Boracay: Crystal Cove

One of the destinations during the boating trip was Crystal Cove, located on the eastern side of Boracay. When I asked the boatmen about this location, they mentioned that it was well-known because of the Crystal Cave. oooohhh! a cave... a crystal cave!

Upon arriving at the Crystal Cove, you have to pay P75 ($1.3)/head. Just inside are a few monkeys you can pet or feed. I didn't really pay attention to them because i was excited to see... The Crystal Cave! OOooooohhh!!!


So I finally got to the much talked about cave. It would be an understatement if I say, "I was disappointed" - "I was VERY disappointed!" It was a small cave that opened into the sea but there was nothing special about it - Oh, wait, I forgot the crystal - well, it didn't look like a crystal and, after asking around, it was just placed in the cave... (would the BATcave be called a BATcave without BATman or BATs?)



After visiting the talked about Cystal Cave, I took a few more pictures of the area. Although it offered some good views of the sea...

... the place itself appeared to have been developed without planning. There were stone structures scattered here and there which didn't appear to serve any purpose. The place was not authentic and evidently 'engineered' to be a tourist spot but was just full of hype.



Link: An added bonus of fresh air

Next: Puka Beach

Tag: Boracay, cave

The Replacement Surgeons

A friend in her post - Is Technology Gonna Take My Place? - talked about her difficulties in finding a job as an administrative assistant (AA). It appears that today's technology can do most of the tasks of an AA faster and more efficiently.

"Now the 'boss' walks around with his or her cell phone connected at all times, a PDA that contains more info than you can possibly use, a laptop with THE INTERNET to find just about any info you need in a moment's notice.

So what do they need live human being for if they can do all this with technology that fits in a black bag then can sling over their shoulder?" [Ramble On]

I commented that technology will also change the roles of health care workers. That 'change' may come soon for surgeon. The University of Nebraska have developed tiny machines, they say, may replace open surgery.

Meet Dr. Robot: About the size of a lipstick case, it's able to drive around inside your body and serve as the eyes or hands of a surgeon who could be thousands of miles away.

University of Nebraska researchers have developed the tiny machines, which they say could allow doctors to remotely conduct surgeries in the battlefield or even space.

The tiny, wheeled robots, which are about 3 inches tall, can be slipped into small incisions and computer-controlled by surgeons in different locations. Some are equipped with cameras and lights and can send back images to surgeons. Others have surgical tools allowing them to make incisions, deliver medicine and perform other tasks.

Eventually, Oleynikov said, the tiny robots may enable surgeons to work without ever placing their hands in patients' bodies.

"That's the goal," Oleynikov said. "It's getting easier and easier. We can do even more with these devices." [CBS News, Oct. 27, 2005]

In the future, becoming a surgeon could mean just a 1-2 year course in operating this robots. What does this mean for patients? I can't wait to find out!

Get Well or Feel Better?

"...Sympathy and tact will often prove a greater benefit to the sick
than will the most skillful treatment given in a cold, indifferent way"
[Ellen White in Ministries on Health 244 (1905)]

This phrase made me think... when you go to a doctor, would you rather get well or feel better?

I've decided to start a poll to see which of the 2 doctors you would choose:

Dr. Gregory House - no bedside manners, humiliates his patients but always makes the right diagnosis and giver the proper treatment;

Dr. Patch Adams - treats his patient with compassion and makes them laugh. His methods are 'unconventional' because he adjusts to the 'level' of his patients.

Vote which doctor you prefer to consult with.

Link: Sympathy & Compassion in Medicine

Boracay: The Boating Trip

A must-do activity in Boracay is to go on a boating trip. You will get so many offers on the beach from owners of the small boats that it would be impossible to resist. A typical boating trip costs about P1,000 - P1,500 ($20-$25) for about 4-5 persons and lasts about 3 hours. It includes the rent of a small 'banca' or boat and snorkling gear. The usual venue includes going to a snorkling spot (don't expect colorful corals, though), Crystal Cove, Club Panoly, Puka Beach, and someother parts of the island.


If you want to spend the whole day (10am-5pm) at sea, a stall near Station 3 offers lunch and snacks. However, you get on a bigger 'banca' and usually join other vacationeers.

Don't expect too much of the places you visit during the short tour. It’s the trip itself that proves to be memorable.

