fever," the verdict was read by the obviously relieved nurse who then scribbled his findings on a piece of paper which he then handed to me.

We were told to go to the Out Patient Department. We were now worthy enough to enter the hospital.

And so there in the OPD we had myself listed and waited for my turn. Which came almost an hour later. If I wasn't sick earlier I certainly was now after being made to toil in that hot, crowded, muggy waiting room.

The young doctor asked the same questions.

"Cold and cough?"

Yes.

Body aches?"

Yes.

"Sore throat?"

Yes.

"Diarrhea?"

No.

"Vomiting?"

No.

Again my temperature was taken. Again, no fever.

The doctor took out his prescription pad and jotted down "paracetamol" for my aches, "lozenges" for my sore throat and "lots of liquids" to prevent dehydration.

"That's it?" Patty asked.

"How do we know it's not swine flu?" she could not restrain herself anymore.

"Oh you'd have to go to RITM or East Ave to find out. We don't have the test facilities here."

Great. We spent more than an hour in the hospital only to be prescribed what we were already doing: paracetamol, lozenges and lots of liquids.

And no way was I going to waste another hour or so in another hospital just to be tested for a disease that was easily treatable. What good would that do? I already felt discriminated against just because I had flu symptoms. How more would I be treated if the test indeed confirmed I had swine flu?

Patty was already doing everything right. My flu was being treated. The kids were kept away and were given larger doses of vitamins.

We were not being irresponsible.

There was no more need to know.

Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

In solitary confinement ...

I am. For at least the next seven days. Probably more.

I am now under room arrest. I've taken over Gabi's 3rd floor loft where I've temporarily set up shop. My computer and printer were brought in from the office together with that large plastic container of "urgent" work files.

Now I am beginning to understand the loneliness Erap went through while under house arrest in his palatial Tanay vacation house. It's not the lack of earthly goods that makes one lonely. Though I don't have Erap's swan pond and giant flat screen TVs, I do have the essentials: Wifi, my coffee press and accessories and my iTunes.

But being separated from Patty and Gabi, who are now confined to the 1st and 2nd floors. That is what really stabs at the heart.

I have the Shingles. Otherwise known as Herpes Zoster. Some form of adult chickenpox.

The rashes are all over my left back and extends to my left armpit and part of my left chest. (Pati ba naman sa sakit, e puro left side?)

To allay the fears of those I've gotten in touch with the past few days and to remove the naughty smiles and thoughts I'm sure some of you are now entertaining, here's a medical description of what I have. Straight from www.medicinenet.com:

What is shingles? What causes shingles?

Shingles is a skin rash caused by the same virus that causes chickenpox. The virus responsible for these conditions is called Varicella zoster. After an individual has chickenpox, this virus lives in the nerves and is never fully cleared from the body. Under certain circumstances, such as emotional stress, immune deficiency (from AIDS or chemotherapy) or with cancer, the virus re-activates causing shingles. In most cases, however, a cause for the reactivation of the virus is never found. The herpes virus that causes shingles and chicken pox is not the same as the herpes virus that causes genital herpes (which can be sexually transmitted) and herpes mouth sores. Shingles is medically termed Herpes zoster.

What are symptoms of shingles? How long does shingles last?

Before a rash is visible, the patient may notice several days to a week of burning pain and sensitive skin. Shingles start as small blisters on a red base, with new blisters continuing to form for three to five days. The blisters follow the path of individual nerves that comes out of the spinal cord (called dermatomal pattern). The entire path of the nerve may be involved or there may be areas with blisters and areas without blisters. Generally, only one nerve level is involved. In a rare case, more than one nerve will be involved. Eventually, the blisters pop and the area starts to ooze. The area will then crust over and heal. The whole process may take three to four weeks from start to finish. On occasion, the pain will be present but the blisters may never appear. This can be a very confusing cause of local pain!

Are shingles contagious?

Yes, shingles is contagious. Shingles can be spread from an affected person to children or adults who have not had chickenpox. Instead of developing shingles, these people develop chickenpox. Once they have had chickenpox, people cannot catch shingles (or contract the virus) from someone else. Once infected, however, people have the potential to develop shingles later in life.

Shingles is contagious to people that have not previously had chicken pox, as long as there are new blisters forming and old blisters healing. Once all of the blisters are crusted over, the virus can no longer be spread.

Dengue kills

Here's forwarded e-mail from a friend. Natalie is the daughter of Ed Feist, a former client of Basic FCB and a good friend of my late father. My condolences and prayers to Mr. Feist and his family.

