A Grandmother’s Love

11/08/2012

The day when I lost the most important woman in my life. My Grandmother.

The day when I just wanted to go back home in the Philippines and see her for the last time.

The day when I asked the Lord, ‘WHY?’

The day when I wished that it was all just a DREAM.

The coolest Lola evuuurrrr!

When I heard from my Mum that Lola passed away, my first reaction was to go home immediately but I know it’s not possible because I still have an exam due the following week. I went to the Church that afternoon and I couldn’t help myself not to cry for so many reasons. First, why did it have to happen when I am so far away from them? Second, I was so helpless. Lastly, why didn’t she wait for me to come back home? At that very moment, I was asking the Lord so many things… so many WHY’s.

07/07/2011

The day I left for Australia to study.

When I decided to leave for Australia, it was all because of Lola. It was all because of me wanting her to be proud of me. I wanted to reciprocate everything she has given me and my family ever since we were born.

Never had it occurred to me that this date will be my last day of seeing her… my Lola. NEVER.

During my stay in Australia, while I was studying I found myself a job as a Housekeeper in aged care institution in which a few months after I also became a Personal Carer. Ironic isn’t it?

Whenever I do facetime with my family, I always tell Lola what my work’s all about. Such thing as washing the dishes, cleaning 20 plus rooms, caring for the elderly… and I always found her smiling and telling me ‘Kaya mo lahat yun?’

In my one year and 2 months stay in Australia, I missed a lot of occasions such as her 91^st birthday, Christmas, New Year, Bisita Iglesia and so much more… her lasts. Remembering all of these, I couldn’t help not to feel sad for not being there on those special occasions… with her.

As of now, I will admit that I am so jealous of all the people who had a chance of being with her on her last year.

I only had Facetime and Skype to stay connected to her during her last year.

Dear Lola,

Thank you for everything! Thank you for letting us be your FAMILY. Thank you for being our provider. Thank you for being a good mother to Mummy… for taking care of her… for loving her as your own.

Thank you for the love and care you gave to Mum :)

Thank you for sacrificing a lot of things just for us. Thank you for letting Kuya and I study in a good school. Thank you for pushing me to study Nursing… now I know that you just wanted me to become successful in life. Thank you for the good life you have shared with all of us. Thank you for giving me the chance to go to Australia and study even if I know that it cost a big amount of money. Thank you for being my Lola! Thank you for your kindness and patience.  You are the best and even if you are now in heaven, don’t forget that I will forever love you.

You are the best Lola/Mom for Kuya and I :) 

You helped me be who I am today.

Sorry for not being there with you during your last days. Sorry for not being able to take care of you while I was taking care of other elderly in Australia. Sorry for still not being able to accept that you’re gone… In time, I know.

You lived a full life, Lola. You helped a lot of people without asking anything in return. Some people may have hurt and treated you unkindly but still, you were always there for them and even gave your forgiveness and I know that the Lord is very proud of you.

You had been a good daughter, a sister, an Aunt, a friend, a dressmaker, a leader to your workers, a provider; but for us… your family… you were a mother and a grandmother…. You gave us everything… from the simple things to big things but most especially you gave us FAMILY; because you never failed to show us that we are your family even if we’re not related by blood. If I think about what I learned in my life, then the first thing that pops to my mind is the sentence ‘blood is not thicker than water… LOVE is’.

It is not flesh and blood but the heart which makes us a Family.

Thank you, Lord for giving Lola 91 years of good life.

Lola's super talent :)

I will miss you forever, Lola Chita. I will miss sleeping beside you and smelling your Katinko every night. I will miss holding your hands. I will miss your smile. I will miss your kasungitan and mood swings. Thank you for all the memories you shared with all of us. I thank the Lord for giving me the Best Lola in the whole world. No amount of money or treasures is nearly more important than YOU. If only I could trade one day or anything just to see you, to hug you, to kiss you and to tell how much I LOVE YOU… then I will surely and positively do.

