Tag Archives: recovery

Not Just An Advocacy, But A Higher Calling

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“How do I know if God is asking me to do a particular task?”

If you have asked this question a couple of times now in your life, then you’re not alone. I did, too. And here are some of my answers to this question based on my experience:

1. Clarity

There are no doubts about whether you should do it or not. Even if you don’t know the outcome or how you’re going to do it at first, there’s just this courage and boldness to pursue the task given to you.

2. Instructions

Everything is provided to you once you have set your heart on doing it. You have all the answers to your WH questions, and there simply is no reason now for you to not do it. Resources were made available and connections with people who can help you with your plans were established.

3. Peace

There is contentment and fulfillment when you think of this task. Even though it hasn’t been completed yet or hasn’t even started, there’s already a sense of accomplishment just by obeying God and committing to do what He asked you to do.

WE HAVE WORK TO DO

When you have all three going smoothly together, then you know you are set to start a God-ordained mission. 🙂 The doors that God has opened for me or let’s say the God-given possibilities that can turn into great opportunities starting next year are the following:

– more agribusiness opportunities

– connect with a spiritual family that supports the same vision for the mission at hand

– volunteer in church activities particularly those that involve the youth of the church because they will be the next spiritual leaders of their generation

– encourage the spirit of volunteerism among the youth by empowering them through mentoring sessions

– equip the youth to do volunteer work outside the church but guided by Biblical principles

– create or look for partnership opportunities between the schools and the church for the students’ Community Service projects

– volunteer in medical missions particularly for breast cancer

– connect the school, church, and hospital for Community Service initiatives led by the youth of the church (high school and college students will be assigned into groups mentored by spiritual coaches and will undergo a volunteering workshop conducted by the church)

– invite healthworkers to conduct a separate workshop and train youth volunteers on first aid and basic caregiving skills to terminally ill patients and help assist nurses (they can use these skills later on when they need to take care of a sick loved one at home or during a global emergency i.e. war, pandemic, etc. thus, help reduce the workload of healthcare professionals in public and private hospitals)

– targeted age of youth volunteers: high school and college

– considerations to include grade school volunteers by integrating volunteering opportunities with Girl/Boy Scout Camping (the proposed location is the hospice facility at the farm where they can have their camping activities, too, as this is less risky for the kids health-wise compared if they will be volunteering inside the hospitals – menial tasks will be assigned such as bringing the patient’s meals, putting fresh flowers on bedside vases, opening the window/glass door curtains, helping push the wheelchair, etc.)

– Church volunteers from other age groups are also welcome as long as they can commit to a regular volunteering schedule (options to choose from are once a week, twice a month, and once a month)

– conduct a feasibility study for the hospice facility (5-year and 10-year growth trajectory including possibilities for expansion i.e. bed capacity, supporting facilities, health personnel’s quarters, etc.) to be included in current site planning

– praying for a “praying doctor” (like a doctor who is also a pastor – yes, my prayers are always specific lol) who can be our hospice management advisor and at the same time can pray for patients who are about to pass away

This last objective/goal is actually the main mission in which all of these goals revolve around. It is the salvation of the souls by means of repentance and accepting the Lord Jesus as the Savior that will delight the heavens more than the good works that we did to help others in this world. 🙂

Why volunteering? It is the ministry that God has called me to serve even before I became a born-again Christian. I do not volunteer to seek validation or to please people. It’s because I know how it feels to be on the receiving end of other people’s time, mercy, generosity, and care. I am just paying it forward. ❤️

Here are some of the volunteering projects I joined in the past years:

Victory QC Community Outreach Ministry

Isko Operations 2013 (Typhoon Maring)

The Old: Loved But Never Forgotten

“I Volunteer!”

The goals I listed above are a lot of work that will involve a lot of people working together. I know God will provide the specific details on how to reach these goals. Some of these goals will happen simultaneously. Some or all of them might not happen at all. And some of them might happen probably a couple of decades from now. Only God knows. But I am very much looking forward to witnessing how God will work out these plans (and any deviations) for His glory and His kingdom. 🙏

Rough sketch/draft I made for the Hospice Project Proposal that I am praying my siblings will approve. 🙏🙂

“In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away.” – Luke 15:7

The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ – Matthew 25:40

P.S. Btw, I am happy for this answered prayer – the recently constructed Sorsogon Cancer Treatment Center. Thank you so much, Lord! 🙏 It just came right on time for the goals I mentioned above. ❤️

Maraming salamat po, Senator!

