Scariest Feeling

My daughter just got out of the hospital today. She got confined last Monday.

It seemed as if she just had fever due to cough and colds but It came to a point where I felt there was something wrong with her when she refused to eat and later on drink milk. Her fever also shot up to 40 and so I rushed her to the doctor the same day.

When we got to the doctor's office, she was immediately asked to use the nebulizer. The doctor from afar already saw that her breathing was too fast. After the physical examination, we were asked to admit her for tests and further care.

The tests were positive for pneumonia bilateral.

WHAT IS THIS CONDITION?

Pneumonia, bilateral: Pneumonia in both lungs. Bilateral pulmonary inflammation. Familiarly known as double pneumonia.

Pneumonia: Inflammation of one or both lungs with consolidation. Pneumonia is frequently but not always due to infection. The infection may be bacterial, viral, fungal or parasitic. Symptoms may include fever, chills, cough with sputum production, chest pain, and shortness of breath.

If we had waited another day or two, the condition would have done bacterial where most cases during the time we were at the hospital, babies were sent to the ICU. ICU for me, is already something more than serious.

My baby is healthy and strong so I was surprised to see her all sickly and sad. It broke my heart when they inserted the ivy and when she was having chills at night. She could not sleep properly. She was not even allowed to eat or drink milk for 36 hours due to the fact that she might choke.

There are a lot of viruses now due to the season and mostly, young children are affected. I'm just very thankful that my baby is now well and feeling better and I am also very thankful for the many friends and family who sent their support in prayers and visits. :)

I'll be posting another entry to discuss Kid's health, which for me now is an important topic apart from the part on WHAT TO EXPECT at the hospital and our entire experience that might be able to help other parents out there.

Drama Queen

On a seemingly normal day, while I was fiddling with camera, my almost 2 year old daughter kept calling my attention.

I wasn't really looking at her because I thought she was just doing her normal thing of babbling words that sometimes carried a few tunes. It sounded like the normal things kids would say. I thought she was just screaming or something.

Then she said "Mommy..look't! Peese!" (Translation: Mommy, look at me please).

I was surprised to see her holding her toy microphone and all that babbling and screaming to me was apparently and SURPRISINGLY her singing her heart out and doing what seemed like an impersonation of a singer. Then I remembered that we we're watching an MTV of Mariah earlier that day.

Luckily I had my camera ready and I think, she knew it was indeed a "KODAK" moment. I was able to shoot a short clip through my mobile phone as well.

Here's what I thought she was doing....to the tune of Whitney Houston's I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU. The first song she heard on TV while we were watching one of those singing contests. She gets a little emotional during the first few times her dad and I sing the song to her. It was either because we were doing the worst rendition or maybe songs like this makes some people and even babies, a little teary eyed (hehe).

"This is my last song for the night, thank you all for coming to my first major concert..."



"Everyone, please feel free to sing along!"

"Oooohhhh.....If I should stay..."



"..that is all, I'm taking, with meeee...ahhhhhhhhhh..(improv..hehe).."



"..so goodbye..please, don't cry, we both know I'm not what you need....."



"and I......will always love you...."


"...hoooohoooooo wooooo..."



THE BIG ENDING
"and I......hiyay....will always lahaha haa haaav....."

"you......."



BIG APPLAUSE FROM AUDIENCE (a.k.a. Mom and Dad)

"Thank you so much!"



"I love you all!"



And that was the making of a future drama queen and singing sensation.

I wonder what she'll think of herself 10 years from now when she sees this. haha. :)

PEDIA HUNT

AS a follow-up to my previous blog, I went ahead and did a little bit of research on pedia recommendations from parenting blogs.

I came across various forums today regarding people's recommendations for good pediatricians:

Joseph Regalado of Cardinal Santos - I AM REALLY INTERESTED TO MEET THIS DOCTOR. HE'S ALWAYS IN ALL BLOGS RECOMMENDING PEDIATRICIANS. :)

Cardinal Santos Medical arts building
room 117..M-Saturday clinic days
7270001 local 717 (Nadia - his secretary)

Comments were:
"...also a child psychologist. he also gives developmental tips aside from the usual health advice. Haba lng ng pila - but worth it :)"

"This doctor is the best! He's a young doctor who is not only very accessible, he is also very patient. He will take the time to explain matters that are unclear to you. Unlike other doctors who will try to rush you out the door. He has numbers you can call when you have emergencies and he'll return your calls. Give him a try. I'm pretty sure you won't want to go to anyone else."