I will not forget the last words you told me during our last convo just few days before you left us... 'Wag mo isipin mga sasabihin nila. Gawin mo yung gusto mo. Susuportahan kita.'  (Don't think of what others might say just do what you want to do. I will support you). Those words.... they made me cry. And when she heard that I was crying 'O bakit siya umiiyak?' Until the end, she just wanted the best for me. 

So, if you still have your grandparents with you… treasure them, care for them, be kind to them, RESPECT them, hug and kiss them everyday (one of the things I wish I had been given a chance of doing) and lastly, LOVE them no matter how kulit, demented or whatever they may be because you never know when’s their last day.

Lola, you’ll forever be in our hearts and prayers. I will wait for the day when we can be together again and have our endless kwentuhan about your favorite teleseryes and anything under the sun J but as for now, I shall be seeing you in my dreams and NO GOODBYES just see you later, my Lola dear.

I think I got her love of travel :)

I LOVE YOU.

WE LOVE AND WE'LL MISS YOU.

Enjoy your new home with the LORD. J

Missing and still crying over you,

Kay-Ann

Life in the Emergency

My last clinical placement for the school year started on March 5, 2012 and was I assigned to work at Flinders Medical Centre’s Emergency Department. 

Flinders Medical Centre

EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT! Kulang pa yang SAAS na naka-park dyan!

When I knew that I will be working in ED for 3 months, I was really excited but super nervous at the same time because I know that when you say Emergency Department or Emergency Room as what we call it back in the Philippines… It is TOXIC.  But maybe, God really put me into this department because I have always been missing my work as a Registered Nurse and how I miss the feeling of being toxic every now and then.

Our Tea Room during day time. Watching Obama's Call Me Maybe!

Our Tea Room at nigh time. Masterchef time! 

First day of placement was already so overwhelming for me. I was allocated on the A SIDE in which the patients are most likely to be admitted at the wards. They have 22 beds all in all and have 4 RN’s working on the floor.  As a newbie, I am still not allowed to get my own patient load so I had to be partnered to one of the RN’s.  At the end of the day, I learned a lot like checking Urinalysis using a dipstick which was pretty new to me because I am used of just sending the specimens to the laboratory for a check. Another thing was doing an ECG J It was a first for me! In my experience back home, I have never used an ECG machine because we always have our ECG technicians. Haha.

I was also allocated on the D SIDE which is the opposite of the A SIDE because patients who are brought here are most likely to be discharged. Also, this side has a high patient turnover so kapagod! This side has 16 beds in total.

FMC ED also has the Time Critical/Resus/Airway side. I must say, this is my favorite side of all that I’ve been to. In this side, I learned to work under great stress. I have also managed to assist in a cardioversion which I am thankful to my nurses because they were really patient and they never stopped to teach me about anything. 

Aside from what's mentioned above, FMC ED also has Paediatrics Side (which I realized that I am not really compatible working with children. Haha.) and Triage.

Here are some of the new things I learned all throughout my 3 months stay in ED.

• -          Urinalysis using dipstick
• -          ECG
• -          Sending specimens to ED Path via Chute (Super cool nito J)
• -          Handover to the nth time!!!!!! Hahahaha. ISBAR mode.
• -          Admit patients (Full assessment. Q&A portion with the patient then to be followed by the rest like OBS, ECG, U/A, bloods etc)
• -          Transfer patients from ED to different wards. Handover again.
• -          IV Drip using an Infusion pump. Medyo hi-tech!
• -          Do blood extractions J this is something to be brag about. Haha. Too bad, I wasn’t able to put a jelco on a patient.
•       Code Blue, Code BLACK! 

      My experience in ED as a whole was a rollercoaster ride. It was exciting but super draining both physically and mentally. Meeting different kind of people each day has helped me to increase the use of Australian English! Ang hirap um-accent infairnes!!!!! Honestly, there were couple of days in which I just don’t want to go to duty kasi nakakasawa na! However, here I am already finished with my last placement and managed to be punctual always. Take note, with no absences J

Another ED!