Next: The Crystal Cove

Categories: Boracay, beach, snorkling, travel, boating

Baby OUT!

During my first day on duty at Dr D’s clinic, I found out that they allowed their pregnant patients to choose who would deliver their babies – either the obstetrician or residents (that was our official title). I never liked obstetrics (maybe I’ll make a post about that in the future) and I always prayed that I wouldn’t be called on to deliver a baby by myself.

The Sunday started smoothly, patients arrived one at a time and there were no difficult cases. Around 6:30pm a car suddenly pulled up at the front of the clinic and out came a very pregnant lady. “I’m going to give birth!” she announced. The clinic had a delivery room on the 2nd floor. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem the baby could wait that long – and I was the only doctor in the clinic!

The patient was brought to the examining table… I sent a text message to Dr D… one of the staff ran up to the delivery room to get instruments… another one ran to get IV fluids… I stepped up beside the patient… she said her last menstrual period was March (that made it just 7 months) – I started to worry… put on a pair of gloves and intended to check if her cervix was fully open… and saw a black mass pushing through the vaginal opening – the head of her baby!… I was still in khakis and a polo shirt… the instruments weren’t available; the IV fluid wasn’t attached yet; there was no time to sedate; there was no time to clean the perineum… in less than 5 minutes, out came all 3.7kg of a baby boy! (average birth weight of a Filipino baby is 3kg)… and then he cried! *sigh of relief*


Did I deliver the baby? Technically I did… well, more likely I just caught him because he was coming out doctor or no doctor. I had conducted the first delivery as a licensed doctor.

Then came the difficult part – oh, the baby was ok – but it became apparent that the mother wasn’t “all there”. She was very talkative, refused IV fluids, refused suture of the lacerations in her vagina – big head+small vagina=big laceration! Fortunately there appeared to be no bleeding. She wanted to get her baby and head home ‘now!’ An interview with her relatives revealed that she had a mental breakdown years ago and never recovered.

The whole night she kept us up. She had a sharp mind – she remembered everyone and called us by our names (I don’t even know all the staff yet)… She wanted to breastfeed her baby – which was not allowed by the pediatrician. She wanted to go home; still refused suturing of the lacerations (we managed to convince her that she needed the IV fluids). She fought off the effects of the sedatives we gave her because she was afraid someone would run off with her baby *sigh*… *sigh*

So much for hoping no one would give birth during my shift.

*******
In other patient news:
"1 year-old bites penis of his 5 year-old brother!"
*no comment*

Categories: Dr.D, duty, OBGyne, pregnancy, baby, delivery

Mr. Pure Energy

Last Friday I chanced upon a album promotion by well-known local singer Gary Valenciano, called Mr. Pure Energy by his fans, because he is known not only for his singing but also for his non-stop dance moves during his concerts. He is one of the few singers here in the Philippines who has managed to remain popular despite changes in the trends and tastes when it comes to music.

Just for P250 ($5) I got his newest CD, was treated to a mini-concert where he sang (& danced) 5 songs and best of all where he made sure he autographed everyone's CD copy. Other singers/artists would have just autographed the 1st 50 copies but he happily signed about 200 - imagine signing your name 200 times and coming up with a short message for each!

What is more admirable about him is that he is an active Christian and he publicly acknowleges the blessings he has received from God in both his songs and his personal life. He is also a known diabetic for many years now and there was at least 1 occasion when he came close to death because of this disease. But his has not slowed him down. He continues to bless many lives both on and off the stage.

Here's a part of his song "Shout for Joy"

How do I begin to tell you 'bout this friend
Who's like no other
Ever since the day He walked into my life
He's been more than a brother
And everyday and every minute
There's a shower of love I feel
Something I used to just imagine
I tell you know it's all for real.
That's why I

CHORUS

Shout for joy
Sing His praises
Lift my voice unto the Lord
Shout for joy
Sing His praises
Lift my voice unto the Lord

Categories: Gary, Valenciano, diabetes, celebrity

Blogspot Attacked

The search giant's Blogger blog-creation tool and BlogSpot hosting service, together the most popular free blogging service on the Web, fell victim this past weekend to the biggest splog attack yet--an assault that led to clogged RSS readers and overflowing in-boxes, and that may have manipulated search engine rankings.

