The Innocent Man was the book that kept me company on my trips to the hospital in the past few weeks (oh and also French Women Don’t Get Fat). Since we don’t have our TV here in the living room in the aftermath of Ondoy, and the PC wasn’t setup yet (like I’ve said before, we’re still not done with the cleanup and our living room is still a mess), I had the chance to sit down and finish Grisham’s first work of non-fiction on Saturday last week.
In the beginning, it was dragging. It’s a lot like reading a legal brief, as I would imagine it (though I wouldn’t really know). But as the story unfolds even further, you would really want to read it through to find out how the truth will eventually come out.
My thoughts? If this injustice can happen in small town America – what of those suffering in the Philippine justice system?
Here, there was no graft and corruption included. Simple incompetence. Or law enforcement’s sheer will to find their scapegoat to get the public off their backs. In the Philippines, you have cops, lawyers and judges on payola (allegedly).
One of the most oft used arguments for the death penalty is its power as a crime deterrent. But how many of those executed in the past really were guilty beyond reasonable doubt? Until the state can guarantee a fair justice system, more so for the poor, then the death penalty will not be effective. Then of course there’s the right to life argument.
The book does not talk about the death penalty though it did give us a glimpse of Ron Williamson’s horrifying experience at The Row and the H Unit. It also shows how dreams are accepted as confessions, and how jail house snitches will say just about anything just to get off their own crimes.
It’s also about prejudice. And how some people on trial are presumed guilty until proven innocent.
The stories of Ron Williamson and Dennis Fritz, as well as of Tommy Ward and Karl Fontenot, should be an example of how law enforcement and the prosecutors ought not to act.
Ketsana and Parma – these are the international names of the two typhoons that recently hit the Philippines, and other Southeast Asian countries. In the Philippines, they are known as Ondoy and Pepeng respectively.
Ondoy hit Metro Manila and nearby provinces in Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog. Pepeng spared the metro but unleashed its wrath on Northern Luzon. Both have been merciless, taking lives and claiming properties and livelihood.
I feel bad that I have neither donated nor volunteered my time and efforts into any of the many relief operations that are out there. While hundreds have been mobilized to repack donations and bring them to disaster-struck areas, I have remained home pondering on the brain scans I have had done, and my tummy that’s been unwell since the floods.
To comfort myself, I’ve been telling myself that we are survivors of the flood too and my family and relatives also need my time and material donations (if I can afford any). We are the type of people who don’t normally receive any relief goods or help from government or socio-civic organizations. We just don’t fit their profiles. But this time, some relief goods found their way to 99 19th Street. These came mainly from our church. Some politicians, campaigning early, also sent us a few food items. All are much appreciated. 🙂
What we really needed though, and I am sure that many others still do too, are helping hands for the cleanup and rebuilding.
Manpower is what will be needed most in Northern Luzon so they can rebuild their homes and recover their livelihood. For sure, there will be an outpouring of dry clothes, medicines, and food. But let’s not forget that they need help with the cleanup as well. My mom told me today that one of the projects they were discussing was to mobilize young people who are here studying in Manila, due for a break after the school year’s first semester, and take them back to NL where they can help out.
If you personally know someone who was affected by the back-to-back disasters, volunteer to be with them. Help them clean up. They wouldn’t ask it of you, but it wouldn’t hurt for you to show up on their doorstep and spend time with them. If you don’t have the means to donate goods, this is the best thing you can offer.
Many organizations who responded to calls for help still have ongoing operations. From Ondoy relief, I am sure they will continue further operating to help the victims of Pepeng. There is a comprehensive list of contacts here: http://www.google.com/landing/typhoon-ondoy.html
If you want your donations to go directly to children, here’s a site that will welcome your donations. I found about them just yesterday: http://littlerescue.wordpress.com/
As for my own Ondoy experience, I guess I’ve grown a little tired of retelling the story. I started it last week here in my blog, but didn’t quite have the energy to continue. I have posted some pictures on my FB which I will slowly share on my photo blog. So please do visit my Digital Memories if you wish to see my photos of Ondoy’s visit to my home. I so far only have three posts there pertaining to the typhoon, but there soon will be more.
With all the deaths, and the illnesses that the two typhoons left in its wake, I wonder what kind of life many of our fellow Filipinos face in their future. Do they, like me, have the privilege of holding comprehensive health plans that will cover their medical bills? Did those who pass away invest in term insurance quotes, are they covered with life insurance that will allow their families to receive some amount to help them rebuild their lives? Have we learned any lesson from all this?
I pray that they all still look forward to a bright future, despite of what has happened.
In the past four weeks I have been a regular at the St. Luke’s Medical Center to finally get to the bottom of the severe headaches that I’d been having. I’ve lived with headaches for a long time. A year and a half ago, they got sooooo bad my parents advised me to go to the ER and have it checked. All I got from that trip was a prescription for Arcoxia, which for awhile I always carried a pill or two with me – just in case.
A friend at work commented that Arcoxia has some side effects, so I decided to stop taking them for my severe headaches. Our company doctor prescribed Celecoxib. Because it was just like Arcoxia to me, I didn’t pick up the habit of storing Celecoxib. Instead I’d just pop an Advil or Biogesic as soon as I feel a headache coming on (which is useless to me when the headache is already there when I wake up).
So anyway, because the frequency of the headaches have increased, I decided to go ahead and consult a doctor after an episode that lasted more than a day.
The Medicard physician referred me to a neurologist and also ordered blood work to be done.
