"When you're with a guy, don't be a doctor...be a girl."

--

We brought a patient to PGH. I saw him two days ago in the ER, with a seemingly benign chest pain, post prandial, and admitted him.  Little did I know he would develop an infarction.

Lesson - treat all chest pain like a heart attack.

I was walking through the halls, guiding the stretcher, when I saw a familiar face. It was Dave! Instantly, my face lit up, temporarily forgetting that I was keeping down my stomach contents after that vertigo-inducing ambulance ride.  We said a quick hello, a very tight hug, and we parted ways as I rushed to fetch the patient to his room.

As maneuvered around the building, I told the nurses how it seems only yesterday, I spent a very memorable week there as pre-resident.

When I went back, he was there again. We were deciding whether I would stay in manila, or I would take him along to Dasma. Haha. The ambulance was already about to leave, but our arms were locked and we were pulling opposite directions. It must've looked funny. We took a snapshot, and he let me go.

I miss the times when we were interns. Life was easier then.

On my last ER duty, was ingestion day. A pretty young woman after drinking two bottles of Red Horse Grande, ingested half a glass of Baygon, and another took 'hundreds of pills' which uh..later translated to just 10 pieces of amlodipine, 3 pieces of cotrimoxazole, and 6 pieces of vitamin c. Their means were obviously ineffective, and only served to give them such discomfort from being decontaminated with charcoal and soduim sulfate solutions placed through a tube down their noses.

Just because they fought with their husbands.

(They live and breathe to face another day. If they only knew how hard they made it for me...)

I admitted another charity patient earlier, out of the dictates of my conscience. My seniors obviously disapproved, but I took pity on that weak looking 50s woman, looking uremic or septic, maybe both. She needed dialysis, but they didn't have the money yet.

I could send the patient home on that grounds, knowing I have one less thing to worry about.

But, knowing she'll die unattended at home,  I didn't let her. I couldn't. I felt like I still had to do something.

--

I was so tired today, I wanted to explode with frustration..

I went to The Feast this Sunday, and it was very powerful...I have been on a spiritual desert for some time now, and it has led me to thinking that He has abandoned me throughout several ordeals I have been through for the past weeks...But no, I was the one who abandoned praying first.

I felt great to be reunited with my CG-mates, Melo, Melvs and Ram. Mann Hann and Swensen's. It has been months but it felt like we've only seen each other yesterday.

And I am overflowing with financial blessings, from my parents, then another cash prize from the research that I won a month ago, then being given a treat by the neurologist, whom I went to clinics with yesterday. Eunice, Marshell, Sir B and I spent the last at Ninja Gohan and Starbs.

Today, I go on my third solo duty...It still scares me to death, but I just want this day to get over with...Last duty was pretty benign..I had 4 hours of sleep...I hope today, is just as kind.