As a result, PubSub may stop including entries from Blogger-BlogSpot feeds in the normal results it delivers to users. PubSub is also considering requiring that users explicitly opt in if they want to see results from Blogger-BlogSpot feeds, Wyman said. "We may be forced to filter out everything from BlogSpot," he said. "That would be throwing out the baby with the bathwater. That's really unfortunate."

IceRocket.com, co-owned by well-known Net entrepreneur Mark Cuban, also said it would stop indexing Blogger-BlogSpot posts until it could get a splog filter in place. [Full Text]

What's wrong with the people responsible for this?

What About MY Happiness???

A SMS (text) message from a loved one made me rush out of the house this noon. We met a nearby mall where I learned that there was a big possibility that we would be apart (in distance). Apparently tempers had finally flared up against cousin-in-law who had been rude and and a verbal abuser for quite some time. Unfortunately that relative owned the house. No final decisions had been made. Everyone involved in the verbal fight had retreated for the time being to lick their wounds.

The idea of being apart from someone I loved (despite it just a big probability) left me stunned. YES, I wanted the best for both of us… but I couldn't bring myself to admit that maybe some time in the province (with immediate family… but far away from me) was for the best. All I could think of was:

"What about me?"
"Couldn't you just have let the comments pass through your ears as you always have done?"

It was selfish of me - I don't know what its like to live with someone like that, and maybe I would flare up too - but I couldn't help it… "What about US?" "What about ME?" was all I could think of. Deep inside I knew that I supported whatever decision would result but it was a conflict of MY interest.

A few weeks ago, a friend whom I got to know here at blogger was in a somewhat similar situation. She had been, for almost 2 decades, dealing with the dependence of her loved one on substances. She finally came to the decision that if that loved one could not confront the addiction, she would leave him. That fateful day came. But when she told her kids about her decision…

"...They think that I am not thinking about their happiness. That I want to up root them from their home, family and life. They think I should just let him get high if he wants and not care..."

I can emphasize WITH HER KIDS! It’s easy to say, "Turn a blind eye", "Let is pass through your ears", "Let it be (as long as no physical harm is done to you)" when you're not the one in that situation. All we think about is, "What about MY happiness."

I managed to blurt out without coming to tears that I would be supportive of whatever would be (which was true). I'm still waiting for what happens next.

(PS: More power to you DayByDay4-2Day and may God bless you always.)

*******

When I got home, I saw this offline YM message from someone:

mamamatay daw ung mother mo kpg d pnasa (Your mom is going to die if you don’t pass this message) ..except the sender of this message ra69966996 : Pas ds word "God ur so nice!" to 20 of ur frends. f 5 comes back, ur fmly will be safe, f u ignore it 1 of your love may die in 2006...-sowee dudes,, but i luv my 2 mums..

After what I had just been through, I wasn't in any mood at all for this b*llsh*t. I replied:

I hope they die

Boracay: Agimat, Inc.

It was my first night in Boracay and I explored the establishments along the beach. September is an off-peak month so as expected, the beach front wasn't that crowded. Lining the White Beach is a long line of restaurants, resorts, and various stalls. Haggling for prices is the routine here and NEVER agree immediately on a set price of an item.

As I was strolling, I came across a simple stall set up near the Red Coconut Beach Resort. The owners didn't have even a roof over their stall which was simply leaning against a palm trees. On display were various necklaces, bracelets, and anklets - Agimat, Inc.


"Agimat" is the Filipino word for 'charm' or 'lucky charm'. Now Boracay has dozens of stalls that sell these items but what set this stall apart was the fact that their owners 'knew' what they were selling. The could tell you what each stone represented - whether friendship, love, business, travel, etc.; and how each item was made. They also claimed that their items were unique - and in fairness, i didn't find similar items in the other stalls.


If you happen to visit Boracay, try to look for them. They're there from 5pm to 10pm. In the meantime, you could checkup a fellow bloggers site for some beaded stuff.

Next: the Boating Trip

Categories: Boracay, beach, travel, friends, beads

It's All in the History

In medical school I was frequently reminded that the medical history provided 80-85% of the diagnosis of any patient, hence history taking was a skill that we were encouraged to practice. However, I often observed that there were occasions were relevant information was being witheld by the patient, whether intentional or not.

