Chance of a Lifetime

Chapter 2 Emergency

She went home and packed her things. She looked at the health card. After awhile, she slipped it in her wallet. I’ll do the check up when I get back. This is not actually free of charge, I will still pay for this health card, it’s going to be deducted from my salary. She took a shower then went to sleep. Early in the morning, she took her flight going to Subic airport, then she would take the bus going to Pangasinan and from there she would take a cab to P. Burgos port then ride a boat to her final stop. I can’t travel by bus from Manila to Pangasinan. I’m afraid my vertigo will attack me. I don’t have a rest yet from the three-day conference and I’m alone. My other siblings travel in advance. If they go together, the bigger the expense.

When she arrives at P.Burgos port, she meets her old classmate on the boat. Abbey is that you? How are you? Long time no see, where are you working now? Huh, the same as before. I just took four days' leave. Um, where are you in Manila? In Alabang, can I apply back there please? I don’t know if they’re hiring. I think there’s no vacancy. Ah okay fine, never mind, then she left her quick smirking. She didn’t always go home. Actually, she was in grade four when she was brought and her sister to a relative in Bulacan. They lived there until they finished secondary school. Her father is dead and her mother can’t raise them alone. They were seven and four of them left under their mother’s care.

Abbey was cooking when she felt hard breathing. She went to the bathroom but she felt dizzy and collapsed unconsciously, so they rushed over on her, she was lifted by her brother and put on the sofa. Abbey, abbey,her mother called, she snipped to her nose a white flower ammonia and after 10 minutes, she’s conscious. Abbey, what happened? I couldn’t breathe, momma. I felt dizzy, then all went dark. Did you have your check up? It might be something, so you had better have a check-up. Hm no, it's nothing, I was just tired, I came here straight from Cebu. Don’t worry, I’m fine. Anyway, I have four days leave so I can have more rest. Drink this and go up stairs, take your rest in your room. Yes momma.

Early morning the next day, they went to the mountain side where a water falls hides, they’re going to swim on the river. She was too lazy and breathing a bit hard and if she didn’t take some rest, her head was like blowing up. I'd take you on my back on our way home.

Okay, it's still beautiful in here, so sweet, the river is very clean, so fresh, too far in the city, polluted. What’s the taste, sis? It tastes like strawberries. Ah the string that is tied to the cartoon, no, its the thing that is put in soft drinks or milk teas, huh, that’s a straw, huh really! When is it? Ah I thought straw-w-ler, that’s stroller sis. They all guffawed, they were like that when they were together, full of laughter, happy though facing lots of problems. Living separately but making sure to be together even for a short while. They made their vacation memorable and joyful. It will take them time again to happen.

Last day of her vacation but her boss keeps bombarding her. Hello abbey, when are you coming back? I have no time to explain to your clients, they are all asking for you…her boss said in his way of speaking. Sir, just to remind you, I have four days' leave. Yes, I know, but please, I’m sick and tired of these people, and you have a lot of work to do, all for quotations and proposals. Okie okie, I’ll be back, Sir.

How many times did I have to tell you not to imitate my speaking? ey Sir, that’s enough Abbey. She was stopped by her boss, she acted naturally and her boss was aware of it. They will all leave at five in the afternoon, taking the bus because it's cheaper than a plane. They will travel back to Alabang for about five hours where she rents a small townhouse. It's rent-to-own by Abbey and is nearly fully paid. Her siblings pay bed spacer near their work, only on weekends they go home in Abbey’s townhouse.

Seven months after. Early in the morning, Abbey was ready to go to the office. It takes an hour to travel without traffic. Every time she walks fast, her heart palpitates and her brain is like, at any minute, it will blow. She also feels her limbs collapsing. She’s in a breach of crying because her head is like exploding. On her way to the office, she lost strength, her left arm and hand were falling numb. And fell all that she was holding.

When she gets off of the tricycle, the people who saw her said she walked like a drunk. Others mocked her. Are you drunk, miss? Wow, it's too early. Some by-standers notice there’s something wrong with her and they help her to sit down. Miss, are you okay? She heard it but her eyes looked far away, she might be suffering heat stroke. Yeah it seems, miss, we’ll take you to the hospital, huh? Call the medics. Please, the driver. They came fast to rescue her quickly. They requested a health center ambulance to take her to the hospital.

She was then attended by the medics from the health center. Good thing the ambulance was in that area so she was taken immediately to the hospital. She was conscious and knew everything was happening. A teacher helped her until they reached the hospital. Miss, I am teacher Liz, all your things are here with me. Don’t worry, it's safe, but we need to inform your relatives about what has happened to you. I have my ID in my bag and a doctor’s endorsement. Please give it to the emergency. I’m all fine ms. Liz, I don’t feel anything unusual except my arms and legs are likely numb. Yeah, maybe an internal problem, and you like vinegar. You’re pale, miss.

 She looked at her ID, Abbey, right? You live here. Yes, I’ll ask one of the baranggay personnel to go to your house to let them know what happen. No , no one is in my house. Just call my brother on my phone please, alright, and the ambulance sirens. At the loud sounds of sirens, they couldn’t hear each other anymore, so they waited to arrive at their destination before calling her brother.

