The doctors made me cry!

Yes! The doctors at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center made me cry! So did a bunch of nurses, therapists, even the hospital Director! There must have been at least 20 of them who surrounded me that afternoon when I was invited to a meeting to discuss the status and prognosis of our apo-apohan Charlotte who we assume had an adverse reaction after a school administered vaccination. What made me cry was realizing all the goodwill, the hard work and the humility that everyone in the “team” had shown towards Charlotte, her parents and me in spite of the fact that professionals and staff in government hospitals don’t get enough support and little of the respect and recognition they so deserve.

Since the time I wrote about the incident, a lot has happened. After falling ill and manifesting an adverse reaction, Charlotte landed at the FEU Medical Center/hospital in Fairview QC. During her confinement last October 2015, representatives the Department of Education and the Department of Health took the lead and organized Charlotte’s transfer to the PCMC under the directions of DOH Secretary Janet Garin who gave us her personal assurance that the PCMC has the experience and competency to care for the 11-year-old patient. Little did I realize that Secretary Garin was intent on making the matter a “personal” concern and would check in and help out the team! During the meeting I learned that Secretary Garin has been one of those rare pro-active leaders who sits down with health officials to find out what they need and what can be done and actually does something about it and not just makes conditional promises.

From the time of Charlotte’s transfer to the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, month after month was literally snail paced in terms of visible improvement. I kept a weekly monitor of the child’s improvement while helping her parents make decisions, giving them financial support and most importantly praying day after day with my wife and daughter for healing and miracles. Well the miracles we prayed for did not come in the form we expected. No she did not rise up one morning and walk out.

She actually overstayed in ICU like an over protected child simply because each and every improvement like lifting a finger, raising her arms, breathing on her own for a few minutes that turned into more minutes that extended to an hour or two, all of that took so much teamwork, so much care from the PCMC family and Charlotte’s family, that they were not willing to risk sliding back into a loss or defeat because of an infection or contamination from other patients. In fact they were so proud of the fact that Charlotte never had a serious case of pneumonia that generally manifests in patients like Charlotte.

That was how the miracles came. From Hospital Director Julius Lecciones down to lead physicians, interns etc. they all put in and more. Instead of the required emotional distance in ICU the doctors and staff made Charlotte everyone’s little sister. One doctor gave her a cuddle toy, others would bribe her just to exert effort in therapy, others would pander her and tease her about a doctor she had a “crush” on. All of this while working in an environment that sometimes looks and sounds more like an emergency room than an ICU for recovery. Then there were those who gently prepped the parents in terms of patient care, government assistance, suppliers of medical needs etc. They were all doing their jobs but doing it with heart.

Charlotte is far from functional or fixed. Last Sunday she was moved to a regular room for a two-week simulation prior to discharge and home care. During this time two respiratory therapists namely Rigmor Dyigico, chief respiratory therapist and Loveley Llamas visited Charlotte’s home in Fairview and her grandparents’ home in Lipa City, Batangas to assess the suitability of each location for home care, taking into account the environment, proximity to a suitable medical facility and availability of qualified therapists and physicians for consultation or emergency. Given that we were constructing a room designed for patient care and accessibility in Lipa, the team from PCMC recommended we keep Charlotte in Lipa where she would have more people available to care for her long term.

Charlotte will remain attached to a ventilator, will require a bottle or two of oxygen round the clock until God knows when, she will be tube fed, she will need a physical therapist to help her strengthen abdominal and neck muscles, she will need visits from physicians and nurses under the “home care” program of PCMC. The prospects and prognosis are daunting even for a non-relative like myself, but what struck me were the promises of the physicians and staff that their relationship with every child does not end during “discharge.” Visits are made as required because the people at PCMC don’t like to give up hard earned victories.

Looking back to that meeting where I cried tears of gratitude and respect for people at the PCMC, I am reminded of the phrase “It Takes a Village to Raise a Child.” In the case of Charlotte and the many child patients of the Philippine Children’s Medical Center, it begins with one person, you, me, us, to be there for the children and when we come together we become family, the family of the child that God placed before us.   

In closing I just want to mention and thank the rest of the team who’ve been there for Charlotte: Dr. Jose Carlo Miguel Villanueva - chief resident / Dr. Mary Ann Aison- pulmonologist) / Dr. Jen Capili - pulmonologist  / Dr. Madel Pasual- neurologist / Dr. Pearl Joy Sendaydiego - neurologist? / Dr. Jim Ngo, Dr. Alexis Milan, Dr. Marielisse Hemedes, intensive care unit / Jayghie Calen/ Callos / Emily Sanchez / Maria Luisa Tolentino, social services arm / Dr. Roda Cipriano, Dr. Flor Ty. I’m sure there were at least five to 10 more people whose names I missed or who were silent in the background, but everyone deserves praise at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center

If you happen to be in a position to help the PCMC through publicity, donations, volunteer work or services, please do it because you’re not helping a hospital, you are helping the children!

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