my medical beginning

After the urging of my friends in 2005 I went and got a physical because I had shooting pains going up my arm and I had this funky feeling that my whole right hand fell asleep. After an EMG exam and a couple of MRI's I was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation I & Syringomyelia. This diagnosis came 2 weeks before my little sister was to get married so I made the decision to not breathe a word to my family. Of course some friends knew because they were with me when the symptoms began but that was the extent of it.

I found a neurosurgeon on my health insurance's list and he was at NYU Hospital so I immediately made an appointment and found out that it was going to be about a month until I can see him, so I went back to living a normal life. I came back from my sisters wedding and went back to work but decided I had to resign because I was starting to drop things and I was afraid I was either going to hurt myself or someone around me. I met with Dr. Howard Weiner in May 2005 and from that initial meeting it was decided that I needed to have a decompression surgery. That was to be my very first brain surgery. I moved out of my apartment and gave away what I could and just took it easy until June 9th came.

My parents came into town the day before the surgery so they can be with me through it. Who would've thought that every weekend after that for a month that they'll be criss-crossing the country because every infection that can possibly happen happened to me? My Mom stayed in NY while working at the Brooklyn Field Office. Before work she would walk her little butt to the hospital to come visit me and bring me coffee and then come again after she gets off work either before or after dinner.

During all the hospital stays and recovery at the hotel, Mom met a lot of my NY friends and at one point got overwhelmed because she said she couldn't keep track. Mom stayed in the hotel for a total of 6 weeks because like I said, everything that can possibly go wrong happened. First it was my body rejecting the surgical glue, then it was my sutures coming apart, then my body basically just was not cooperating so it allowed infections to affect me. So a month after the first surgery, I was again on my way back to the OR to have my second brain surgery, but this time they used a dura patch. My stay this time was filled with wonderful family visits from majority of my cousins and it made it easier for me to get going and hit the recovery trail.

I was released 5 days after that surgery and I headed off to Allentown, PA to stay with Uncle Manny and his family. My parents felt comfortable leaving me there in the meantime because Auntie Raquel is a nurse by trade. At this point I had a PICC line and I was getting intravenous antibiotic treatment every 8 hours because they still believed that I had some kind of infection but they just couldn't figure out what.

My cousin Mathew who was only 7 years old at the time became my IV manager. He would make sure that he woke me up in the morning to give me my coffee and insert the IV. Who would've thought a 7 year old kid can do that? I had the PICC line for 7 weeks and in the end they still did not figure out what the heck was wrong with me.

June, July and August went by with quite a few bumps on the road and I thought I was good to go after the PICC line was removed and boy was I wrong? Three days after that PICC line was removed I was rushed to St. Luke's Hospital in Allentown, PA for respiratory failure. We thought that me having a hard time breathing was simply because I didn't walk around the house enough. I was placed on complete bed rest  and a breathing machine when I got there and placed in an ICU room that had cameras on every damn corner directed at me.

The sun rose and my case was now getting the full attention of the doctors and unbeknown to me the doctors have already told my Auntie Raquel to call my parents because they weren't sure if I was going to make it through the afternoon because they thought I had pulmonary embolism. I was then placed in a clean room which basically means that everyone coming into the room would be wearing a mask. But after having another procedure done called bronchoscopy I was told that I had PCP pneumonia. I was then given the clear to have an ordinary room.

That afternoon, my Dad arrived and basically stayed at my side until I was released two days later. The decision to take my back to CA was then brought to my attention after my release and only after the main doctor at St. Luke's and Auntie Renee in CA spoke. I landed in CA the Sunday before Labor Day 2005. I was so overwhelmed with so much emotion after landing that I lost it in the car. My sister Jill & Milan were with my Mom when they came to pick me up.

There I was thinking things were good but 24 hours later I was rushed into the ER (again) because my headache pain has skyrocketed and my neck did not want to move. I was then admitted and was put on the cardiac floor due to a very low blood pressure that I apparently inherited from my paternal grandmother. I was released 4 days later to a wonderful welcoming party (the Viray's, Auntie Agnes Dizon). I stayed home for almost a day and a half then off I went to the ER again.

