Philippines Vacation - Days 11, 12, and 13 (Rod Marfil, Tim Ho Wan, NKTI, Auntie Fermonaira, Auntie Faida, Tes Marfil

Dinner with Auntie Faida

Day 11 – Rodrigo Marfil then Dinner at Tim Ho Wan           

Thursday, Day 11 - The day after checking out the condo in Cubao, my brother Larry was off from work and he drove me around Quezon City to show me where places I knew used to be. He also took me to an area with high rise condos and shopping centers way past Ateneo de Manila University. The name of the location escapes me now. He brought me there because Ninette mentioned the previous night that some of her colleagues may be moving and selling their condos. Nice location but I had already made up my mind about not buying.

Rod Marfil at FilMar Auto Trends

We then visited one of our cousins- Rodrigo Marfil at his automotive repair shop. I didn’t recognize him at first because he had lost so much weight. Apparently, he got sick a few years back and never gained his normal weight back. Last time I saw him was in high school where he was the bass and snare drummer for the Notre Dame of Jolo Boy’s Department band. His claim to fame at the time was that he was never absent from school from elementary all through high school. After reminiscing briefly about our days in Jolo, we bid him goodbye. Interesting note: Rod and all of his brothers and sisters have been single all their lives.

Tim Ho Wan dimsum

Larry and Ninette had planned on doing some grocery shopping in Trinoma, another shopping center a few miles away. I thought we were going to do that, then go home to have dinner. I asked them if we could find a place for a snack between then and dinner but they said that we were going to have dinner at a place called Tim Ho Wan, a Michelin Star awardee. Larry went to do the grocery shopping while Ninette and I went to SM (Shoemart) so I could buy more pastillas to take back to the U.S. 

Afterwards, we proceeded to Tim Ho Wan and was seated shortly thereafter. While waiting for Larry, we checked out the menu and Ninette told me what their specialty was. The award they received was mainly due to their meat bun (bao or pao or siopao) which instead of having a soft covering, had a crusty one. Larry was stuck in the grocery store so we ordered ahead. Larry arrived a few minutes later. I had been hankering for congee for a while now, so I had that for starters. We ordered the meat buns, chicken feet, and others that I no longer remember. If I find the receipt later, I’ll just add it to the list. I had to agree that the crusty bun was very good and it was the first time I’ve tried what they call Adidas (the chicken feet). Well, that was indeed a great meal and while I’m no foodie, I think the Michelin star was well deserved. We brought home some of the meat buns for the others who weren’t able to join us.

Day 12 - NKTI & Lunch with Auntie Ferm

On Friday, day 12, we took Pilaring (Ninette’s mom) to see a doctor at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute for blood tests and an X-ray since she had been having an ongoing cough. NKTI was where Larry had his dialysis and kidney transplant 2 years ago. Ninette is his donor. While Pilaring’s tests were being done, I did my workout by walking along the perimeter of the hospital and even ventured out in the traffic of East Avenue. Then I went inside the hospital to look for Larry, Pilaring, and Vangie.

Lunch with Auntie Ferm and Alain

For lunch, we had arranged to meet with Auntie Fermonaira Carpizo Labiano at a Thai restaurant in SM Aura. Auntie Ferm is a retired nurse from Abu Dhabi who now lives near SM Aura. She is a very animated woman whose walk reminded me so much of her mom, Lola Taram. A few minutes later, one of her sons, Alain, arrived and joined us. Auntie Ferm seemed to know everyone in the mall and joked with the owner of the restaurant and the servers, and did the same when we later went for coffee at another restaurant. She cooked and brought us a special Tausug dish called pianggang which we took home afterwards. Thank you so much for the pianggang Auntie Ferm, as we rarely get the chance to eat it anymore.

After saying out goodbyes, we went to pick up Robynne from her school in Makati, then returned home.

Day 13 - Early Dinner with Auntie Faida

On Saturday, Day 13, I pretty much lost track of what I did in the morning, but in mid afternoon, Larry and I drove to Maharlika Village in Taguig to meet with Auntie Faida Carpizo, an older sister of Auntie Ferm. She was going to serve us more Tausug food along with another cousin, Tes Marfil who lived with her. She first served us daral for snacks and when Tes came later, she had the satti and pastil. They also had cucumbers and sambal, plus more pianggang cooked by Auntie Faida this time. Our cousin Farid, who owns the house came home shortly along with Alain whom we met the previous day. I haven’t seen Farid since he was a little boy and still living with his parents in Quezon City back in the early 70’s. With smiles all around, photos were taken and the food was enjoyed by all. Thanks for the feast, Auntie Faida, Tes, and Farid.