Things haven't changed. Last night during my 2nd duty at Dr D's Clinic, this is what happened:

(Enter a 30-40 year old lady)
Rygel: (she appears to be in good physical health) Good evening Ma'am. How may I help you?
Patient(Px): I've been having difficulty in swallowing.
Rygel: (might be tonsilitis) Do you mean you're experiencing pain in swallowing? How long have you been experiencing this?
Px: It started 6 days ago. I tried all sorts of remedies but the pain won't go away.
Rygel: (must be tonsilitis… she seems to have difficulty turning her head) Did you experience other symptoms?
Px: (keeping head looking straight ahead) I've also started to experience pain whenever I turn my head to either side.
Rygel: (it could be torticolis (stiffneck)) How long have you experienced this?
Px: It started 3 days ago.
Rygel: (a simple stiff neck shouldn’t last that long…. Takes our a penlight) I'll be examining your throat now. Please open your mouth and stick out your tougue
Px: (opens mouth with difficulty)
Rygel: (shine's light on patients throat… tonsils are not inflammed or swollen… hmmm)

(Dr D steps in)

Rygel: (refers patient to Dr. D)
Dr D: Good evening Ma'am, I'm Dr D. I've been told you've been experiencing pain during swallowing.
Px: Yes, It all started 6 days ago when a fishbone got stuck at the back of my throat.
Rygel: (#_^*&%#^@%.... *sigh*.... smile)

Boracay: The First Sunset

I wanted to explore the island in style so I decided to bring along the kind of sandals people use in hiking or mountain climbing since I reasoned that they could handle the various terrain. It turned out that it were my feet that couldn't handle the comfort of the sandals. Barely 12 hours into my vacation blisters started to appear on areas of my feet that were in contact with the straps of the sandals - add a bit of salt water and very fine sand - I had to resign myself to walking barefoot. Fortunately, going barefoot was almost the rule rather than the exception in Boracay. The sand was almost powdery soft and there were no corals nor shells that could cause injury. I spent everyday walking barefoot (carrying my sandals in 1 hand in case I had to go to other places aside from the beach) and I'd say the soles of my feet are a lot smoother now thanks to the exfoliating action of the fine sand!

It is almost a ritual in Boracay for everyone to go to the beach to watch the sunset. At about 4:30pm people are slowly drawn to the White Beach some bringing reading material, some just sitting on the sand, some playing frisbee, some just walking - all awaiting the best show of the day. It was the monsoon season so the sky was often filled with clouds. But somehow I got treated to a great sunset as if it was the island's way of saying, "Welcome! Enjoy your stay!"

Next: Agimat, Inc

An Open Mind

I decided to put off going into residency for the time being. I keep telling myself I just want to try to experiencing what it feels like to actually get paid for doing my job - but then again I'm not really willing to give up my 'self' time just yet. I found a clinic nearby that was looking for physicians to handle simple consultations and provide feedback to attending physicians about how their admitted patients were doing. The clinic is owned and run by Dr. D a general surgeon (I'll talk about him in later posts).

Yesterday was the first time I interacted with people as a 'real' doctor instead of someone just pretending to be one. There are so many things I need to recall, learn, and re-learn. One thing I realized was that the impressions my mind made of the patients I dealt with had a strong influence on my 'clinical' eye.

Around 7pm in the evening, I was already exhausted and my legs were aching from all the walking (it's amazing how much walking a doctor can do in just a 2-storey clinic) and there were still patients waiting to be seen. Dr D was the one attending to them (I was observing) when a 50-60 year old lady started talking loudly on her mobile phone. She sounded anxious and my mind automatically labelled her as one of those patients whose anxiety and stresses in life was translated into symptoms such as headache, palpitations, numbness of extremities and the treatment of which would be just to relax.

That was it, my mind spoke and that was the end of my assessment of her - never mind that she was still waiting for her turn to be attended to, never mind that I didn't know her medical history, never mind that I was just looking at her and hadn't even talked to her yet. My mind made an impression of the lady and that included her diagnosis.

As a doctor I should have seen that she was actually pale and sweating. I should have waited until I talked to her to find out that she had eaten something that didn't agree with her and caused diarrhea and she was dehydrated. Fortunately Dr D didn't make the same mistake and after giving her 500cc of IV fluid she was smiling and thankful to us.