I would just want to thank all the RNs, ENs, Consultants, Registrars, MO and Interns that I have worked with. They have all been so good in imparting their knowledge and being so patient to a student like me. I will forever treasure this experience because I gained a lot of new learning and this also heightened my desire to be a really good Nurse and if God will permit, an ED Nurse someday! J

Lastly, as an RN already, it always feels good to know that at the end of the day… just a simple THANK YOU from a patient can really ease all the exhaustion away.

Last shift! On the A SIDE :)

Especial thanks to Dr. A J Haha. My last day of duty was all so worth it. Hopefully, we’ll bump into each other soon!

Got my CER, finally! Thanks my ED family <3

Cheers,

A!

Happy Mother's Day to the Three women in my Life :)

To my Mama,

who's always been there for me through my ups and downs

who gave me all the love and support

who helped me to be who I am right now

who never left my side

who never got tired of taking care of me

who has been my inspiration to be successful

I miss everything about you, Ma!

I can't wait to see you again.

To my groovy Lola Chita, 

who has been my second Mother

who taught me how to DREAM BIG

who pushed me so hard to be a Nurse

who encouraged me to do the impossible things

who also gave me all the love in the world

thank you for everything! 

you've been such a good provider for us

I wouldn't trade you for the world

To Ate Emy,

who has been with our family since my Mom's a teenager

who also became my other mother

who's always attending to all our needs

who's taking care of my whole family

who always makes paligo my pets :) Hihi.

A BIG THANK YOU! 

don't resign, okay? HAHA. 

wait for me!

Happy Mother's Day!

to the TOP 3 women in my life

I LOVE YOU, all.

I want to thank the Lord for giving me these 3 wonderful ladies who have been my ultimate source of strength.

I miss youuuuuu!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers,

A :)

Brotherly love

EDWARD

Derived from Old English - ead (prosperity) + weard (guard).

ALBERT

From the Germanic name Adalbert, which was composed of the elements adal "noble" and beraht "bright".

EDWARD ALBERT

Was an American film and television actor.

…

Aside from all these definition, EDWARD ALBERT is my KUYA/ BIG BROTHER.

In this blog, you will see the 29 THINGS ABOUT MY KUYA

1.       Kuya was born on the 7^th of March 1983

2.       Pisces is his zodiac sign

The following are the schools in which my Kuya had been to

3.       Vey Garcia

4.       Don Bosco Technical College, Makati

5.       Angelicum College

6.       Notre Dame of Greater Manila

7.       THAMES

8.       College of St. Benilde

9.       You may call him Eggy, Egy, Egyboy, Dward

10.   He looks like my Mother so much

11.   At some point in our lives, we didn’t get to live together. He was with my Lola in Manila and I was with my Mama and Papa in Caloocan.

12.   He is ARTISTIC. I sometimes envy him because he draws so gooooood. By the way, when it comes to my assignments which had to do with drawings back then, I often asked for his help to do the drawings. HAHA!

13.   He is SCARY. Well, not the monstery-type-of-scary but He has this MAANGAS and MAYABANG look that even my friends get scared of him.

14.   As far as I know, He is 5’7 or 5’8. And yes, how I wish that I have the same height as him. HAHA!

15.   He doesn’t like ear piercings because of his stupid reason that our ears are near our brain! OMG LANG DIBA?! AND YET…………………

16.   HE HAS A LOT OF TATTOOS!

17.   He has this mole on his nape

18.   He is a GOOD DRIVER like PAPA

19.   He once co-owned a Mini-Chinese Restaurant near Benilde

20.   He also had BUFF n’ GRIME. An auto-detailing shop.

21.   He currently works at Project Lifestyle Manila

22.    He is a member of DEFTAC a Mixed Martial Arts community in the Philippines and He is on Wakeboarding as well. SPORTY HE IS!

