A blossoming love

You know how I described 'roads writhing with cars, taxis, jeepney's, trikes and people....' Well, this is it.....a woman selling her wares in the middle of impending traffic!! 

Disclaimer: No individuals were harmed in the making of this blog. 

I am fascinated and mesmerised by this city. Every sight, every sound, every smell. I think I may just be falling in love with Manila! 

The heat, the fumes, the cacophony, the chaos, the vitality, the vibrancy, the spiritedness. The contrasts!

I read the following quote, and I can neither plagiarise nor equal ....'The Jeepney is the perfect metaphor for the paradox that is Manila. Is it beautiful or is it grotesque? Is it inefficient or is it entrepreneurial? Is it just a common utility or is it a progressive work of art?'

I wish I were that articulate (for your sakes!!).

A jeepney....my first love! 

Street markets...everywhere!

A trike....short distance travel. 

Traffic - a typical scene!

Pasig river - bordered by squatter community

Click on pictures to enlarge. 

The antics of a Paediatric Intensive Care nurse in an orphanage

I have always claimed I am a 'Jack of all trades' (mmm, a Master of none?), but I think that may just swing in my favour :)

Task 1: Measuring heights and weights (including head and chest circumferences on the younger ones) on 70 children - a task which is monthly. It actually took me 3 days to accomplish!!!! They were either sleeping, eating, in school, or at the park.....Arghhh! A sigh of relief when it was done! And a month's reprieve.

Task 2: Taking my first patient,Ronnie, to 'Operations Smile' to be assessed for cleft palate/lip repair. He is 6 months old and a mere 4.5 kgs. Remarkably cute! Look at those lil' legs!! 

Trip to the clinic

Trip from the clinic.... it was a long day for little Ronnie!

Task 3: Attending the Charity Clinic at the 'Lung Centre of the Philippines' with my second patient. A little older at 31 years ...orphanage for all, as I mentioned! Weighing in at 29 kgs .... I don't even remember what age I was when I weighed that.... she has TB and arrived with a chest drain in that had been insitu for a year; condom on the end (aka heimlich valve!)...and dressed with a sanitary towel. Creative!!

Many an hour spent at the Lung Centre....learning everything you could wish to know on TB, chest drains and the healthcare system in the Philippines....which I must share!! When one gets treated, one is given a list of supplies used by the nurse/doctor (from medication to gloves and masks......every item), one then goes to the pharmacy and then to the CSSS (equipment room) with the list in order to get invoices , one then takes the invoices to the cashier to get a receipt, one then goes to social services to get a rebate, one then goes back to the cashier to pay, and then returns  to the pharmacy and to CSSS to get the items which then one takes back to the nurse. Easy as...

'Only in the Philippines!' I am still at the fascinated stage....watch this space! :)

Task 4: Unpacking clothes for an 'open day' that we advertised to the missionaries in the area. 

Eight hours in the balmy heat of Gentle Hands :)unpacking donated 'adult' clothes in order to donate back to adults!!! 

So, armed with coffee....lots of coffee .... we unpacked .... oh, say 80 boxes .... and sorted and sized in readiness for the crowds! 

The small handful of people came and went, barely making a dent in the piles of clothes but leaving with handfuls of homemade cinnamon rolls from our very own bakery!





Task 5: A little painting on the side... and why not??

Task 6: Developing a Palliative Care manual, policies, guidelines, charts, admission forms....and all the other documentation required of running a medical facility. Gulp!!  

Jack of all Trades.....

:) xx

Home Sweet Home

Away from the front door!

Towards the front door!!

So.....I moved into my 'condo' last week...Manhattan Parkway, Tower 2 (of 3)!

I spent the first few weeks staying with Charity's brother, Jonathan, and sister-in-law, Tracey, and their two children, Caleb and Rosie. 

What a blessing! They are warm, open, generous, fun....! And, not that the way to my heart is through my stomach, but......Jonathan just happens to be an awesome cook!! (I have since lived on peanut butter and tinned tuna - not as one meal you understand).

Although lovely to nest, it was hard to leave the love and support that J&T so freely offered. 

So, I find myself nestled amongst three large shopping malls.....every girls dream, right?..... 'tis only I that could get lost in a mall (or 3!!) and resurface an hour later completely empty handed. I spent 15 minutes entering and the rest trying to find the exit!! 

I thought I'd try again in a few months!! Or hire a tour guide :)

On a more successful note....I have sussed out how to get water delivered, the laundry done (it is picked up and dropped off, hehe - now that is EVERY girls dream), and commute on the train!!! 

My tagalog (local lingo) is coming along nicely (according to me), although possibly with a few pronunciation issues since the response is often met with a blank look :) :) ......get this....'I do not understand' is 'Hindi ko naiintindihan' (pronounced 'heen-dee ko na-ee-een-teen-dee-han'). You see what I'm up against??? Do you????? I'm hiring a teacher next week....bring it on!! 

My next blog...... work at Gentle Hands! 

Gentle Hands Orphanage - my new place of work

For those that don't know .... I have moved from Sydney to Manila to be part of a unique creation. A medical facility within an orphanage. To provide care and treatment to the poor.

A vision that was born from the heart of Charity Graff, the Executive Director of Gentle Hands. A woman whose strength of character and commitment leaves me utterly speechless and feeling a mere mortal. A typical day in the life of Charity will leave you exhausted simply reading about it. Carrying the burden of responsibility for almost 70 children and 30 staff members, she organises adoption processes, negotiates foster care, visits the poor communities (and plays the keyboard, sings, delivers food, organises crafts and checks on their health), blogs, responds to emails, raises funds, attends meetings, visits jails to interview and minister to the parents who have abandoned their children, delivers kittens (not literally), designs the new building, shops for hardware, tends to illnesses (of which are ever present); bathes, clothes, and feeds the little ones most recently abandoned that live upstairs with her, and is a mother to six of her own. Once that is done she starts on all the 'other stuff'... and, as I leave Gentle Hands for the day, she is folding the laundry and tidying away the strewn toys. Then the night shift starts.....and not a day goes by that she doesn't look calm, cool and collected (and wearing make up!). 

And this is without the impending medical facility....which is purely semantics anyway since she already accepts the sick and the dying, irrespective of age and room at the inn, that present at her door, or get referred from the hospital, or are found on a rubbish dump, or......!

I need to go and lie down!!!!!!

You could say that my mental state at present is one of absolute denial about my own responsibilities here. Ignorance really is bliss :) As a paediatric intensive care nurse, I am slightly outside my scope of practice! Gulp!!!

So, moving on, the medical wing is still in its infancy....you may have to use your imagination a little!! I certainly do :)

Entrance to the medical wing - the 'nurses station'

The lab and pharmacy room

The 6 bedded ward