P.P.S. If you have read this far, I believe it is not a coincidence and maybe God is also asking you to do something for your community – may it be in your church or in the neighborhood. I hope the goals I listed here might give you ideas on how you can serve God’s kingdom, too, starting next year. 🙂

What I Love About Being Sick

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I have always been a sickly kid and even until now. And no, it has nothing to do with my sedentary lifestyle because I eat properly, I take multivitamins, I make sure I get at least 8 hours of sleep, and I have an occassional physical activity.

I can remember how my first week in an office job last year started with an energy-sapping flu that lasted for more than a week. Also, when my husband and I were both diagnosed with dengue in 2016, I was confined for a week. He, on the one hand, wasn’t confined because his body was able to recover the lost fluids through the help of an IV in one hospital and managed to be an out patient.

Every time I have a cough and flu it lasts for about a month without the meds and not less than 2 weeks even with the meds. I believe this has something to do with the weak genes. But I cannot say for certain if it has something to do specifically with the cancer genes that runs in the family.

My Mom’s a breast cancer survivor and breast cancer has been consistent for every generation starting from my great grandmother. So the next generation is us. The question is, who among my sisters and me will be the next title holder? 😀

This is also probably the reason why God never intended I work in an office. All the stress of traveling and dealing with the traffic everyday will send me to the grave earlier than His intended timeline.

That is why remote working, too, is very suitable for me. I get to do everything that I needed to do because I don’t have to spend hours being stuck in traffic. And yet I can still do these tasks at ease because I get to plan them ahead of time and never in a hurry.

What I love about being sick though is that it gives me time to pause and contemplate about everything. Though I contemplate most of the time, I do it while multitasking. I am not used to just sitting and staring at the wall for hours or just being idle most of the time. It’s going to make me insane.

In fact, even if I’m sick and I know I still can move around, I will still do something. Like this article perhaps. 🙂

I have this mindset that being sick and not doing something will only make my sickness worse. I actually just got home because I went out and bought stuff. I would’ve walked 2 blocks to get to the grocery store but I was scared I’d pass out on my way there.

Not doing anything when sick means being able to feel the pain and that your body is getting weaker. I have a very high tolerance for pain and very strong-willed too, so unless I am dying, you’d still see me walking around even when sick.

I could still remember when both hubby and I were diagnosed with dengue. I was confined at the hospital because of it. And yet before hubby brought me in, I was the one taking good care of him the day before because even though I am starting to feel weak already, will power just got me going. He was rehydrated through an IV and given antibiotics because his blood platelets were going down.

I didn’t notice that mine was spiraling down way faster that after the blood test the next day, the lab tests showed that my platelet count was waaaaaay too low that the doctor insisted I be confined at a hospital. Otherwise, I will experience internal bleeding and hemorrhaging.

It was only when I was at the hospital lying on the bed that I felt the fever, the muscle pain, etc. Meds won’t work sometimes because I am allergic to painkillers so I had to bear all the pain. It’s a good thing my husband recovered quickly, he was the one who took care of my needs while I was at the hospital. And this included being by my side when I just sobbed the pain away.

Yes, I guess when your body said it had enough, no high pain threshold can ever keep you from not feeling the pain at all. So I learned, too, that getting sick is the body’s way to rest. Rest and do nothing even if it means staring at the ceiling the rest of the day. Just like what I will do after I write this. 😀

I am planning to sketch so I can rest my brain but the meds are making me drowsy. I just thought about finishing the new sketch I am making for Dad because I made such a mess of my first sketch of him.

Applied an expired fixative – spots are everywhere. 😭

Getting ready for the new sketch on Dad.

I’d better get the new sketch done with minimal errors because I’m on to the last page of my sketch pad. 😀

Do you have any ideas how I can turn it into a beautiful mess? 😉

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” – Psalm 73:26

Always writing in sickness and in health,

We Survived Dengue!

