I Eat Medical Terms for Lunch and Humor for Dessert

My father is recuperating well, apart from him being so thin. I wish they could just put us both on the operating table so that they can suction my fats out and into my father. Nice thought, right? Operation: Balik-Alindog Nakatulong Ka Pa. I get slimmer, he gets fatter. And there are actually willing donors like my friends and my sister, who I’m sure will happily fly back to Manila on short notice. 😀

On a serious note, I am sharing this experience as heads up to anyone who are unfortunately in the same situation as ours.

We would have been home days earlier if not for this pulmonologist who did my father’s thoracentesis procedure. Due to pleural effusion (fluid buildup between the tissue layers lining the lungs and the chest cavity), he had to undergo that bedside procedure to drain the fluid from his left lung. This is a minor operation and should have been good for just 3-5 days confinement had this doctor thought to give some cough suppressant or a mild sedative to keep him from coughing during the procedure. At least that’s what my sister thought so; considering she’s a nurse, she has some know-how at least on these things. I sadly don’t.

Now, that I think about it, it’s actually common sense to give the patient some cough suppressant to minimize the risk of pneumothorax (air in the chest cavity), and not altogether rely on your patient not to cough because you told him so. Coughing is something you cannot control; you just have to do it when you got to do it.

As she performed the procedure, she had to replace two needles as it bent inside when my father coughed. Two bloody effin’ instances of coughing. On the first go, maybe she should have already thought to give him something right? No she poked him again. Ergo, possibly introducing more air.

His post-procedure x-ray confirmed there is air and some remaining fluid on his left lung. And so he has to undergo another minor procedure, tube thoracostomy, where a tube will be inserted on his left side to drain the air and fluid from his lung. I wanted to strangle this soft-spoken doctor if not for the sheer restraint I put upon myself.

Anyway on a happy note, the tube  that rendered my father immobile for days has been removed at last,  around 10AM today.  We are hoping to be out of this white joint early this week. *on bended knee… dear PapaG(esus) please 🙂 *

My father’s humor and sarcasm are back as well. Woohooo! Dear brother just laughed off the sarcasm thrown at him as we were just happy he’s getting stronger to have a comeback like he does now.

In an exchange with mother over breakfast:

Mom: Akin na yang kamay mo para makaupo ka na at makakain ka na.
Dad: (Stares long at Mom and blurts out) Hinihingi mo na ang kamay ko? He said it with a naughty glint in his eyes; as though my Mom is asking for his hand in marriage.

I was really amused; even my usually poker face mother was actually laughing. While she has the tendency to break into a litany (which we fondly call The Litany of Rolanda 😀 ) of my father’s faults and annoying ways when the opportunity arises, we know in her tough love kind of way, she loves him. She just won’t admit it. 😀