I had to spend a night at St. Lukes. Believe me, after 6 months of going to the hospital every other week, St. Lukes was the last place I wanted to be in. However, the doctor felt otherwise.

It started when I woke up Tuesday morning with the left side of my head feeling numb. It usually happens when I sleep in a bad position. The blood flow is restricted and thus my head goes numb. Normally once I change positions the numbness goes away. I thought it was just another episode. So I went along my daily routine.

I noticed that something was wrong when I was taking a shower. My head was still numb. That was a full 30 mins or so from the time I woke up. I started worrying. I finished my shower, got dressed and even started to work. My head was still numb. That’s not normal…

To make matters worse, I was having diarrhea the night before and it continued Tuesday.

By lunchtime the numbness was still there. I decided to call my dad. He came home and checked how I was doing. He then suggested that I go to the E.R. I agreed with him. This was starting to get worriesome.

I got to the E.R. around 4 p.m. I couldn’t leave the house earlier than 3 because my stomach was still bad. It took an hour to get to the hospital due to terrible traffic.

My E.R. experience was different this time though. From the last time that I was in bed the whole time, this instance I was feeling ok and I sat through the whole time. A notable thing too was the fact that when they drew blood I was sitting down as well. Prior to this everytime they’d draw blood I would lie down because I’d get dizzy. Not this time though. I was fine.

The neuorologist’s fellow saw me first. Did some preliminary tests to check if the numbness had something to do with the nerves or something like that. Apparently it didn’t. At least she thought so. When the neurologist came, she also had the same conclusion but she said I should stay overnight for observation. I protested but they insisted. The doctors won.

I spent the night in St. Lukes. Needless to say it was one of the most expensive but boring nights I’ve had so far…. The only consolation is that I’m ok. I woke up the next morning feeling better. The numbness was gone. The doctor concluded that it must have been muscle spasm or a pinched nerve that caused the numbness.

I also saw my pulmonologist while I was there. He’s looking at my most recent x-rays. He said from first glance everything seems ok. Not perfect but nothing to worry about. He’ll have to compare it to the previous one though.

Oh well.. Better safe than sorry I guess..

A heartfelt thanks to all those people who took the time out to leave messages on my blog. I’ve been receiving a whole lot of them ever since Nina’s article came out and since the Pipol episode aired last Tuesday, well Wednesday early morning to be exact.

I’ve received messages from India, Kuwait, L.A. and some other places. I’m really touched and flattered that all those people cared enough to look for my blog and read through it. I’m happy because my campaign to create awareness for Pompe is slowly taking flight.

To all those who sent messages, I’m trying my best to reply to them. Please forgive me if my reply is late or if it still hasn’t arrived. Rest assured I read through all of them and value your thoughts, words and prayers. Many thanks and God Bless.

I wouldn’t feel right if I passed up the chance to at least post, point out and try in my own little way to help out someone else. Why? Because a lot of people have helped me, so it’s time to pay it forward.

Fil-Am Christine Pechera is suffering from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and is in urgent need of a bone marrow transplant. Right now she doesn’t have a match in the donor registry. She’s making an appeal for people to register as a bone marrow donor. Hopefully by some miracle she finds a match. If you’re a filipino residing in the U.S. you can be a donor.

Check out “Christine’s personal video appeal”:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaK84LhbCQc&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fchristine%2Esite%2Eph%2F%5Fmgxroot%2Fpage%5F10763%2Ehtml or check out the web site “www.savechristine.com”:http://www.savechristine.com maybe you’re the match she’s waiting for. The details are there. Check it out, now.. run..

I’m really lucky to have friends like Bambi. She’s my most frequent visitor at the hospital. It’s good that her work takes her to PGH as well. So she really takes the time out to drop by everytime she’s there.

It’s always fun to have her around. Laughter is always present. Conversation always light. It’s a good thing because with her there in the room, my mind is away from my treatment thus ensuring that I remain calm…

Thanks Bambi! I really appreciate it.

To my dad, happy happy father’s day. You’ve always been, always will be my hero. Whatever I’ve become today I owe in part to you. You’ve always been there to support me. You never lost faith and hope in me. You’re the greatest dad on earth.

To all my uncle’s and cousins who are dads, happy father’s day to you too! You’re also great dads. I guess I’m really lucky to be a part of this family. I have a lot of role models to look up to, if and when I get to be one.

We celebrated the 40th day of my Lolo (grandfather) yesterday. Well it didn’t exactly fall on the 40th day since his death but due to schedules and stuff we had to celebrate yesterday.

We brought his ashes togther with my Lola’s (grandmother) ashes to Lipa, Batangas. That’s my Lolo’s home town and it was his request to be laid to rest there.

A few weeks back we had my Lola’s body taken out from her grave and cremated. It was part of my Lolo’s wish that both of them be brought to Lipa, where they can be laid to rest together.

Family and some close friends gathered at Floral Gardens Cemetery to commemorate the event. It was a solemn ceremony. Afterwards afternoon snacks were served at a function room at the MVL building.

I haven’t been to Lipa in quite some time. Things have changed. A lot more buildings and people. It’s not the town I remembered it to be.

How things change as time passes by.