The blood work which included a glucose test and a test to check on my cholesterol levels, among others, proved to be negative for anything that may be causing the migraine. I was healthy, not borderline diabetic, normal cholesterol levels (thank God!). The neuro ordered a neck xray and prescribed meds. When I came back the next week and reported that I was still having headaches, he ordered a brain scan.
So in the middle of our cleanup in the aftermath of Ondoy, I had a CT scan done. I had never been hospitalized in my life and I have never had an IV drip. But I’ve had two in the past two weeks. The contrast for the CT scan is injected through an IV tap. Ugh, that scared me more than either of the two scans. Anyway, I went back to see the doc with the results of the CT scan, and the recommendation was to have an MRI done to take a closer look on the soft tissue that was found where it wasn’t supposed to be. Did this scare me? The doctor didn’t give me any reason to be scared or worried. But what he wrote on my medical certificate and the recommendation for MRI was what got the boyfriend really worried. It was also because of those that I didn’t say anything about it to my mom, nor did I blog about it. To consider thalamic tumor, or something like that, he wrote. While he was writing this he told me – I’ll just indicate this so Medicard will approve the MRI. Don’t worry, sana negative. – Not very comforting. Haha.
A few days later I went to have the MRI done. I am not claustrophobic but I nearly freaked out for having to be in there for so long. I had something over my head to keep me still. The exam table (or whatever it’s called) was less comfortable than what they use at the CT scan section. They piped in music through a headset they provided but that did not help keep the noise of the machine out of my head. It was making uncomfortable noise! And I couldn’t make myself open my eyes, I was too scared. I felt that I might panic even more if I did. The first stretch was about 45 minutes or so. Then they took me out and inserted an IV tap (it was faster this time around) and injected in contrast fluid. Then I was back in for another 20 minutes or so. All in all the procedure took over an hour.
I do not wish anyone else to experience having an MRI unless absolutely necessary. It’s just not a wonderful experience.
The staff of the two units at the SLMC were all wonderful though – and I’d like to thank each and every one of them.
I went back to the hospital yesterday. I peeked at the MRI results and it all looked normal except for one line. The doctor checked it out, asked me questions, and then was all too happy to say that the MRI result was definitely good news. He mentioned that the CT scan results just gave us more headaches, but the MRI shows no sign of the mass of soft tissue. With all that had to be done, at least we are sure that I have nothing in my brain to worry about. 🙂 Thank God I didn’t have to pay for any of those scans!
I am to continue my medication for the next two months though. I’m not expected to have any severe headaches while I’m on it. I have had few headaches since I started taking it, but none that were unbearable or head-splitting. The doctor did tell me though that the medicine (valproic acid) is known to cause weight gain. Oh no, I do not need another reason to gain weight. He said that there’s a similar drug that causes weight loss, but his patients have been reporting side effects like feeling a creeping sensation on their limbs. Haha, nah, I don’t want that. Let’s just hope then that I’d have the discipline to work on not gaining any more weight.
So according to doc, it’s really just migraine and nothing else. I’m right back where I started, I guess.
September 26, 2009 – Typhoon Ondoy hits Metro Manila. Everyone thought it was just going to be another typhoon. One of the many many such storms that pass through this tropical country.
When I woke up at 430AM, the creek in front of our house had already risen and spilled over to the road. My mom asked me to check if the water was receding so my dad could bring the cars back down to our level. No – instead of receding back to the creek, the water level had actually risen. It was just a few feet away from kuya’s car. We woke dad up. He waded through the water and moved the car to safety.
At around 8AM (probably earlier), when I checked again, the water was gone.
At 9AM, the rain hasn’t stopped, and the water was rising – rapidly. After having breakfast, I took my camera out and snapped photos. I was surprised that the water was more than waist deep already out there on what was the road.
My cousins were preparing for the inevitable flood – and my nephew was still in good spirits to smile for me:
None of us thought that this would be more than just the usual flooding. Who would’ve known that our house, built with the highest flood recorded here in mind, would be chest-deep in water? And that the three-door apartment’s first floor would be completely submerged in water? That’s where my cousins and grandpa live. Who would who would have thought that we would wait until the next morning to see land again?
I would love to share more of my family’s version of the Great Flood of 2009. But I have other things in my mind just now.
No time to worry about my blog, of lost earning opportunities, nor of superficial concerns like acne, nor of getting my hands and feet dirty. It’s four days since the waters receded, and we’re still not done cleaning up. I went back to work last night, and I wish I hadn’t. But I did, and to work I shall be tonight. Which means instead of helping out in the cleaning, to bed I go. Maybe tomorrow, the photos will be ready for posting.
Please consider donating and/or volunteering for the victims of Typhoon Ondoy. A lot of people were more devastated than we were.
Yesterday I blogged about my thoughts on affiliate advertising over at my Bravejournal. I have never hidden the fact that my blogs are a source of small extra income. How I wish this online world I’ve wrapped myself around with can be the major source of livelihood instead. Sometimes all the information that abound on the web could be just overwhelming, and you wouldn’t know who to trust and where to start.
Once information that seems to be consistent though, is the idea that submitting your website or blog to a site directory, or writing content and submitting them to article directories can help establish your credibility and boost traffic. Traffic is definitely a big consideration in monetizing a blog or website. I think that at the beginning I was actually quite keen on submitting my site/s, but I eventually lost track. I don’t even remember where I submitted for a listing anymore.
I’ll probably have to find time to look into this again, specially with thoughts of setting up new blogs milling about in my head.
Meanwhile, the boyfriend will have a job interview tomorrow morning (he applied for a higher post), please keep us in your prayers and send over good vibes!