"a child psychologist as well..he's very warm to kids and very patient sa mga questions from mommies...very personalized service nya although haba talaga pila sa clinic nya..he's the pedia of some of the celebrities here (the barretto sisters, joanne quintas, bernadette alison, shirley kuan etc...)..(if that amounts to something) but di siya mahal..."



Dr. Edna Panganiban-Llido
Rm.316-317 Medical Arts Bldg.
St.Luke's Medical Center

"She's really nice and good. SHe's a bit traditional and her style is always preventive. If I am not mistaken, she used to be the pedia of the children of the prince of Brunei."

Dr. Lourdes C. Sumpaico-Tanchanco
Unit 1004, Medical Arts Tower, Medical City
6356789 loc. 5120, (0919) 3672002

1. Her forte is development pediatrics. Pero she's a good pedia na din. She's based sa Medical City. She's also the director of BS Health Sciences, which is Ateneo's new pre-med program. (Also, member of the Philippine Society for Developmetal and Behavioral Pediatrics and Philippine Pediatric Society.)
2. Super approachable. In fact, she's the one who even invites me to pay her a visit sa Ateneo. Chika-chika kami.
3. Caring sya, yes.
4. I've been texting her since my baby's just born.
5. During that time na we were so worried about my baby regarding the newborn screen, she reassured us and gave us sufficient information.
6. I think reasonable naman ang price nya. Depends sa vaccine na ibibigay eh.

Hopefully, we can visit Dr. Regalado this weekend. Greenhills is very near our place as well.

I'd really like to be able to find a doctor who we can trust, be comfortable with and most especially learn from. It's tough to worry about your kid all the time and it would be of so much help if our pedia would give us an assurance that she'll be ok. At the end of the day, I'm more than happy to spend a little bit more for my child's health and well-being. I would at least expect to get the best service and advice from our doctor. :)

Doctor Shopping

I can't find another title that will best suit the point of this entry. But read on to find out why...

My daughter is 1 year and 8 months old. She's had 3 pediatricians already and we went to see her 4th last Monday.




Her first pediatrician, i really liked a lot. Unfortunately, we had to move from the Laguna to Quezon City due to work and the business. She was really good, had more patience in dealing with both the kids and their parents. She took time to explain things without going through any heavy medical terms. She was also an allergologist which came in handy because I'm quite prone to allergies and so is my daughter.

Yan-yan's 2nd pedia was from St. Luke's. Unfortunately, she was going on maternity leave the following month so she adviced us to approach her recommendations. We didn't get to know her that much.

The third doctor we had was from Medical City. Her clinic was really very nice. Very modern and kid friendly. She was very accommodating as well. Unfortunately, it was quite hard to travel from Q.C. to Medical city. It was traffic most of the time and it was hard to get out of the area if we had to take a cab on certain visits.

My husband and I couldn't afford to ask for referrals anymore last Monday as my little one had really high fever and we were already rushing to get a consult. We scanned St. Luke's directory again. Looking for pediatricians who had a good schedule and whose names might sound familiar (I actually didn't recall any as I'm not well connected in that industry).

We went to a room on the 4th floor only to find out that the doctor wasn't there anymore. On our way to the elevator to go down, we saw a queue of people by the waiting area near a doctor's office that said PEDIATRICIAN. The people who were in line looked like busy moms and dads, new parents, seasoned professionals and the like with their kids in tow. Based on the profiles of the patients, my husband and I decided to try it out.

As I approached the secretary, I saw that the doctor's schedule was quite nice. She had a 10am to 5pm schedule from Monday to Friday and a 10am to 3pm schedule every Saturday. It was a regular consult. She breezed through the previous baby books we've had. She smiled. Checked on my baby as the little one threw a fit when the doctor checked on her nose and ears. She told us that we had to update her vaccinations and scheduled a follow up check-up for next week. She wrote down a prescription and a few pointers on how to monitor my child's health for the next few days. If the fever hasn't gone down in 2-3 days, I need to bring her back prior to the proposed schedule of our next visit. Soon after, she told us everything was ok which was our queue to go out.

When I got to the secretary, she asked me for the fee of 500 and told me that the vaccine was going to cost somewhere over 1500 and that was it.

I was actually not so used to being dealt that way. I was hoping to get further information on my child's condition. I did try to ask why she would be feeling that way and all the other questions as to what I needed to check, etc. etc. She plainly answered me with basic answers like it's normal, it's the flu season, she has allergies.