Hello, where are you sis? You didn’t leave the keys. Um hello, this is teacher Liz, are you ms. Abbey’s brother? Yes, why is her cellphone with you? Um, we are here at the hospital, she’s in the emergency room, huh! What? Why? Where hospital? Is she okay? Wait break break, breath okay! Sorry ma’am. Come here, to the Perpetual emergency clinic, so you will be the one to talk to the doctor. Okay, thank you. I’ll be there in a minute. Arnold first contacted his two sisters via text informing them to go to the Perpetual emergency clinic as soon as possible. Then he rode on his motorbike again and headed to the clinic fast.

Slowly, Abbey feels an unusual numbness in her left leg. She can’t control the chilling. They also randomly ran all the tests given to her by Dr. Shirley Ibanna, is the same as what the emergency doctor instructed. Abbey never takes that endorsement out of her bag just in case she has time to have a check-up. They get blood samples from her for all those tests that will inhibit her.

She also did ECG so they could proceed with the first treatment needed and they told them that she would be confined because she had heart conditions that needed to be monitored and observed because the test results were still on going. She also needed to talk so that she would be forced to speak because her jaw could be locked but she was sweating profusely and felt starving.

At the office, her boss is like a raging bull because Abbey has not yet arrived. They needed to start the Nano project because the Locatti project is in line for operation, all they needed was to run some random samples to be shifted in Italy as soon as possible. Arnold, please contact Glenda on my phone, tell her what is happening to me and where I am. Okay sis, hello abbey, where are you? My gosh, Sir Richard is going to turn your table. He’s very angry ma’am.

 Ah hello, this is Arnold, her brother. She is here in the hospital now. It happened on her way to the office but this happened suddenly, so she was brought by ambulance to the hospital. Huh! Didn’t she go for a check after her vacation? No I think so, she never told us she did. What? My goodness Abbey,can I talk to her, but Abbey mouthed " No" and shook her head. No, she can’t, she’s still in an emergency right now. Okay, call me back please if she’s allowed to talk.

Glenda, what now, where is Abbey, is she coming? Contact her, Sir, I already did. She’s in an emergency hospital right now. On the way here, something bad happened to her and she was taken to the hospital. What! What the heck happened to her? Check her health card if she has done a check-up before. Yes Sir, she can’t be out. She has a lot to do at her desk. Sir, she hasn’t used her health card yet. Okay, try contacting her and if she needs money, prepare her health care. Yes Sir. Hum, he’s kind at least, she whispered, what is it? Nothing Sir. Call the engineering department for an emergency meeting. Yes Sir.

In the hospital, Abbey slowly felt her numbness. Her limbs were contracting inside, it was like dropping heavily. She was still conscious but she was scared of what was happening. Nobody was beside her. She wasn’t sure what kind of feeling she was having. She breathed so hard, it was like having a huge stone on her chest. Something is really wrong and she feels it. The doctor said to have a city scan so they will know if there is blood clotting on her brain.

Arnold arrived after 30 minutes. He saw teacher Reyes and approached him, hi you’re Abbey’s brother?" Yes ma’am, how is my sister? She’s still in an emergency. And the nurse had exactly gone out of the emergency asking for a relative of the patient name Abbey. I am, Arnold said, okay she needs a city scan but we don’t have one here so we will send her to Tokyo Diagnostic Clinic to have her city scan. You need to go, she will be taken by an ambulance. Please wait in the emergency lobby. Okay thank you.

Nervous as he was, he told teacher Liz that she could leave because his two sisters were coming. He thanked her and gave her one hundred pesos for her fare back, but she refused it. It was then Abbey was lifted to the ambulance that quickly disappeared. He texted his two sisters to wait in the hospital lobby when they had not arrived yet.

After a few hours, the ambulance returned together with Abbey. They returned her to the emergency room to see her condition. The city scan result will be sent to them after two hours. Where the doctor was, his sister Agnes asked. He's taking his rounds, ma’am, right now, but his instructions are to monitor the patient’s condition. What’s her situation, nurse?

 When the city scan results are done and being read by Dr. Luna. We will know her condition. Ah okay thanks, she checked Abbey again, ma'am do you feel unusual? Yes, I can’t move my fingers and my legs are vibrating and it's like a stone too heavy. The nurse pinched her fingers. Do you feel it, ma’am? Yes, does it hurt? No, in your arms, squeezing, yes I feel it, okay.

Wait ma'am, just relax, I’ll be back in a few minutes. She went back to the nurse's station and she asked Dr. Luna to proceed in the emergency. He then arrives quickly and she tells the doctor about the patient’s situation. She gave her the clip monitoring board and studied the record of her condition.

She then put on a catheter because she was already paralysed and she couldn’t walk either. She will soon be transferred to a ward. You need to go to the information office to get a room. Will she be confined? Yes. Okay, thank you. Sis,you will be confined, her strength collapses when she realizes what happened.

