Of long weekend and a pretty bad stomach

June 21, 2011 Health buff
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I thought I should share my almost surreal experience last weekend after going through a fierce three-day battle with acute gastroenteritis and dehydration. Never thought that what seemed to be an innocent halo-halo merienda would land me to a hospital bed and consider doing Mega Meeting web video conferencing to give last minute instructions in the office. Good thing that the HMO covered for my hotel-like stay in Asian Hospital attended by one of their best internal medicine doctors (Dr. Novenario) and friendly nurses.

I first went to Metro South Hospital Friday night for an emergency – fever rising, stomach pains, bloated feeling, vomiting and loose bowel movement. They ran blood and fecalysis tests and found out that I had this bacteria lurking inside my tummy, but they said it was nothing major. The doctor issued me his prescription and sent me home while I wondered why he didn’t even recommend subjecting me to a longer observation in their emergency room. I was in their hospital for less than 2 hours.

Taking his word (nothing serious), I bought the drugs and started medication. What followed after 2 a.m. were almost 18 more trips to the bathroom, high fever, stomach cramps and more vomiting. Saturday afternoon, my mom decided to take me to Asian Hospital. Because I looked like someone who is about to die.

Upon arrival, I was immediately attended by an ER doctor and nurses. I was confined in their observation room for almost 4 hours for immediate treatment and hydration. When the lab tests came, I was admitted under the care of a gastroenterologist.

Almost 40 trips to the toilet, 38-degree fever, rumbling tummy, ingesting various drugs and being leashed to the IV/Dextrose machine for 48 hours were the highlights of my long weekend. Glad that there was cable TV, a bit okay with the low fat low sodium diet (because I want to live). Imagine the boredom, but I’m glad to still be alive.

Here are the things I learned from this experience:

Do not seek emergency treatment from some unknown hospital. If I have continued to follow the prescription given to me by Metro South Hospital Cavite doctor, I would have been dried up as prune and presumably dead by now.

If you’re employed, make sure that you are enrolled under an HMO plan to cover for your hospitalization. PhilHealth usually covers 20% of the hospital bill. I did not shell out a centavo during my confinement, except for the advance I made for PhilHealth portion which will be reimbursed to me in 3 months. Just because it was a holiday and no one is going to process my PhilHealth papers before I get discharged. (Still lousy government health plan.)

Note: Photo from lasiksurgeryclinic.com

Holy smoke!

July 3, 2009 Citylife
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Parc Royale on fire

This building beside ours was on fire late Tuesday afternoon. Fire trucks clogged the roads leading to Julia Vargas Avenue causing traffic and irritation among commuters during the rush hour. I joined the rest of the spectators (and chismosos) trooping to nearby Benpres parking lot and took photos with my camera phone. I really should own a DSLR given my penchant for capturing live actions, structures and quirky people like those inside the gyms running on ellipticals, the woman and her child who endlessly beg every night, unruly pedestrians, and gossiping women in coffee shops. Well, someday.

Burger tales

June 20, 2009 Foodie
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Whopper Jr. from Burger King

After weeks of craving for a Burger King Swiss Mushroom Melt, I finally had my burger fix early last week at the nearby BK store in Robinsons Galleria. That was a superb lunch treat. I took down a Whopper Jr., giant apple juice and chips, and (melted) sundae with (melted) chocolate syrup. I went back to the office with my shades still on and a crazy smile scrawled on my face.

I still had those beef particles inside my digestive track until the following morning. It was like the experience I had when I once ate a McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. I felt constipated I had to drown myself with milk from the fridge hoping the bloated feel would be flushed down the plumber knows where.

Now Pinoy-style burgers were like donuts compared to its Western counterparts where portions were almost like the size of a regular dinner plate. I remember frequenting McDonald’s somewhere in Kingston-Upon-Thames every other day sampling almost every burger diet that was alien to my tastebuds. I guess walking around the town center under the cold noonday sun helped save me from that bloated feel and developing belly fat. I even drank too much Coke then. If you want to lose those burger pounds, this liporexall review might help.

I was a regular in this McDonald's branch somewhere in Edenwalk.So who invented the hamburger? It was not exactly McDonald’s idea. They say it was the Mongols during the peak of Genghis Khan’s conquest of the known world in the 12th century. Because they moved from one place to another checking out lands to conquer, they thought ground meat formed into patties was handy and easy to eat while mounting their ponies.

The term hamburger came from the word “hamburg steak” which was brought to America in the 1800′s by German-speaking immigrants from Europe. These immigrants were served meat patties grilled and placed between two pieces of bread while on board those Hamburg lines.

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