Nuffnang

this is about family and its ups and downs, living, and everything about life from a working mom's perspective.

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Bangkarwayan

Prof. Benjamin Magubat, Sir Benj as we call him, is one of my favorite professors in college.  He designed a car that floats and called it "Bangkarwayan".

The name is from "bangka" (boat) and car and kawayan (bamboo).






Tuesday, January 3, 2017

Hi Off! Bye Dengue!

I hate mosquitoes- I hate the buzzing sound they make, I hate their flying presence everywhere and I most specially hate the virus they bring to mankind.  I've come to master the art of catching them with my hand while they are hovering, and when I open my palm, most of the time, they are still there writhing, their wings squished. In the event I still see them alive, I try to separate the wing one by one until they bid their last goodbye. Yes, torturing mosquitoes makes my day!

My hate for them increased last June when my son was diagnosed with dengue fever. Good thing, his platelet count were 220, 210, 200, 210, respectively, during his four days in the hospital. I was going crazy that time because even if his fever was only hovering between 38.5-39.4 (believe me, he has had fevers where his temperature soared to 39.9 and he didn't act sick at all), in the three days that he had the fever, he was (and looked) weak, and didn't want to eat, and complained of something outchy in the tummy.

You know, I used to scrimp on mosquito repellents. I might have extra supply of body wash, soaps, shampoos, but I neglect my supply of OFF! Lotions. Later about that, though...

On the third day of the fever, his rashes started to show, first, on the arms, then on the stomach. When we got to a pedia, the pedia suggested a dengue test because she said it looks like my son has dengue. I said, "Doc, can we have him admitted already, because he looks really weak and doesn't want to eat or drink." The doctor, surprised that I wanted my son to be admitted right away, said okay. I think she was concerned that I could save more if I would wait for the results to come out first before having my kid admitted to the hospital, but I didn't want to delay anymore.



This is his arm... Second day in the hospital - you wouldn't really notice the rashes but his whole body looks red.  On his second night at the hospital, he blew his nose and some blood came out - as if you've blown so hard when you have colds and the vessels burst - ganun lang kakonti. It was only a smudge but my inner self/goddess/alter was already being hysterical, but on the outside I was calm. When I informed the doctors, they said it wasn't a cause for alarm. My heart was  beating 1,000,000 lightyears per minute that time.