Many a grim tale has been told about the dreaded dengue. Here’s another one, as shared in an e-mail:

This evening, we attended the wake of Natalie Corrales Feist, only 17 years old. Her mother Rosa is the sister of Pilita Corrales and her father Ed Feist is the head of a big pharmaceutical company in Manila.

Natalie was studying in Australia and had come home to Manila to spend the Christmas holidays with her family. What started only as a stomachache progressed to malaise and fever that turned out to be the deadly dengue fever which snuffed out Natalie’s life in such a short time. Natalie was an only daughter and the youngest of three children. It was indeed so sad to witness the grief, the sadness, and the pain of losing such a wonderful daughter and so pretty at that. The priest saying Mass also mentioned about another young girl of 15 who also died recently.

A couple of years ago, my nephew who was only 28 years old and was to be married, also died within a short time after he contracted dengue. He was an only son.

Dengue kills. Let us not wait for it to get out of hand and claim more young lives. As my own small contribution to help increase people’s consciousness of this disease, allow me to share the warnings below. Many people are not aware that in their own homes, there are dangerous places where mosquitoes breed.

Please take note:

• The bromeliad plant has beautiful flowers, but they are deadly, because in between are pockets that collect clean water, which is where the dengue mosquitoes breed. If you have them, get rid of them or place them in pots so that after watering them, the pots can be turned over to remove the excess water. I have noticed that along Ayala Avenue in Makati and other roadsides, the bromeliads, which are very colorful, are often used by landscapers to brighten areas, etc.

The landscapers must be discouraged from using these plants, especially when they are planted in the ground, because they can cause an epidemic, as what happened in Cebu many years back. It was discovered that these plants were the culprits.

• Those that have bamboo fences placed over their concrete fences (as in many subdivisions) must see to it that the top is covered, because the bamboo crevices hold water and again become breeding places for dengue mosquitoes.
• I have just read on the Internet about a tip that was given at a recent gardening forum. Here it is:

Put some water in a white dinner plate (I suppose a small white platito will do) and add a couple of drops of Lemon Fresh Dish Washing Liquid. Set the dish on your porch, patio, picnic table, park bench, or other outdoor areas. I’m not sure what attracts them — the lemon’s smell, the white plate color, or what. But mosquitoes flock to it, and drop dead shortly after drinking the Lemon Fresh Dish Washing Liquid and water mixture and usually, within about 10 feet of the plate.

Try it, it works just super! It may seem trivial, but it may also help control mosquitoes around your home (especially in areas where the dengue- and malaria-carrying mosquitoes have reached epidemic proportions). It’s safer than mosquito coils ... no offensive odor and harmful fumes, no risk of fire.
This is all I can say, which may be helpful in controlling the rise of the deadly dengue mosquitoes. Let us all try to do our part in our own homes and surroundings, so that by doing so, we can lessen dengue’s breeding places and save more lives.

Isabel F. Guevara
Magallanes Village, Makati City

In sickness and in health (Part I)

Gabi has been sick on and off for the last couple of months.

It all started early December 2007. Patty, Gabi and I treated ourselves to a weekend stay in Renaissance Makati (formerly New World Hotel). It was our wedding anniversary and we had reason to celebrate. We originally wanted to run off to a beach resort. But just the thought of organizing the logistics of a road trip discouraged me from pursuing the sun and sand idea.

The Renaissance seemed like a good choice. It had broadband in every room so I was happy. It's right in front of Greenbelt and all the shops and restos we QCers hardly get a chance to visit and so Patty was happy. It had a nice pool ("Two pools, Papa!") so Gabi was happy.

I had a Plan. Everything was scheduled, down to the last minute. Patty was to drop me off in Jupiter St. for a 1:30 pm meeting, check-in at the Renaissance and then walk on over to Greenbelt 1 to buy tickets for that evening's performance of Repertory's Fiddler on the Roof. Dinner and drinks in Casa Armas was to be the night cap.

Gabi was to spend the night in his Wowa's house and follow first thing the next morning. After buffet breakfast, we were to spend the whole morning in the pool. Lunch in Emperor Court before checking out at 3 pm.

We never got to follow the schedule. On our way to Casa Armas Patty already got a call from her mother. Gabi it seemed was not feeling well. He was matamlay.

"Of course, he is!" was my instinctive reply. "He misses us!"

Turns out he was ailing from something more than papa and mommy homesickness. Mother-in-law dutifully reported his true state of health at 6:30 am the next day.

"He made suka twice last night and his poo poo is wet."