Satti, pianggang, pastil, and sambal

Meanwhile, Larry was getting phone calls from home about Pilaring having some sort of medical episode, so we had to leave Maharlika Village and head back to NKTI to meet with Ninette, Pilaring, Robynne, and Vangie at the doctor’s clinic. Pilaring’s lab results and X-ray indicated pneumonia so she was ordered to stay at home and rest. She was none too pleased with that since there were plans to go to Tagaytay the next day.

Larry's Transplant And What Happened Afterwards

There is nothing routine about surgery and that is a given. It doesn't matter how skilled the surgeon is and how many he or she has done, you can never predict the outcome. Every patient reacts differently to the procedure. You hope that everything comes out well with minimal or no complications.

                Thursday mid-morning, which was about 1:30 a.m. in the Philippines, I got a text message from Ninette. I had been waiting for an update about Larry’s kidney transplant but didn't expect it that late, so it must have been urgent. I called her back and Ninette’s sister Tika answered. I don’t exactly recall the chronology of events as related to me by Pica, but she told me that Larry had complained about having difficulty urinating and they found out that a blood clot was blocking the urethra. While the surgeon was taking care of that problem, it was discovered that Larry had some bleeding from an unknown source and had to be rushed back to the operating room. This is where it gets confusing to me. As I understand it, when Larry’s anesthesia wore out in the recovery room, he woke up confused and started tearing out his IV lines and whatever else was attached to him. Because of this, the nephrologist thinks that the donated kidney from Ninette might have been traumatized that it would take longer for the graft to heal. The surgeon later informed Ninette that when they were taking care of the bleeding, they noticed some unidentifiable fluids which was not blood. Could it be leftover bile from Larry’s gall bladder which was also taken out at the same time as the kidney transplant?

                Larry was then sent to the ICU after the bleeding was stopped and was kept sedated. An endotracheal tube has remained in place and at that time he was considered to be in stable/critical condition, which sounds like an oxymoron. I hardly slept that night worrying about his condition. I received another text message Friday morning requesting me to call. This time I was able to talk to Ninette and she said Larry needed more blood transfusions plus dialysis because the electrolytes weren't clearing fast enough even though the new kidney was already producing adequate urine. Otherwise he was more mentally alert. That was a brief relief which enabled me to pass out Friday night and sleep till early Saturday morning. When I turned on my phone, there was a text message from 4 hours earlier. I immediately called back and Ninette said that during Larry’s dialysis, his blood pressure dropped to 80/60 so they had to stop. He was also having tachycardia (rapid pulse) going up to between 160 to 180 beats per minute. To add to that, he had developed a slight fever, which in his immunocompromised state is not good news. Remember he had to take a lot of immunosuppressant medications prior to surgery to lessen the possibility of rejecting then donated kidney. However, his doctor said that using signals, Larry had asked him how the new kidney was doing. The doctor told him that it was working, which apparently brought tears to his eyes.

                Ninette appears to be recovering quite well physically. She had been allowed to sit up in bed the day after the surgery. But of course she is experiencing a lot of emotional duress due to Larry’s condition. To make it worse, she couldn’t visit Larry in ICU because she had developed a cold. I continue admire her for her love and courage despite what is happening. In case you don't already know, she donated one of her kidneys to Larry.

The last six months or so, I was concerned about my brother ever since he said he had end stage renal disease, but only in these past few days that I've worried so much because of the challenges for Larry which keep on popping up. Just like last year with Mama before she died, I dread every phone call, text message or email that comes bearing news of another setback. I have to remain positive for my brother because if he is fighting, the least I can do is keep myself together. It's just a helpless feeling. You want to solve it but you can't. In my mind, I keep on exhorting Larry to keep fighting, hoping that mental telepathy works with prayer. Otherwise, what else can you do except trust the medical staff to do their job in trying to make him well? Larry has already made so many major lifestyle changes so he could qualify for this transplant and it seems unfair that he has to go through these complications. It makes me scared to think what else is coming around the bend. I’m hoping for better news at the next update. Please…
          Newsflash 7/28/13 8:47 A.M. : Robynne, Larry's niece just posted an update on Facebook which I'm copying and pasting here: Hi everybody. Ninong is doing so much better today. The slight fever he had yesterday is now gone, his BP is back to normal, he is responding really well everytime they lower the pressure on his ventilator, although his heart rate is still irregular, it is not zooming up anymore. If he continues to respond well to the doctors lowering the pressure on the ventilator, they will take it out tomorrow morning and he will be out of the ICU in the afternoon and if he stable after that. His new kidney is doing well too. Thank you so much for all the prayers you have been offering for him. My family and I cannot even begin to express how grateful we are. Please do continue to pray for him. Thank you again!
Also, I know that he is feeling better because he already did a silly face out of nowhere when I visited him earlier in the ICU and nodded like there is no tomorrow when I asked him if he is bored .

