Because it's Christmas :)

The warm fuzzy feeling given by the Christmas season gives me the urge to blog about well Christmas and our recently concluded stint at Pediatrics.

I have always loved kids :) spending time with little ones makes me happy and the happiness of seeing kids happy is really priceless. Thus, many people thought I'd go into pedia and well I initially thought so too - from before entering medical school up to last year as a third year medical student.

however, we all know that I enjoyed internal medicine way much. and the next rotations wherein we deal with some kids, made me really sad especially with how much I find lining kids and extracting blood from them extra difficult, and this really discouraged me into taking pediatrics as a field in the future. :|

and then come our rotation in the Pediatrics ward. and it started to dawn on me why I don't think I'd ever have the heart to take care of sick kids, more than the difficult procedures. You see in the pediatrics rotation, we are assigned patients with whom we'll be student in charge. We'd be in-charged of facilitating laboratory tests and the paper works that come with referrals and discharge. and well, we are talking here of sick kids. and there would always be those moments when I can't help but ask why those kids are sick. :( I mean, they are kids.. kids who should be playing outside and enjoying being a child instead of lying on hospital beds and being extracted blood.

I told this to a friend who said that the reason for him to consider pediatrics is, the possible joy of making these kids healthy again and being able to send them home. The kind of priceless happiness that most pediatricians take pride on, which makes sense and which makes them extra admirable. but the heart break i got from seeing sick kids every day is something that is definitely hard to move on from.

BUT BUT BUT

Pedia was not always sick kids days. there are days when you encounter adorable little kids and babies while monitoring which makes the monitoring stress and pagod go away. For some reason, monitoring kids is more tiresome, because sometimes, they still don't understand why they have to be awaken at the middle of the night to put something around their arms, to put something on their fingers on top of actually not feeling well.

but the kilig I get when they smile at you, when they give you the high five or when they talk to you  - everything becomes bearable again.

my most favorite patient to give mannitol to and monitor is patient C who always says

"Bigay gamot para gumaling. BP lang para wala ng sakit."

with a very adorable smile :)

there are also moments that make me admire how much bravery they have in those fragile bodies. In fact, I had a 10 year old patient, patient A, who was already on chronic dialysis. and she is definitely one of the bravest kids I have ever known during my whole pedia rotation.

After inserting her with a femoral catheter, A said,

"Muntik na akong umiyak e, pero muntik lang, pumikit lang ako, walang tumulong luha". 

and although they often get the blame, (although there are really times when they should be blamed). i applaud stellar parents who would really do a lot, if not everything for their children.

my most stellar parent in charge was that of a patient E, a chronic TB meningitis patient. Mommy J was a stellar bantay, she was even better than me as an "in-charge" when I first shifted in to the wards. There was a day when she was not able to do anything that we asked her to facilitate. When I talked to her, she told me something that I don't want to forget.

"Doktora, nagtatalo ang isip at puso ko. Sabi ng isip ko, tama na, pagod na ang anak mo. pero sabi ng puso ko, hindi ko pa kaya."

And that my friends, is how you can easily break a heart. Sadly E, left our world, a week after I finished my ward rotation. I was not even able to say goodbye to Mommy J and actually commend her for a battle well fought.

after the ward rotation was the ER wherein we were welcomed with limited admissions - hooray. :p

but that did not limit me from having a very unforgettable experience. my most memorable experience at the Pedia ER was an NGT insertion to a kid with partial gut obstruction secondary to intestinal parasitism. it was a memorable last ER duty experience, because, well as I was instructing the kid na "lunok ka parang spaghetti lang", a different kind of spaghetti got out :p

and finally the NICU-catcher rotation which really made everything worth it in the end wherein we were given the chance to catch babies!:) witness the gift of life and make gigil to those adorable little things :")

of course, the pedia rotation wouldn't be as fabulous as it was without our very mababait interns and residents. :)

***

I have always believed that Christmas is for kids (well Christmas is for everyone) but I believe that it is especially for kids, and perhaps a lot of people believe in this too since December at the wards was extra colorful with the almost every day parties sponsored by people who want to give back. Someday, when I am able to, I'd love to give back too. and more than the presents and food, and Jollibee dancing and making them happy, I'd love to sponsor a kid's medications or laboratory tests.

I may not have such strong heart to take care of sick kids for the rest of my life but children will always have a special place in my heart. :)