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

We used to hear and read the word “chlorophyll” in our grade school and high school science text books. And we know that this particular element is what makes most plants green and enable them to absorb sunlight. The by-product? Oxygen.

So we’ve been eating and growing greens in our backyards, flower pots and huge farms. The more greens we have, the better for the environment. And if this matter implanted in the green salads we take in, it could cleanse the body, and probably some green minds too.

I was surprised to find that chlorophyll now comes in various forms like an over-the-counter medicine, acne treatment or glutathione – capsules, powder and liquid. Nice casing too – glass or plastic bottles and cute boxes with curious names and “food supplement” taglines. Price range is between P500-P2000, depending on which mixture you choose.

Weirds me out, although this is no longer surprising about this news since we’ve been selling oxygen in cannisters and tanks. (I would have to see a powder version.) But I would still prefer going the natural way – plant trees, eat green leafy vegetables, exercise and drink water.