A Short Reflection on Neurology and Epistemology

Sometimes, med is fun. Last year, Neuro taught us history-taking and neuro exam by making us interact with actual patients in the ward under the supervision of a preceptor. We were, then, individually assigned to write a clinical report. I liked it.

Moments like these remind me why I took this path. I like talking to patients, getting their information and putting together the pieces while figuring out which information I still have to ask. Sometimes, I'd have to discern if they're lying. When I learn enough, I'd have to figure out what illness they have, like solving a puzzle. That's basically what it means to take a patient's history, the most important tool for diagnosis.

If I don’t know what the patient has after I have taken the history, I am in serious trouble.

-Alan Yudelt, MD

Some High School Poems: Behind the Verses

Poetry is not my thing. There are very few poems that I can appreciate, let alone read. But high school has a way of forcing these things upon us, like dancing and electronics. Somehow, we pick up a few of those skills, even if just the basics. So among all the stupid things I wrote, here are the decent two out of three (edited so as not to further embarrass myself), all written in 2008.

Pineapple: a metaphor

My mother planted these pineapples in 2011. They've just been there since.

Germination

It was in the fourth grade that I began receiving the type of instruction in formal education that made me really, really fond of writing, or so I recall. Our English teacher, Prof. D assigned us tons of activities involving writing and vocabulary. One of those activities was a daily presentation allotted for the first few minutes of class, wherein students randomly called shall present a new vocabulary word. Since the presenters were randomly assigned, everyone had to be ready, otherwise the student who didn’t do homework would receive a grade of zero. Prof. D was strict, and a bit scary, as I remember.

Book Tales

It was through my mother’s efforts that I came to love reading. I don’t remember but I’m pretty sure she taught me to read like Teodora Alonzo to Pepe. While cleaning stuff that haven’t been touched for decades, I found evidence: the letter S cut out from green art paper and pasted on cardboard (totally her style), along with the first books I probably owned as a child. I remember looking at the pictures of those books before learning to read. When we got a piano, I would open them on the piano, and then press piano keys, telling my little sister that that page was played as such.

My mother bought us books althroughout our childhood. There were storybooks of various sizes in either English or Filipino, mini illustrated dictionaries and encyclopedias and other illustrated educational materials. I think I read every book she bought, not once but multiple times.

Ilang Kwento ng Paghingi ng Tulong

May babae sa waiting shed na kumausap sa'kin habang naglalakad ako sa Kalayaan kahapon. Akala ko magtatanong ng direksyon kasi sabi niya kanina pa daw siya nandun at hindi niya alam yung gagawin kaya humihingi ng tulong. May mga sinabi pa siyang hindi ko naintindihan pero ang naging malinaw sa huli ay kulang na daw siya ng pamasahe kaya kung maaari daw, nakakahiya man, ay humihingi siya ng kahit gaano kaliit na halaga para makauwi ng Valenzuela.

Sa isang mabilis na sandali, napaisip ako. Pano ko malalaman na totoo yung sinasabi niya? Hindi malayong magawa ko rin iyon, pero hindi kaya scam ito? Hindi kaya modus ito at naghihintay lang sa isang sulok yung kasabwat niya? Magbibigay ba ko? Tatanggihan ko ba ang humihingi ng tulong?

Mga dalawang buwan na siguro ang nakalilipas nang may lumapit rin sa'kin matandang lalaki sa gawing iyon ng kalsada. Galing daw siyang city hall, pero naubusan ng pera kaya hindi makauwi ng Marikina. Naalala ko yung kaibigan ko nung hayskul na taga-Marikina rin na minsan daw nauubusan ng pamasahe kaya napapalakad nang malayo.

Mga ganoong panahon rin, sa loob naman ng compound ng National Kidney and Transplant Institute, nang pauwi ako galing PCSO, may manong na tumawag sa'kin. Tricycle driver daw siya sa Maginhawa at namumukhaan niya ko dahil baka daw naging pasahero niya ako dahil alam niyang taga-doon lang ako. Matapos kong isiping imposibleng naging pasahero ako dahil hindi naman ako sumasakay ng tricycle, pinakinggan ko ang mapait niyang kwento. Yung asawa daw niya nakitaan ng bukol sa hindi ko maalala kung baga o bato, pero ooperahan daw noong araw na iyon. Hinihintay niya ang anak niyang lalaking nagpasada ng tricycle nila para bigyan siya ng pera nang makabili na siya ng lugaw na ipapakain niya sa asawa niya bago ito ipa-fasting. Sa huli, lumabas na hinihingian niya ako ng bente kung meron man ako.

Mga isang linggo lang ang nakakaraan, habang naghihintay ako sa paborito kong sulok sa compound ng Lung Center, may lumapit sa'king manong, tinatanong kung may pasyente rin daw ako doon. Yung asawa daw niya ay naroon rin dahil may bukol sa baga. Kakaapruba lang daw ng hinihingi nilang tulong sa PCSO kaya noong araw na iyon ay ooperahan din ang kanyang asawa. Hinihintay daw niya ang anak niyang babaeng nagpapasada ng tricycle upang makabili siya ng lugaw na ipapakain sa kanyang asawa bago ito ipa-fasting. Habang sinasabi niya ito, unti-unting lumalabo ang kanyang mga salita, at dahan-dahan siyang lumalayo at tumatalikod dahil marahil bigla niya akong namukhaan.

Binhi't Kalansay

Ilang ulit ko nang napanood ang Magic Temple (1996) mula nang una itong pinalabas. Ito ang unang pelikulang napanood ko sa sinehan kung kaya naman hindi ko ito makalimutan. Habang nasa banyo at nagliliwaliw ukol sa paborito kong talinhaga, biglang dumaplis sa aking isipan ang isang eksenang ngayon ko lamang namalayan ang natatagong paglalaro ng lalim: ang laban ni Sambag at ni Diyablong Bungo.

14-Year-Old Me's Coveted Characters

Still from this list. I'm pretty sure it would've looked like this:

1. Keiko Yukimura, from Japanese anime "Yuyu Hakusho"
2. Yanagi Sakoshita, from Japanese anime "Recca no Honoo"
3. Mary Ann Spier, from Baby-sitter's Club by Ann M. Martin
4. Sarah Alagao, from TV series "Sarah the Teen Princess"
5. Mia Thermopolis, from "Princess Diaries"

A Guide to the 10 Books Law from Hell

The original #1's government from hell scenario is my favorite among the lists:

A heinous government from the depths of hell passed a law that you can only have 10 books in your library. List the 10 books you'd fight to keep.

The IE Book Challenge Tweak

Not so long ago, I finally came up with one thing I can constantly write about: books. Aside from book reviews and reflections on certain things I read, I can write about my own experiences with books -- some sort of meta-story, kind of like the story behind a book. Or simply what Philippine Star's "My Favorite Book" contest asks contestants to write.