Life and death situations

Warning: This is quite long... but I hope you read it. :)

I have been in a life and death situations a couple of times in my life. One was when I was barely a year old and the other one was when I was 19 years old. Allow me to share my stories.





I was almost one year old when my parents decided to live in my papa's hometown in San Carlos City which is in another island next to Cebu. We were aboard a ship that time which usually takes about 2 hours to arrive from Cebu to the island of Negros.

I was born sickly and I remember mama telling me that when my body temperature reaches 37 degrees Celsius (98.6°F), I would have febrile seizures. Yes, it's still within the normal range for babies, but I already experience some seizure attack.

While we were on the ship, I suddenly had my attack, so my parents panicked and asked for help from the crew on the ship. They radioed the other passengers asking if there were any health care practitioners aboard. Luckily, there was one nurse and hurriedly tried to help.

That time was around 1991, so it was still practiced that when someone has a high fever, we have to give an ice/cold bath to the patient to lower the temperature. (This is proven wrong now, though... since it'll only promote shivering, thus generating increased body heat).

They couldn't find any ice that time except for the ice used to keep the fish fresh in the ship's lower floor. Yep, they took some ice out and used some for me. The captain of the ship also radioed the port to call for an ambulance, so we could get transferred easily.

Luckily, I was OK and instead of going to my grandparents' house, we went directly to the hospital. They used to tell me that the hospital was like my home when I was a baby because I was there almost every month.

Me and my mama...

I didn't have any seizure attack as I grew older. The last time was when I was around 4 years old. We moved to the countryside of Cebu that time due to my papa's job. I had a seizure attack and they brought me to a local district hospital. Mama told the doctor, that my previous doctor in my papa's hometown used to give me diazepam for my fits, but the doctor there gave me another medicine instead which gave me an allergic reaction. I was then brought to a bigger hospital in the city via ambulance.

Because of that, we went back to my mama's hometown in Mactan island, Cebu... and I spent the rest of my childhood there until we went back to the countryside during my high school days. I was quite healthy those days except for my asthma attack from time to time. :)

With my cousins Grace and Mae... This was before my surgery... I think?

Fast forward university days... I was 19 years old that time and I was a 3rd year in the nursing school. (I graduated high school at 16 since we only had 10 years education before college back in those days).

I enjoyed my major even though it was quite busy. I only slept around 4-5 hours every day and I sometimes skip meals when I'm on duty at the hospital. Those days, it was quite common for me to have gastritis due to my lifestyle, but it was tolerable

However, one night I couldn't sleep because of severe pain. I was so pale and was sweating buckets, so my parents hurriedly took me to the hospital. I didn't want to at first because we have a lot of financial problems, but they insisted.

Initial finding was the usual gastritis and I was advised to be discharged after a couple of days, but on the day of my supposed to be discharge day, my doctor got worried because I was having jaundice... my eyes and skin were turning yellow. So, they suggested I take some ultrasound... Later on it was confirmed that I had gallstones and needed to undergo surgery immediately because some stones already went through the duct going to other parts.

These are some of the stones they took from me... they already shrank, though after several years... and yes, I kept some of them as remembrance. lol

I underwent open cholecystectomy due to the number and size of my stones --- they had to cut my tummy to remove my gallbladder and all the stones. Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (creating a small opening to remove them) wasn't an option for me.

The usual 3-4 hours open cholecystectomy procedure (including pre-op, operation and post-op care in the recovery room) turned into a 10-hour procedure for me due to some complications, but luckily it ended well.

I stayed in the hospital for another week after that before I could go home, but I had to wear a T-tube for a couple of months to drain the remaining bile inside my body. I remember my doctor telling me that I should be glad that the situation was known early. During that time, I was the youngest to undergo such surgery and with the biggest stone.

Yep... I'm a keloid former, but this is also a remembrance for me. The huge cut and the holes from the T-tube attached to me that time. :)

I couldn't go back to school for one semester and the summer semester to recover, so I had to skip a year... then depression came in. haha I was able to get over it, though...

A few years after my surgery two of my cousins (one from my mama's side and one from papa) also had the same condition (though milder), but they both had laparoscopic cholecystectomy and didn't have any grave complications. :) Guess, it was also hereditary in some sense.

After experiencing those things, I learned to appreciate life even more. My family and I may face a lot of problems even until this day, but because of our past experiences, it's easier for us to cope with such situations.

Despite the problems and whatnots, I'm glad to be alive...

Thanks for reading and I hope to see you around! (^^,)/