There are many things still for me to learn but the most important things are those that can't be taught in school.

October Gadget Wishlist

Being a gadget lover, every1st week of the month I make it a point to go to a magazine stall andget a copy of the local edition of T3Magazine. I think it's thebest gadget magazine printed locally. I decided to make a wish listbased on the gadgets featured in the magazine.

Samsung SGH-E730. I've always admired Samsung phones.Their displays are the best I've seen and I think it's cool to have aclamshell-type phone although I think it would be more appropriate forthose who make frequent calls instead of SMS addicts like me. My onlycomplaint about Samsung mobile phones is that they are often behindwhen it comes to features. Bluetooth was first implemented in theirD500 model, about 2 years later than other mobilemakers. Well, the SGH-E730 is almost my perfect phone: clamshell,great display, good interface. Although it does carry a 1.3 megapixelcamera and 90MB of memory, for the same price you can getthe…

Sony EricssonK750i (orW800i - similar but you pay extra for thelarger memory card) which comes with a 2 megapixel camera, andexpandable memory in addition to bluetooth and an also great display.However it's not a clamshell phone. *sigh* when will the perfect phoneappear.

Sony CybershotDSC-T7. 5.1megapixels, 2.5 inch LCD, 3x optical zoom and best of all, it's sexy!Although it does cost more (I think too much more) than similarofferings from other brands such as the Casio ExilimEx-S500.

The Sony PSP. *sigh* I can't sayanything - it's just a beauty! Unfortunately, although the unit ispriced reasonably, the cost of games for it right now is a bit too much*sigh*

*******

I'll be having my first dutytomorrow at aclinic in a nearby town. Wish me Luck!

Boracay: Willy's Rock

...so here I was in a place I considered to be my Paradise and I had a great place to stay. I unpacked my things and fought the temptation to stay in the room and just watch TV. This was one bad thing about this room - Cable TV - it had more channels than what I had back home and it could make me forget that I was someplace else. Fortunately, I willed myself to go out into the sun once more. Despite a few clouds, it was generally a bright, sunny day. I decided to head north (picture)

the view north of station 1

In the distance I saw Willy's Rock and decided to head there. The sun was really turning up the heat and I forgot to apply some sunblock but what the heck! It wouldn't been as beautiful if the sun wasn't shining.

In front of Willy's Rock

Willy's Rock is the only island (well sort of) along the White Beach. It's about a 10-minute stroll from Station 1 and almost infront of Waling-Waling Beach Resort. It's a small group of large old coral formations where some palm trees have managed to gain a foothold. There is a shrine to Mary on the rock nearest the beach.

Shrine to Mary atop Willy's Rock

Usually, Willy's Rock is surrounded by knee-deep water. However, it appears that this time of year the sea barely touches it. I managed to get to the 'middle rock' where i spent the rest of the morning lying under the lone palm tree gazing at the sea...

view of the rest of Willy's Rock formation

and the beach...

view of Waling-Waling beachfront from Willy's Rock

Ahhh... this is the life.

Next: Footware off!

A Truth About Lying

A lie is a lie is a lie is a lie...

I guess this is what some of you believe. Maybe its true or maybe not. I have rarely told a lie because of malicious intentions (Yes, i'm admitting I tell lies). Usually I lie to avoid explaining myself to others, or length conversations; for example:

YOU: are you ok?
ME: Yes! (instead of No!)

OR

YOU: whom did you go out with?
ME: a classmate (instead of a friend)

See, I've avoided having a length conversation to explain why I feel a certain way or having to answer questions about where we met, how long have we known each other, where my friend lives, etc. etc.

But a lie is still a lie. Recently, the truth behind a lie I told about 5 years ago (to avoid lengthy conversations) surfaced. Although the impact of the revelation was not as bad as it would have been few years earlier, it still caused me a lot of stress.

There was a post on Parallel Universes about the brains of liars and I commented that the thing that's so complicated about telling a lie is that you have to make up other lies in order to backup the initial lie. It just goes on and on. Whereas, if you tell the truth it ends there. So I guess "the truth shall set me free" from having to make other lies.

Boracay: Accomodations

If you recall my previous post about this vacation, I mentioned that I still had to find accomodations once I got to Boracay. Although I could have made reservations in advance, I decided to try my luck and look for a place to stay once I got to the island hoping that I could find a better deal than on the internet and save money.