But this time I had a fever of 104 degrees and Auntie Renee had me admitted directly. That was when I was introduced to Dr. Lew Disney because the symptoms for my Syringomyelia has manifested itself in my arms which I had completely lost feeling and mobility. It was then discovered the the cyst itself has grown and the spinal surgery can no longer be ignored. I have to say it was one of the most painful surgeries I have ever gone through. An LP Shunt was put in place as well as a titanium mesh w/ 23 screws that took the place of the dura patch.

I was released 5 days later and the recovery road was definitely a bumpy one. I did very well for the next 6 months, enough so that I went and moved back to the east coast. But of course that all changed (again) after I started feeling neck pains and my headaches were back. I went back to Dr. Weiner at NYU and he ordered an Xray of the area and discovered that the shunt that was placed has stopped working. Needless to say another surgery was scheduled to repair the said shunt., this was in May 2006.

Right around the same time I was in the hospital, the moving truck for my parents (they finally made the move to the east) was arriving so I was in the hospital and they were moving into their new house. My parents, thank god were sane enough that they remained calm, cool and collected. They picked me up from NYU 4 days after surgery and I was good to go again (or so I thought).

My Mom then had to of course start her new job since her transfer from the LA Field Division and  she had training in Philadelphia so there I go tagging along so I can do the historical tour with the Liberty Bell, Ben Franklin's spot etc. It was during this first couple of weeks that my Mom made up her mind that the next hospital I go to if I had to would be Johns Hopkins Hospital. Apparently her boss' brother got treated there and was fixed up pretty well. I had no plans in going back to the hospital but of course that's not what happened 3 weeks after surgery #4.

We came home on one of our visits to Allentown and I just knew my body was telling me that something was very wrong. So I calmly went about my night, packed a bag, got my stuff ready and when we all woke up the next morning I told them that they needed to take me to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. So we all got up and got ready right along with my two baby cousins Jill & Joshua. We went straight to the ER and after getting checked from head to toe with XRay's, CAT scans, MRI's, a full blood panel I was told that they were admitting me.

Two days went by before I met my current neurosurgeon Dr. Jean-Paul Wolinsky. He came in and introduced himself and proceeded to tell me calmly that to make sure everything goes right, he needed to perform the surgery but he needed to take out everything that everyone else did. Not that he was questioning how it was done or anything but he wanted to begin on a clean slate.

He performed another decompression surgery as well as taking out both shunts (I think). Recovery for the 5th surgery was slow but it got me to where I am today. It took awhile for me to convince my parents that I was ok but just like the recovery, they slowly got there.

I then started fulfilling a promise to myself that given the chance I am going to travel and enjoy my life. Because until I was slapped in the face with the reality that everything can be taken away from you at any given time I never really did take the time out to smell the roses as the saying goes. So trust me when I say, I sure as hell am enjoying it now.

Lourdes Pilgrimage 2011

One day in the beginning of January a friend of ours at the store stopped in and mentioned that she was volunteering for an organization and that they were heading to Lourdes, France. She then suggested that I do the same or apply to be a malade case. She contacted her friend in the Order and the next thing I know I was sending my application the next day, thus beginning my road to this year’s pilgrimage.

On March 27^th, 2011 my parents and I went out to an orientation in Towson, Maryland to meet with some fellow pilgrims. I met some of the wonderful people I will be on this journey with and a few fellow malades. We had a mass, anointing of the sick and a light lunch after. They also had a slide presentation of Lourdes. I have no idea what it was but I got teary eyed some.

I cannot even begin to put in words how excited I am feeling right now. I am ready for this trip to begin and bring all of you with me into my journey.

just rambling

I tried to do this whole blog thing but I wasn't good at it . . . I for some reason can't formulate thoughts I need to when I need to so I just stopped. But this weekend, I had a good talk with a real good friend of mine who I consider more as my younger brother and he gave me such an eye opener that I felt that thoughts I have in my head need to get recorded or something. So here it is.