23.   I don’t know how many medals he has right now but recently, He won a bronze medal at the 2012 Phil Open held at Trinoma

24.   He is a LOLA’s BOY.

25.   He loves to have a soup everytime he eats and he wants it HOT

26.   He cannot live without a JUICE

27.   He is always NOT AT HOME (literally speaking! HAHA)

28.   He is my TAGA-HATID/SUNDO when I was still in Uni and even when I was already working as a RN

29.   He loves his FAMILY so much. OUR FAMILY!

Apparently, 29 things aren’t really enough for me to show everybody who my Kuya is. Honestly, we’re not really that close with each other.  We often fight at home and that fight will end up with me going inside my room… crying. I always remember my Mom telling us “Dalawa na nga lang kayo, tapos mag-aaway pa kayo” or “Paano na lang pag wala na kami ng Papa niyo?” everytime my Kuya and I are having some arguments.

Oh well, my Kuya has also thought me a lot of things in life. Such as when I lost my cellphone that my Papa gave to me. I was really crying so hard when I get home from Uni that day and the only time that I stopped crying was during dinner and that was when Kuya told me not to worry about it anymore and the quote that I will always remember that came from him “Kay, just charge it to experience”.

He is also not just a brother to me He also somehow became my second Papa because our Papa has been working abroad for such a long time. He has been the one who is taking care of me, Mama and Lola. He was the one who represented Papa during my Capping Ceremony, Pinning Ceremony and Graduation.

This would be my first time making a blog for my family and si Kuya pa ang BUENA MANO. I know that I’ve been a SUPLADANG kapatid sa’yo and I may not be that malambing as you are but I LOVE YOU, KUYA! You have sacrificed a lot for me especially with this Australia thing. Thank you for being such a supportive, loving, caring, responsible and sometimes nakakatakot na KUYA for me. I promise to do my best here and work hard for our Family and may all your wishes and dreams come true! SABAY TAYO MANGARAP, KUYA! HAHA! I will see you all soon.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KUYA!

I will forever be your little sister.

XOXO,

Kay-Ann :)

PS.

Hope you liked my gifts!. All from hard work yan. HAHA.

To my love, Stepdara Simon :)

Happy Birthday, Steph! :)

Helloir! A big shoutout for you my dearest friend.

Who is Steph for me? 

1. Batchmate- UERM batch 2009, OASIS

2. MultiplyMates- We basically became friends through that site together with Ivica but whenever we meet at Uni, we barely even speak to each other. How funny was that? Haha.

3. Group D17- Unexpectedly, God played tricks at us and Steph and I became groupmates. Honestly, at first I wasn't that comfortable yet being with her and talking to her... maybe it was because we were MultiplyMates so it was really awkward for me (well, for both of us) to be close with each other. That awkwardness became visible during our first shift ever as a group at OR (Operating Room) because our group was split into half and Steph and I were unfortunately put on a different group with different shift. It was just only during end of every shifts that we were able to see each other. As days pass by, we became more comfortable with each other. Not knowing that by those moments, we were now starting to have this so called 'FRIENDSHIP' that I didn't know would last this long :)

4. Group B12- From being D17 we became the mighty B12. Haha. This time, I can now proudly say that our Friendship has now moved on to the next level. We started to be each other's confidant in times of difficulties regarding studies, heartbreaks, kilig moments and lots of random stuffs. Oh and how can I forget the songs like "TAKE A BOW"

"FAT"

Those songs were EPIC! I wonder, where those songs are right now?!! Haha. 

5. CinemaOne buddy- She has always been my partner when it comes to watching Filipino movies especially when we were still in the Philippines. I remember to always text her whenever there's something good to watch on Cinema One or whenever I can relate to the movie itself. Haha. Lastly, I will never forget the last movie that we watched together before she left for Australia :) Till My Heartaches End! 

6. Sister- Steph is not just a plain friend to me she has also become my sister like a family. I remember having this problem and she was always there for me (either giving me advice or just cheering me up!) Up to now, I am proud to say that Steph is one of the few people whom I can consider as my TRUE FRIEND :) 

Once again, have a blissful birthday love! May God continue to bless you more with good health & bright future ahead! I am wishing, hoping and praying that ONE DAY we'll be able to hang out again (Hello! We're just in one country?!!) I miss you so dearly and God knows how much I love you :) 

All the best,

Kimtrina Reyes