The 'White Beach' is a 4km stretch of white sand on the western side of the island. There are 3 designated 'stations' along this beach where the pump boats drop off their passengers.

Station 3 is located on the south end of White Beach and is nearest the town of Caticlan. Station 2 is located almost at the middle, while Station 1 is on the northern end. In that same order (generally speaking but not the rule) is from budget accomodations to exclusive resorts and restaurants; from more people to less people; and from good beach-front to best beach front.

The island is only about 2km wide and it has 1 main road which forms an acute angle with White Beach, the narrow end being on the north side. I was determined to find accomodations near Station 1 since it was nearer the main road and the better part of the beach and had less people (even thought it was not peak season). I know you're waiting to see more of the beach too but I was exhausted from travelling and preoccupied with finding a place to put my things that all I know was it was a sunny day when I arrived.

View of the Northern End of White Beach from Station 1

I got off the pump boat at station 1 and was already dreading the fact the I might have to walk about 2km (to Station 3) before I could find an affordable place to stay. After walking just a few feet from station 1, I came across a resort that offered individual cottages. They offered air-cooled cottages for P600/night and airconditioned ones for P1,500/night. Unfortunately the air-cooled (which was what I could afford) had thin mattresses on the beds and plain white bedsheets - it looked like a hospital charity ward.

Then a few more feet away I came to the Sunshine Place. It looked... well, it looked as if in the range of P1500/night but I inquired just the same. Guess what! Since I was staying for 4 nights and it wasn't peak season, the owner offered to give me a discount for a rate of just P800/night! I tried not to show my delight but took her on her offer immediately! … airconditioned, nice beds, nice sheets, a balcony, cable TV, a shower, beach front, and best of all a great mirror! - which made me look as if I had gained 10kgs hahaha!

Throughout my stay I spent everyday walking along the beach under the sun and always looked forward to returning to this room for relaxation!

Sunshine Palace
Boat Station 1 Boracay, Philippines
(036) 288-3221; (63919) 806-0799
Erlinda Sacapaño (owner)

Next: Willy's Rock

Boracay: Getting There

It was 4AM on September 26th when we headed for Manila Domestic Airport for the 7AM Asian Spirit flight to Caticlan. Like all other events in my life I have been anticipating, I was once again without sleep. Although I packed light (compared to my other vacations) the laptop added considerable weight to my backpack. We arrived early and were fortunate enough to get seats at the forward half of the plane. Around 6AM - the sun shone! It had been overcast and raining for the past week. Things were starting out well.

We boarded the plane - a 50-seater propeller plane - at 6:30AM and by 7:15AM we were airborne.

---

Boracay is an island off the northernmost tip of Panay Island. The nearest airport is in the town of Caticlan, just 15 minutes away by pump boat. Unfortunately the airport can accommodate only small aircraft and if you prefer a larger aircraft in which to travel, you can get to Boracay via Kalibo City which is 2 hours away from Caticlan by bus. While the eastern side of Boracay is lined by rocky beaches and visited by large waves, the western side is lined with beaches with the finest sand I've seen. The sea is calm and there are no sudden drops in the sea floor. The 'White Beach' as it is called is a 4 kilometer stretch of white sand lined with palm trees (and unfortunately, a growing number of resorts).

---

After an hour, we landed at a sunny Caticlan airport. The contrast with Metro Manila was striking. Mountains were visible in the distance and it was green everywhere.



We took a 10-minute tricycle ride (Php20/person) to Caticlan Jetty Port where we boarded a small pump boat (Php40/person) for the 15-minute ride to Boracay.



At 9AM we arrived.



Next: Accomodations

A Sense of Time

"If I can put one touch of rosy sunset into the life of any man or woman,
I shall feel that I have worked with God." Gilbert K. Chesterton

Time is a funny thing. Every person is given exactly the same amount of it but each one's perception of how much he has is different. An hour can feel like forever while a whole week can feel like just an hour. I've been gone for exactly 6.5 days or 156 hours and somehow it feels that I didn't leave at all. Aside from this sensation that I'm still on a ship travelling at sea, the whole trip feels like it was just a dream.

Time is a funny thing - it lasts forever when there are things we'd rather forget but it passes by so quickly when we want moments to last forever.