For a month, I enrolled myself to a certification program called Certified Financial Consultant, from September 10 through October 15, 2016, every Saturday.
During thr last week of my course, something bad happened to Dupong, my college classmate and one of the bestfriends, and he was confined at the Perpetual Succor in Cebu City. I decided to fly to Cebu with another friend, Magelle Labrador-Resullar, to check the real score of Dupong's health.
I gathered that when Dupong returned to work on October 2 from a month-long festivity in our home province, he complained of headaches. It was said that he used to request head massage and fell asleep on his desk after, for 3 consecutive days. It was Wednesday when he did not report to work that everyone wondered, texted him, and called his phones. He didn't answer them except for his mother, who called that day to inform him of the fire incident in their hometown. His mother wondered about his indifferent reaction, hearing only "uhm, uhm" as answers. mama then called her cousins in Surigao to check on Dupong. When some of them arrived, they found him lying on his bed almost naked, emaciated and unrecognizable. Dupong even did not recognize them, staring blankly. They relayed that he was muted and wasted. They immediately called an ambulance and rushed him to the nearest hospital.
Mama and Fr. Ronan, Dupong's brother, arrived early on Thursday and upon seeing his condition decided to fly him to Cebu. At the local's Miranda Hospital, he was diagnosed of meningitis. At Perpetual Succor, he was subjected to CT Scan and brain MRI. It was later found that some nodules have grown in his brain; around 4 nodes.
He was disoriented when we arrived but teary-eyed seeing me. That time he was able to move the digits of his fingers and count them imperfectly. His conversation was left at midsentence. I pitied him, having all these tubes connecting him and the machines. It was never an attractive sight, hospital is not a good place to be in, much less an ICU patient. I felt strange, as if I am not a nurse.
Anyway, I inquired that the physician incharged of infectious disease was ruling out the meningitis diagnosis; the neuro-surgeon was advising a brain surgery; the oncologist was demanding a biopsy and all.
Everyone who knew Dupong was praying for his fast recovery and indeed he was recovering remarkably. Within days he was conscious, able to converse although limited, and ambulatory. I observed this progress within the weekend I was there.
Mama and Fr. Ronan were reluctant about the brain surgery insisted by the assigned neuro-surgeon. Then the Bishop of Surigao Diocese recommended transferring Dupong to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Manila. I heard from my friend and mentor, Ma'am Stella Salas that this hospital specializes in neuro-surgery. She relayed to me the successful operation of her husband who also have brain tumor, with gamma knife.
Dupong stayed at Cardinal Santos Medical Center from October to November end. I visited him along with more collegemates and friends. We found him recuperating faster than expected. He underwent the known gamma knife operation after having finally diagnosed of multiple abscesses in the brain, but not due to meningitis. He has negative results in all tests and procedures, no cancerous cells, and that the pus was shrinking with the medications, up to oral meds.
We strolled with him around SM Mall of Asia before he went home to Surigao to spend Christmas with more families and friends who were so excited to see him back and well.
I hope that he would totally recover from his illness, which is a unique case, kind of weird, scary, and of course, expensive.
During thr last week of my course, something bad happened to Dupong, my college classmate and one of the bestfriends, and he was confined at the Perpetual Succor in Cebu City. I decided to fly to Cebu with another friend, Magelle Labrador-Resullar, to check the real score of Dupong's health.
I gathered that when Dupong returned to work on October 2 from a month-long festivity in our home province, he complained of headaches. It was said that he used to request head massage and fell asleep on his desk after, for 3 consecutive days. It was Wednesday when he did not report to work that everyone wondered, texted him, and called his phones. He didn't answer them except for his mother, who called that day to inform him of the fire incident in their hometown. His mother wondered about his indifferent reaction, hearing only "uhm, uhm" as answers. mama then called her cousins in Surigao to check on Dupong. When some of them arrived, they found him lying on his bed almost naked, emaciated and unrecognizable. Dupong even did not recognize them, staring blankly. They relayed that he was muted and wasted. They immediately called an ambulance and rushed him to the nearest hospital.
Mama and Fr. Ronan, Dupong's brother, arrived early on Thursday and upon seeing his condition decided to fly him to Cebu. At the local's Miranda Hospital, he was diagnosed of meningitis. At Perpetual Succor, he was subjected to CT Scan and brain MRI. It was later found that some nodules have grown in his brain; around 4 nodes.
He was disoriented when we arrived but teary-eyed seeing me. That time he was able to move the digits of his fingers and count them imperfectly. His conversation was left at midsentence. I pitied him, having all these tubes connecting him and the machines. It was never an attractive sight, hospital is not a good place to be in, much less an ICU patient. I felt strange, as if I am not a nurse.
Anyway, I inquired that the physician incharged of infectious disease was ruling out the meningitis diagnosis; the neuro-surgeon was advising a brain surgery; the oncologist was demanding a biopsy and all.
Everyone who knew Dupong was praying for his fast recovery and indeed he was recovering remarkably. Within days he was conscious, able to converse although limited, and ambulatory. I observed this progress within the weekend I was there.
Mama and Fr. Ronan were reluctant about the brain surgery insisted by the assigned neuro-surgeon. Then the Bishop of Surigao Diocese recommended transferring Dupong to Cardinal Santos Medical Center in Manila. I heard from my friend and mentor, Ma'am Stella Salas that this hospital specializes in neuro-surgery. She relayed to me the successful operation of her husband who also have brain tumor, with gamma knife.
Dupong stayed at Cardinal Santos Medical Center from October to November end. I visited him along with more collegemates and friends. We found him recuperating faster than expected. He underwent the known gamma knife operation after having finally diagnosed of multiple abscesses in the brain, but not due to meningitis. He has negative results in all tests and procedures, no cancerous cells, and that the pus was shrinking with the medications, up to oral meds.
We strolled with him around SM Mall of Asia before he went home to Surigao to spend Christmas with more families and friends who were so excited to see him back and well.
I hope that he would totally recover from his illness, which is a unique case, kind of weird, scary, and of course, expensive.
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