Now we were worried. We got Gabi on the phone and asked him how he was.

"Fine... But where are you, papa? I thought we were going swimming. I want to be with you and Mommy," was his weak reply.

"Come on over then, anak. Elias and the black car will pick you and yaya up and you can come here."

Patty and I quickly shifted to Plan B. The morning swim was definitely out of the picture. We went to Mercury and bought what we thought was needed: pedialyte, bottles of mineral water, fresh juice and a thermometer. The plan was for Gabi to be at our side so that we could assess his condition ourselves and then call his pedia for advice.

Gabi was asleep when the car drove up the hotel driveway. And the yaya was drenched in vomit.

I took him in my arms and we hurriedly brought him to our room. He was definitely matamlay. And was obviously in some sort of pain.

"Ouchy my tummy, Mommy," he didn't have to verbalize.

Patty quickly tried to cheer him up. "Look, baby," pointing at the complimentary fruit basket in the room. "Want some of your favorite oranges?"

"Yes, Mommy. I want." His face lit up at the suggestion of food.

And he quickly devoured three small slices.

We gave him juice to drink but he wanted water instead. He finished a whole bottle. We took his temperature. No fever but higher than normal.

It was then that we tried to contact his pedia. We sent her a text message. To both cell numbers she left in her calling card. And the long wait began.

Meanwhile, a somewhat revived Gabi sauntered to the window and saw the pools on the roof deck a few floors down.

"Two pools, Papa! Two pools. Let's swim!" he gleefully proclaimed as he scampered for his swim suit.

Patty and I just stared at each other. How do you tell an obviously sick child that he couldn't swim even if he was looking forward to family time in a pool much bigger than what we had at home?

We eventually came up with a rather foolish compromise.

"Okay, anak. We will swim. But only for a while. Because you're sick," was my Solomonic reply.

"I am not sick! Let's go."

Besides, the pedia had not replied yet. So might as well let Gabi have his cake.

So off to the pool we went. And had fun! For an hour, we played and laughed in the water.

We went back to the room, took quick showers, packed our stuff and informed Front Desk of our early check out. We had hoped that by the time we were on our way home in the car, we would already receive the pedia's instructions.

She never replied.

We got home, put Gabi in bed and shifted to Plan C. We called ER in Medical City and asked the resident pedia for advice. We were told to bring Gabi to the hospital for assessment. They would then text his pedia for instructions.

Huh? Text her? We already did! And we tried to call her but she wasn't picking up!

Did the ER have a special phone to contact Gabi's doctor? Much like Commissioner Gordon's red hot line to Batman? No use using the bat signal either. It was the middle of the day and the bright sun would have blocked off any SOS signal.

Time to shift to Plan D. I texted MY doctor, a cardiologist in Cardinal Santos who was my primary doctor and good friend.

He replied within 5 minutes.

"Bring him to St. Luke's. Not to the emergency room. Too much paper work. Straight to the lab and ask for a CBC. Bring urine and fecal samples too if you can. Do it at home so Gabi does not have to wait too long in the hospital. Have the tests done and bring Gabi home immediately. Just go back to get the results yourself. Have the pedia resident in ER interpret the results and then call me."

Huge sigh of relief. At least I now knew what to do.

We proceeded with Plan E and followed my doctor's instructions to the letter. I ended up going to the hospital four times that same afternoon. Once to bring the urine sample. Once to bring the fecal sample. And once to get the results. Gabi only had to go once, to have his blood taken for the CBC test.

That was gut wrenching.

Being a diabetic, I get to have blood extracted at least once every three months. And my stomach still turns and my heartbeat increases whenever I see the needle.

Gabi was very brave. He cried when he saw the needle. Mommy held his other arm and gently suggested that they sing the Moon song (Moonriver which is Gabi's favorite).

"No, Mommy, I want to count."

So count we all did as the lab nurse stuck the needle and drew blood.

"1 ... 2 ... 3 ... 4 ... 5..."

It was all over before the mandatory 8 count. Boxer Gabi who has always been a Manny Pacquiao fan won his first fight! By knockout too!

I returned to get the test results later that evening. My doctor had already called earlier to remind me to text him the results once I get them.

"Nothing to worry about", he said, a few minutes after I sent him the results.

"Continue with the fluid replacement regimen. Watch out for the signs of dehydration. And bring him to his pedia first thing Monday."

Relieved and suddenly exhausted, I said a quiet prayer of thanksgiving and drove home to be with mother and child.

I fell asleep right away. But not before already plotting Plan F...

More on Plan F, G and H in a later post.