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But first, praise be to God for the healing and restoration of good health for me and hubby! ❤

Of course, a huge note of gratitude goes out to our families (biological and spiritual) and friends too who were there to offer us with all kinds of support in this tough ordeal. Ah yes, when the love of God transcends, it is hard to not love people back. So this article is a “WE LOVE YOU ALL”  sort of post. *wink*

So I thought all along especially in the first few days of my fever that I have something really serious going on since prior to it, I was having a very severe headache that I once again cried myself out for relief. Paracetamol won’t even work! Oh dear, I have such a high tolerance for pain that I can live for days doing my tasks even with a migraine and even without any pain reliever. But this one is worst.

My fever went on for about 3 days and with a body temperature of 39.4. Hubby was alarmed so he told me we’d better see the doctor. I agreed and out we went to see a doctor. I was advised that it was some sort of infection since platelet count is okay and no alarming changes in my cbc (complete blood checkup). So on the 4th day, I was feeling okay. I did take medications until the 5th day. Hubby had commitments on the 6th day with his family and asked me if I would choose that he’d rather stay to monitor if ever my fever comes back. I told him 2 days have passed without the fever so it’s okay if he leaves me at home and have his 2-day get-together with his family for his sister’s birthday celebration. I had to stay at home as doctor advised a 2-3 days of bed rest.

Unfortunately, little did we know that my platelet count by this time started spiraling down already. The fever recurred. I had chills early in the morning and I felt a numbing and tingling sensation in the fingers of my right hand then followed by the fingers in my left hand. So I texted hubby that my fever’s back and I felt too weak and too nauseous to drag myself to the ER. He didn’t go to work the next day and headed straight home and off we went to the ER at my university’s infirmary. Upon having my cbc, platelet count dropped from 304 to 115. The doctor advised that if fever persists and my platelet count the next day showed to less than a hundred, I should get myself admitted to the hospital.

By this time hubby was feeling weak as well and experiencing body malaise. He assured me maybe it’s just from the weekend’s events and he incurred a flu strain on his way home. When we both got home I was hydrating myself big time although my fever subsided. Unfortunately for hubby he had a fever that went up to 40 degrees! I gave him the medications that was also prescribed to me and though it alleviated the muscle pain, his body temperature just won’t go down.

So it was now me who urged hubby to have a medical checkup the next day. He was feeling too weak when we got to the ER of the hospital nearby and the nurse said that he was already dehydrated and needed an IV therapy. He was given medications for his fever and we waited for a couple of hours. Now this was also the day I was scheduled to have a follow up check up for my updated cbc. My hubby’s doctor said that his platelet count’s still in the normal range however his cbc showed that he’s positive with dengue. She asked Brian if he’d want to be confined in the hospital for hydration via IV therapy or go home instead but hydrate big time. He opted for the latter as he’d still want to accompany me going back to the infirmary for my cbc result. I wasn’t feeling very well myself either although I have no more fever but my severe headache was still there.

@ World Citi Medical Center

But upon checking my husband’s body temperature, it was still up to 39 degrees – burning hot. I assured him to rest at home and drink lots of water and I can manage going to the infirmary to get my cbc result. When I got my result, I was dismayed – my platelet count dropped from 115 to now 85. I was very alarmed because it only meant one thing – confinement. A very low platelet count will result to severe hemorrhage/bleeding.

I went home and told hubby the sad news. He’s still got fever but his body temperature already subsided as well as the body malaise. We decided it best I’d be confined at the hospital as per doctor’s advise. This was around late in the afternoon so I started packing what we will be needing at the hospital. We also told the news to our families and they advised us everything that we will be needing at the hospital. This was my first time to be confined in a hospital for several days by the way so I was really nervous. I have no white coat syndrome though. 😀

By the time we got to the hospital, it was already late in the evening. There were so many patients at the ER that it took me and hubby almost 2 hours at the waiting area and almost 3 hours at the ER before we got our room accommodation. Then, they took another cbc to double check my platelet count. It went up to around 90 but it turned out positive for dengue. By this time mild rashes appeared in my legs already – very tiny red dots like freckles.