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GREAT BALLS OF FIRE and other Random Thoughts

Well, more like Small Balls On Fire, but more on that later.
          Some prayers are repetitive. The Litany for example, and of course, the rosary. During confession, the priest gives you penance in which you usually have to recite so many Our Fathers, Hail Marys, and/or Act of Contritions to atone for your sins. My question is: is repeating the same prayer several times when you are more or less just murmuring the words, more effective than one fervent one where you put your whole heart into it? It seems like repetition is some sort of sacrifice that “makes you put in your time” so to speak.

          During my half marathon birthday walk, I contemplated my fear of offering one of my kidneys to my brother. I had been thinking about it for awhile and it has become more important now because he may have some donor compatibility issues (his blog about kidney disease). I wish I could be courageous and just do it because it's the right thing to do. Even if I was brave enough to do it, how do you coordinate the healthcare system of the U.S. with that in the Philippines as far as organ donations go? I emailed the National Kidney and Transplant Institute customer service in the Philippines but they haven’t responded.

          I used to do errand runs to squeeze in a workout where I ran to the bank, video store, grocery store, and/or pharmacy, but ever since my ankle tendon and myopathy problems, I have resorted to errand walks. One of last weeks’ workouts went like this: very brisk walk to the bank to withdraw money from the ATM, then proceed to the 99 Cent store to buy a couple of bottles of lemon pepper seasoning, then it was off to  Rite Aid Pharmacy (well I’ll be darned because I forgot what I bought there, old age, you know), and the last stop before home was Von's Grocery to buy some oatmeal raisin walnut cookies. Then I headed back home. How did I manage to carry all the things I bought. No I didn’t bring a reusable bag with me but brought a backpack instead. Total time = 55 minutes.

          And then there was The Pepper Incident. I’m addicted to hot stuff and nary a meal which doesn’t include hot sauce (Sriracha or Tapatio), raw jalapeno peppers microwaved for a minute or so, or pickled jalapeno peppers. Well, this one time, I sliced open a raw jalapeno pepper and took out the seeds with my fingers. Then I scratched or rubbed my forehead, after which I went to the bathroom to pee. All that without washing my hands first. Guess what happened? My forehead was burning, my eyes were burning, and worst of all, my cojones were burning. Despite repeated washings of the areas, they remained aflame for several hours. No, I didn’t have any milk which I hear relieves the burning better. The experience gave new meaning to the Jerry Lee Lewis song - Great Balls of Fire. Lesson learned. I now wash my hands right after handling peppers. Goodness Gracious, I hope you weren't expecting any pictures!

          I understand that sometimes workers have to listen to music or watch videos to relieve boredom during the night shift. What I don’t understand is why they have to use earphones in both ears so as not be able to hear patients knocking on the door or commotions on the unit. Just common sense -it is a safety issue.

          Flies, flies, and more flies, and not the dumbbell workout kind either. I began to have a gathering of flies inside my screen windows last week and they didn’t fly anywhere inside but rather just stuck themselves to the screen. My first thought was that – did anything die indoors? I didn’t smell anything rotten. Then I checked my pulse just to make sure. Turns out, one or two managed to sneak through tiny holes on the screen and invited their friends to the party. Only they couldn’t find the way back out. A little bug spray did the trick along with patching the holes. It seems to have worked. Now to deal with occasional spiders, ants, and cockroaches… Jeez, what’s next? Locusts and pestilence?

                And lastly the consequence of last year's traffic ticket. Remember my blog about being No Longer A Traffic Ticket Virgin? Well, that moving violation didn’t only cost me a $400+ fine but also a $200 increase in car insurance rate for at least the next three years! As if I didn’t have too many expenses already…

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