She avoided eye to eye with her siblings, she knew they would need money and that was her fear. They all leaned on her, and her family would suffer. She just hopes that the company will shoulder her hospital bill. Nevertheless, it has a big impact on her expenses. For sure, she will not work for the time being, it will take some time to recover. Sis, are we going to let momma know? I’ll call them now so they can come over here, Andrea said. No not yet, but tell Brother first so he can decide what to do. Okay, Agnes, use my phone. Call Glenda please, I’ll talk to her, okay.

Hello ma’am, how are you? I will be confined for I don’t know how long. Please tell Sir Richard, I don’t know yet, but my left body is beginning to be paralysed, her eyes are redden while she’s saying this to Glenda about her situation. Ma’am you can do it, Abbey. I know you can. I’m going there after the office. Okay, I will also inform Sir Richard about it. Okay, okay thank you.

The old saying is true “ regrets are always the last”. If she listened to the doctor’s advice and she was obedient to doing what Dr. Shirley’s prescriptions to her, it was never too late and she was diagnosed on time. Its hard to accept because there's no assurance when she will be healed and recover. As time goes by, she can no longer move the left part of her body..

When she was transferred to her room, she burst into cries, she couldn’t accept the fact of her situation, she also had a sudden bulk of her body because of inflamation. She also gains more weight, she’s so heavy that two or three people would help her to stand. She can't even balance her body weight, not even tap her fingers and thumbs up. She also suffered from a terrible headache. She was devastated by her situation. She also thought of the files filed on her work at the office and the Nano project that was assigned to her by her boss and the expectations from Mr. Tanichi. She is the one who knows all about these big projects of the company and she’s a big loss if she will be absent a month or more.

For sure, Glenda will suffer a lot. It will be difficult for her. She doesn’t know more about our suppliers and, worse, she doesn’t know how to make quotations and proposals. She does it, it's her job making all the quotations and proposals for their big client. Even Richard can go on any business and personal trips and she is able to manage the people. She’s kindhearted and considerate, especially to her colleagues. The employees respect her so much. Although she’s a little straightforward, she doesn’t embarrass people.

Dr. Luna gets back to her before his duty goes off and he explains to them her condition. Hello Ms. Abbey Gonzales, I am your neurologist. I have with me the results of your city scan. Sad to say, you have a blood clotting in your brain which affects your mobility, and the most affected is your left body from head to toe. Fortunately, the clotting could be treated by medication and you will take warfarin, which can help your blood balance. The thickness of your blood causes clotting, so we need to neutralize the thickness. It should not be so thick or not so thin, it should be balanced and, thank God, it can be treated by medicine .

You had a mild stroke ms. Abbey. You have thrombosis in your heart. What is that doc? Well, it's the formation of a blood clot in a person’s heart or in one of their blood vessels, which can cause death. And you get to the hospital before its too late. The heart valve going to your brain apparently has a tiny hole that does not function normally, it lacks the needed blood going to your brain. You also had a heart condition that maybe you inherited from your parents, you easily get fatigue, you suffer palpitations at most times even when doing light things like walking or holding a small pail of water.

 And even sweeping, you will easily get so tired. The reason why you sometimes lose breath and you feel something very heavy on your chest. That’s why you had difficulties with breathing and you got tired so easily. So we advise that you have physical therapy for your paralysis and confinement, and for how long? I can’t tell yet because you will have more laboratory tests to assure your heart condition.

Doc, what shall we do about her heart condition? asked Agnes. Well, there’s no by-pass operation in the case of the patient, so it's complete heart surgery. The heart valve will be replaced to function normally. Where is it doc and how much? Well, the Heart Center is the only place. We don’t have facilities for that here. How much doc just in case?

Well, Heart Center is a government hospital, so it's cheaper and much lower if you fall in line now. It will take a year or more because there are so many in line, but if you can, no need to fall in line. I could refer you directly to them. Again, the heart center has all the facilities needed for the patient.

How much exactly or the estimated amount? Any idea? If you luckily got a slot within the year, probably half of the amount or if you’re lucky like I said, 80% of the total is free of charge. Approximately about half million for heart surgery in the case of the patient. Not a joke, but like I said, if you can, I can directly endorse you to Heart Center. If that’s the case, doc, what are my sister’s chances of her undergoing a heart operation? Or could medication alone be possible?

Well, in the case of the patient, it will open her chest and then remove the affected one and replace a new valve, although valve compatibility is not a problem. However, if you chose not to go for surgery, she was like a glass, too fragile. She cannot overfatigue, very limited her movements, she can’t even overjoyed, sad, stress etc. On a better understanding, all kinds of emotions would be limited and moderately because anytime anywhere, to be more specific she can have heart attack and be dead. So, just in case, it needs consent from the family, it's a 50/50 chance.

For now, she has to undergo physical therapy. Half of her body was paralysed already, the left side and she will stay for some more days for her laboratory test, 2Decho, ECG and after the results come out, then we will observe how the medications fit and treat her. We are just grateful that she was rushed here quickly, it was diagnosed quickly or else her jaws will lock instantly, she will not be able to speak or worse, she will get comatose.