@ St. Luke’s Medical Center

Hubby dear, on the other hand, was still feeling weak. I urged him that he should get himself admitted too and we will just get a room for us both. But he insisted there’s no need as his platelet count was still okay although it was also dropping but not as drastic compared to mine. He also explained that I needed someone who will take care of me as it’d be difficult moving around with a dextrose.

Doctor asked: “So who’s the patient now?” lol 😀

I just totally felt so much love for my husband at this point. He sacrificed his own comfort over mine and every day he would go up and down in separate buildings to have his cbc done, brave the long queue, get the results, consult a doctor, buy his food, monitor his fluids intake, take his medications, buy my needs at the hospital and take good care of me. Now this is something that money can’t buy nor is equivalent to any prized possession – makes my heart melt every time. ❤

Or probably it is because I am more sentimental and practical than materialistic. 😉

My eldest sister visited us also and brought us lots of food and fruits just to make sure we were doing well but I couldn’t entertain her for long because of my severe headache and I was feeling really weak. I assured her that we’ll go along just fine and thanked her heartily for the visits despite her busy sched at work (she is running an entire school. *wink*).

Brother bear and sis-in-law visited us at home when I was discharged at the hospital too. I was sleeping most of the time that I was there and I do prefer being alone when I am not feeling well. The introvert in me, eh? 😉 I discouraged friends from visiting too because I don’t want them to go thru all the hassle of traveling after work just to visit me. They’d probably be dead tired and have families to take care as well AND I don’t want them to get bitten by a mosquito who bit us there at the hospital if there ever is one.

So this scenario between me and hubby went on for about 4 days and whew, by God’s grace, hubby had no more fever and I was already cleared. Although I got discharged from the hospital, hubby’s platelet count was still dropping until it came close to 109. So I teased him that maybe it’s now his turn to be admitted and I’ll be the one taking care of him this time. Rashes all over his body started appearing too and they’re more visible than mine. But the good thing about my husband was that he’s even a more consistent and determined fighter/warrior than I am. 😀

With these rashes all over him, his skin got darker and redder I teased him that he looked like a native American Indian. *wink*

He “drowned”  himself in liters of water every day, slept all day long, took medications consistently and after 2 more days, he was also cleared. I asked him how he did it and prevented himself from being confined at the hospital. He just nodded and smiled. He my not be verbal about it too often but I guess he really has more faith than I am. Possibly because he has a nonchalant attitude and I don’t – the key to having complete trust in God.

While I was in the hospital, I also requested to have my recurring headaches checked and after some series of tests, the fellows of my neurologist concluded that my brain’s still functioning normally but that the pain may be muscular. I am still due though for a check up with the neurologist for the final diagnosis if I will be needing a ct scan or x-ray.

Ah yes, in my moments of lethargy, weakness and numbness, I couldn’t find the strength to even finish reading my daily devotion. So my journal entries weren’t updated for more than a week. But God knows there never passed a day that I never said a prayer in my heart to all those who went through and are going through similar challenges like what my hubby and I went through. We are now back to our regular prayer routine and indeed, a day and night without a spoken and shared prayer between me and my husband make a day incomplete. I just find it amusing though that hubby stayed true to his commitment as a husband, “in sickness and in health, ’til death do us part”…..we both got sick. lol

The aftermath of 9x of blood extractions for the cbc. *ouch*

Seriously, when it comes to prayers, God already knows them even before we say them. We always have to keep in mind that God sees our hearts and our thoughts day in and day out in every millisecond. It is a must, therefore, that we stay connected with Him too 24/7. 🙂

“A cheerful heart is good medicine but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”- Proverbs 17:22

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; He is mine forever.” – Psalm 73:26

“And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.” – Philippians 4:8

P.S.

This was the moment that I was scheduled for job interviews and I already turned them all down due to my illness. So I take it that God has other plans for me. And so I wait. 🙂

It was also my second time to have a dengue fever. The first one was back in year 2012. Doctors informed us there are about 4 recognized strains of it. Whew! 😀

Here are some websites for more information about dengue:

https://www.cdc.gov/dengue/

http://www.who.int/topics/dengue/en/