I wasn't really used to this as my other pediatricians were actually very enthusiastic in explaining to me how a certain condition or sickness occurs, what I need to do, how to do it, other precautionary measures and all the other facts that would make you feel calm and ensure that your baby is going to be ok. I actually had to text my very first pedia for Yan-yan and ask her all the facts and she was very helpful despite the fact that I was not longer visiting her regularly.

I'm not quite an experienced mom. My mom was actually so used to going to our neighborhood family doctor (who was actually quite good and was a great family friend) when we were in Laguna plus the rest of the doctors in the area were well known and we could easily get referrals.

Coming to Manila again, with all the doctors around, was a difficult task for me. Most of my friends had their pedias in locations farther than my area so getting referrals were quite hard for me than normal.

I'm not quite sure if it's just me or is it bad to change to another doctor when you feel you're not that comfortable or at ease with the current one you have?

I mean, I have these fears that If I change to another doctor again, that my child's condition might not be monitored properly and of course that thing of not showing up later on as well given that we're already in their client roster.

I think I need to research further on this matter and get opinions from friends and other interest parties online or those who already have experience on the matter. I might actually get good referrals if anyone suggests a pedia that they already trust and know.

The book worm is back

I haven't been so engrossed in a book for a very long time, let alone a saga. My previous addiction was of course, the Harry Potter series but I do need to catch up on my reading again, I haven't bought book 7 yet for the longest time! I think I had too many things to do during its release, I forgot all about it.

Another set was the The Da Vinci Code and the next book Angels and Demons which also drove me into hiding for around 2-3 days so I can quietly finish reading the 2 books 1 after the other.

After a year and a half, YES, MORE THAN A YEAR of not reading a good book (how I survived will be another blog entry)! I stumbled across 4 similarly looking books in black with interesting covers. Stephenie Meyer, an unfamiliar author to me, met my curiosity. Each book was thick. I guess say around 800 pages or so. Intriguing that it was categorized as a must read for young adults.

I bought the first book, TWILIGHT. After the first chapter, I-WAS-HOOKED.

Imagine my surprise on that not-so-sunny-Sunday, when I was closing in on the last 4 chapters. It was 6PM and I still had time to run down to Fully Booked. I bought the 2 other books that followed it. It was Tuesday after work, that I realized that I needed to buy book 4 by Thursday If I was to survive another night without dreaming of what might be next. So I bought the last installment, BREAKING DAWN. I was teary-eyed. It was the last book and the END of the story I so lovingly followed for the entire week. I was done that very Friday night. Less than a week and I'm thinking of re-reading it again...haha. Because book's 1 film adaptation, which is set to be released in the US this December 12 ( NOW MOVED TO NOV 21!), will be shown on January 8, 2009 in the Philippines. huhu. But since it's moved to an earlier date, maybe it can be shown November here as well! Oh my!!! I can't wait. Better make calls and ask for details on the film schedules. It's a very good thing I'm also trying to find out movies that will premiere as part of my marketing to do's. haha.

But visiting the author's site, it seems that another book, based on the leading male character's (Edward Cullen) point of view, is being cooked up as we speak. Yey! I'm trying not read the first chapter (teaser) as I know I won't be able to sleep on it (I am very impatient when it comes to good reads like this).

Anyway, I haven't been so enticed on a series other than this. The author, is actually a mom like me who actually inspires me to read and write again. I would really want to further this blog. Maybe I can start off with posting some of my short stories here. Maybe when I get to finish the one I'm working on. haha. Goodluck to me.

I went to Full Booked today and I was trying to see any selections that might interest me. I went home empty handed. Maybe next week, when I'm a bit over the Twilight Saga. It's just very hard to top an enticing story.

I know that I shouldn't even think twice but I am now procrastinating if I should get started on Paulo Coelho's book as for the longest time, many of my friends have recommended several titles.

I am also looking into Neil Gaiman...though his comics are quite expensive which I love, I think the books are worth the read and are within budget.

So I went ahead and made a book wish list / schedule:

My Next 10:

1. The Alchemist (I think I'm pretty late already with most of his books but it's something I really must do, to enrich my soul and of course my literacy) - P. Coelho
2. Brida - P.Coelho
3. Veronika Decides to Die - P. Coelho
4. The Witch of Portobello - P. Coelho
5. American Gods - N. Gaiman
6. Coraline - N. Gaiman
7. Smoke & Mirrors - N. Gaiman
8. The Graveyard Book - N. Gaiman
9. The Host - Stephenie Meyer (Although I think Twilight is still her best work, I love how she writes and makes you wanting to flip every page to get to the next one)
10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows - J.K. Rowling (of course, needs no explanation.)

I better start re-doing the second bedroom into having my small corner of arts and crafts and books.