I’ve never felt sorry for myself nor have I questioned why I got dealt the cards I did. But with my friends help, I realized how very lucky I am. Back in 2005 I got diagnosed with Arnold Chiari Malformation and Syringomyelia. I had 5 surgeries from June of 2005 to June 2006. Recovery was long but as soon as I was able to move around and go without the nasty headaches, I was out seeing the world. Every year I make sure I go on a trip to somewhere I have never been. I have made sure I stopped and appreciated everything I do, see & feel. I go on weekend rendezvous to places I enjoy and spend time with people I love. Doing those things have allowed me to know that I did everything in my power to enjoy life.

I firmly believe that without my faith, my family and my friends I wouldn’t be in the position I am in. My family made it easy for me to recover and not worry about anything. My faith made it possible for me to hold firm in my belief that no matter what happens that I will be ok. My friends made it possible for me to see how appreciated I have been to them and how loved I am. I know I can never repay the kindness and love I have received through the years not that they are asking for repayment.

I guess what I am saying is this, I am so very lucky to have surrounded myself with wonderful angels who continually support me, who love me unconditionally and who truly believe that everything will be ok. I might never be able to say thank you to every single one but know that my heart is overflowing with love and appreciation.

the rest of the WEST COAST trip

This right here is basically just a compilation of everything else I did while in the WEST. Since I fell behind in updating and loading up stuff its like a bunch all at once.
This couch that they have was like a magnet whenever we sat down as you can see. We found ourselves posted on that couch more than once knocked out. But thank goodness them two didn't think to be evil like me and take pictures while I was out for the count.

This group of shots here were taken the first Saturday I was in town when the Masangkay's came by to hang out and grub with us. We did a mexican theme and had good ass grub that had everyone going back and forth.

This was my first Sunday there when Maya and I went to BB Kings in Universal City to go watch Teedra Moses. It was aiight I mean I had no idea who the folks were but it was just to be out. I did meet the members of one band randomly which was cool coz they were actually not so bad. Funny part was out of all those folks there I get a personal card from their SAX player, John. Oh the group name was "MULATTO" by the way.

Now this was when we ran errands for my Mom at the Garment District and decided to spend my Dad's money when we ate at the Mayflower. You see we don't get the same quality out where I live in PA now. My sister and I ordered everything we wanted and ended up having way more than we really needed. OH IT WAS RUBBING THE BELLY TIME!!!!!

This right here is my godson Christopher Andrew Go. The last time I saw him was right after his baptism in January 2006. So of course I had to at least go visit and some time with him. Isn't he cute?

A visit to SOCAL would not be complete if there wasn't a stop at Roscoe's. As you can see I had the #2 which was 1/4th of a chicken drowned in gravy & onions, a sunrise and the waffles. Now that was a good dinner.

This was my friend Stan & my cousin Emily when I did a day trip to San Diego. Maya and I spent the day there shopping, getting facials, more shopping and visiting with both Stan & Emily. I even saw both Auntie Cely & Uncle Boying there on our quick visit at Emily's pretty house.

We saw the Geronimo's on 2.18.07 after Jill's party. We met up with them and had brunch at the Queen Mary. Now that brunch waws so good that when all of us headed to the floor we all stopped at stood there because none of us had any idea where to start.

That same night the Viray's all came to visit after Ate Agnes went and picked up Kuya Henry at the airport who was arriving from the Philippines. Now that was a nice visit because Ate Agnes was so animated and it was just nice to see the ones we grew up with. I guess it just reminds me how old I am getting.


This was taken the night before I left (2.23.07) when an old friend came to visit, Eric Jennings. Now this one and myself have an extensive history. We have known each other since we were fresh outta high school and we were both 18 years old. Granted we went through a period there where we did not speak for about 4 years I am guessing. But now we have this good thing going where he's back to at least being my friend. Pretty ain't he?

Now the last few were taken when my plane took off Chicago O'Hare Airport on February 21st. So basically what you are looking at is the skyline of Chicago at night which of course includes the Sears Tower. Then I snuck a picture of myself inside the plane because I had nothing else to do and I was bored what can I say? Now hold tight until I get to Asia coz I doubt I'll be doing anything else between then and now.