Many Waters

Many waters cannot quench love; neither can the floods drown it. – Song of Solomon 8:7

While Typhoon Onyong (Ketsana) raged outside, Andy and I got facials.

Outside the office spa, there was brown knee-deep water in the streets. I stupidly decided to head home, worried about my mom and lolo. I got to the halfway point when I realized that the floods were getting deeper, developing a strong current. I took shelter with some neighbors (Joseph, Junior and Ella, which will now be formerly known as Complete Strangers) until I found J.R., (which will now be formerly known as Random Muscle Guy) to help me brave the currents back to the office.

I got a change of clothes from the store below, just before they closed the mall. We spent the first night in the office with minimal power and water. The toilets turned ripe in a short matter of time since there were about a hundred of us stranded in the office. Thankfully, there was plenty of food. And the company of my friends made it bearable. I slept on a piece of flipchart paper on the carpet of the Training Suite.

The mall turned out all refugees except for the employees. I felt bad for the people outside. They were stranded on the mall’s patio. How cruel! The waters rose quickly to around waist-deep. The roads became impassable. I heard from the news that other malls served as evacuation centers. This one didn’t have much heart.

It took in, however, an anxious lola to be, a bewildered husband and a seventeen-year-old girl on the verge of tears…and of giving birth. Her name is LJ and she will name her baby girl Lois. They sought for help form the doctors of the Medical City Clinic here. There was no power, no water, and no emergency medicine.

We also had another patient: a lolo who suffered from angina. His grandson James took him to Medical City Clinic, only to be stranded inside.

LJ came Saturday night with her mother, Judith and her husband Keith. Her bag of waters began to leak at Sunday 6AM. They called for my help as a medical professional. I assured them that we will try all our best to get her to the hospital, but if help won’t come, I’m ready to assist with the delivery.

Our team of trainers (Carl, Ethan, Nabs, Andy) called all possible government agencies. We tried to hail trucks passing by. All to no avail. There was no way we could get to a hospital by land. We also found a friend in an exuberant Red Cross volunteer, Aileen.

Meanwhile, I tried to calm the patient down. I assessed the baby’s heart rate, the mother’s BP and her temperature. All seemed to be going well. Except that her contractions were getting stronger and more frequent. I was so scared for her. But I also wanted to be strong for her. I didn’t want to induce the delivery by performing an internal examination. So I just monitored her contractions constantly.

At around 3PM, her contractions came every three minutes. I got cold sweat.  “Dear Lord, give me strength if You are to ask me to deliver her baby here.” I prayed. “If this be not her destiny, help us get her safe to a hospital.”

I let her lie on her side, to help her relax and to help the baby get more fresh oxygen and nutrients.  She calmed down and the contractions became less frequent and a bit weaker. All the while, I monitored the baby’s heartbeat. She seemed doing okay in there as well. For the first time, my objective was to delay the delivery, not to hasten it.

At 4PM, I asked Chris, the company nurse to keep monitoring LJ and her baby. I got struck with the idea of using the power of the media. The people in government could not refuse the media because they provide coverage, especially during election season. I called DZMM, a local AM radio, and they patched me with the right government agencies. They sent us rubber boats right away. Thank you Amy Perez and Alvin Elchico. Thank you to the Women of the Cainta Police Force.

We left the site at 6PM. I wanted to ride with LJ and her husband, Keith, but the load got too heavy for the boat. I got off and wanted to run after them. My heart was willing but my legs were not. Aileen and Andy took her to a nearby hospital.

Baby Lois was born 10PM September 27, 2009.

Thank you, everyone for the love you showed a woman in need. You are true heroes in my eyes.

 

Love isn’t how you feel. It’s what you do.

Madeleine L’Engle in ‘’A Wind in the Door’’

Series One: Woman: Part 7

I am not a failure as a woman even if I am not a high-brow corp chick … or even if I am.

Series One: Woman: Part 6

I am not a failure as a woman even if I don’t measure 36-24-36 … or even if I do.

Series One: Woman: Part 5

I am not a failure as a woman even if i don’t cook… or even if I do.

Series One: Woman: Part 4

I am not a failure as a woman even if I can’t keep the house perfectly neat and clean….or even if I do.

Series One: Woman: Part 3

I am not a failure as a woman even though I can’t dress well… or even if I do.

Series One: Woman: Part 2

I am not a failure as a woman if I have kids… or even if I don’t.

Series One: Woman: Part 1

I am not a failure as a woman if I get married …or even if I don’t.

Nakiki-uso lang ako

Dear God,

The year 2009 has already been tough for us,  and we’ve only been halfway through it.

The economy is bad. People are losing jobs. Our leaders are lost and blinded.

We need heroes. People to look up and give us hope. People that makes us try to be more than human.

Please don’t take another legend away. We already lost people like Francis M and Michael Jackson.

Their lives may be messed up at some points or another but I love their music and their message.

Why did You have to pour burning genius into paper vessels? Was it to have  genius burst and spread out to the world?

Or maybe was it just to show that to be human is to be weak?

Or maybe was it to have that burst of light much needed by somebody?

I have always shunned your gifts for me because I felt like a weak vessel.

And now you have given me two sparks to look up to. Then I realize that there are many others burning in me all along. Then I realize that maybe I have my own fire.

Genius or Not, it may just be the spark needed by somebody else.

God, help me keep this fire as long as I can.

AMEN.

Nakiki-uso lang ako

Teri Hatcher in Monique Lhuillier

Ermmm…. my first fashion-related blog.

Teri Hatcher’s Desperate Housewives character may have bashed Filipino doctors, but I think Hatcher herself has a very different opinion of our nation’s  couture.

Teri Hatcher in Monique Lhuillier

Hollywood Irony Meter:

I like the pink prom-ish dress. The fitted bodice flatters her tiny body but the flowy skirt gives her much needed fullness. I also like the two cocktail dresses.  The white gown is too bulky that it overwhelms her skinny figure. The yellow one is just… parrot yellow.

Sorry, guys. Again, this is my first fashion-related blog. I’m not really a fashionista or anything.

Self-Gayification: >>>>>>>>>>>>>45% COMPLETE.