Musings on the evolution of illness and disease

Illness and disease have taken up evolving forms and feelings down through the years as personally observed by this blogger. As a pre-school lad, a vision of different colors floating through a wide bottomless abyss was an indication that he was at the brink of a fever-induced delirium and in the background he could hear his mom mutter… “it’s 40 degrees celsius. Get some ice, quick!” Other than that, disease to him was something that deserved nary a thought nor emotion.

College and Medical School was a period where illness was something that was limited to the books, while life flew by fast without nothing serious enough to warrant a doctor’s attention or some confinement in the hospital. The last part of the medical school era was an introduction and the start of the immersion in the realm of disease and illness, but this was done from the third-person point of view. The emotions were mostly confined to the fear of making a mistake that would result in academic failure.

After medical school, with the initials "M.D." now attached to his name, disease and illness became something that had to be handled with utmost care, urgency and professionalism. It was also the means by which he made a living and how he was defined in the community. Emotions played around the concerns over a patient not getting well fast enough, the prevention of the spread of the disease and why was it taking Medicare so long to send the cheques over. Actual participation in the disease process was starting to manifest in the form of elevated serum uric acid, the deposition of the same in the joint spaces and the erosion of the gastric mucosa, which was a direct effect of the pain-killers that were used to alleviate the pain in the joints. Later, hypertension would insidiously enter into the picture - an unavoidable hereditary trait.

Retirement. This was a point in life that was expected and yet came unexpectedly. Disease concerns now was something that came as a private message or a call over the phone. It was about so-and-so who was just diagnosed for such, and so-and-so who just succumbed to such. The focus on kin and dear friends suddenly takes center stage and the emotions ranged from fear to shock to sadness and to bereavement. It was like disease was on the rampage and was sparing no one, and there was practically nothing that could be done to stem its attack and prevent its after-effects. Disease was hitting nearer and nearer home and this blogger knew that it is just a matter of time before debilitating disease would come knocking at his door to announce its grim presence.

To this blogger's kin and friends who by chance have reached this point in his observation of the evolution of illness and disease, he would like to offer a prayer for their happiness in spite of the pain, for recovery by medical and divine intervention and for continued faith and trust in their own selves, in family and above all in God's salvation.

Of Flowers and Women

Women are often portrayed in song and poetry as flowers. Like the blossoms they go through the stages of budding, blooming, and wilting. With flowers it just takes a few days to a couple of weeks for this metamorphosis to take place, while in women it takes decades or simply stated - a lifetime. 

One has to be in the 6th decade of his life to be able to pen something like this, because the floral-like metamorphosis in women takes half a century to unfold and doing a write-up about it is often dampened by the wilting results, which is not worth expressing in words.

This blog was inspired by a recent reunion with the "flowers" that were lost from Noah's sight for about 3 decades. It is actually about a three-some who were playmates in their younger years. They share the same genes from a Spanish dude - their grandpa, although legally one was the aunt (Jo ann) and the two younger girls (Gizela/Kleng and sister Svetlana/Momo) were daughters of Jo ann's first degree cousin. Noah will call them by the names that they were endeared to him - makes sense, right?

The photos below show in perspective their age differences, which could be considered as Jo ann being an older sister to the two darlings.

the physical features of the kids in the photo 

show their Spanish heritage, while the hanging 

giant spoon in the background is glaring evidence 

of their Filipino ancestry.

some years later...

...and some more. Kleng is now catching

up with Jo ann in height.

Noah came into the life of these girls at an age when he was considered a "kuya" - not an uncle. The photo below will give perspective to that age difference.

this pool is at the Davao Beach club and the other

guys in the photo are Judy - holding Kleng, Victor

an Indonesian dude and Emmeline - mother of Kleng

and Momo.

Bonding moments with these girls were as often as a tight medical school schedule would allow. Noah in those years was fighting to survive the grind that is part of earning a doctor of medicine degree and the invitations by these girls and their mom to the beach, tennis court, parties and other gustatory/gastronomical events meant a lot to him. When you're cash-strapped and mental-fatigued, events like these are like a cool breeze in a hot desert and Noah just loved all these moments - not to mention that it was also an opportunity to be around the taller lass.

The last time Noah saw Kleng and Momo was before the flood, and this is how they looked back then.

At this point in the metamorphosis they were dazzling and it was apparent when guys started falling like dominoes while vying for their hearts. One love-struck and dumbfounded dude up to this moment - about 30 years later, can only manage to say - "speechless."

that's a shot from FB messenger. the 

yellow/blue circles conceal the identity 

of the bloke for obvious reasons.

Fast forward by more than 2 decades and Noah get's the chance to be with these girls turned moms by now and this is how they look.

Noah will stop short of describing the last set of photos above, and like the love-struck dude he would rather say - "speechless."

Thank you ladies for the wonderful memories and for staying in full bloom, fresh and gorgeous, always.

samsung smartphone: a losing investment - part 2

This is a sequel to the samsung smartphone topic I posted a few days ago: http://sunnimoreno.blogspot.com/2016/07/samsung-smartphone-losing-investment.html

Exactly 5 days after the Galaxy Note4 was repaired (mainboard changed) the phone went into a grand mal seizure. It started restarting over and over and wouldn't stop. The removal of the battery was the only thing that made the seizures go away. After that it hibernated and won't turn on for about 3 hours and then it was miraculously functioning again.

So here's a phone worth about 800$ that only lasted for 20 months and in its resuscitated state for only 5 days.

So what does Noah do? He takes the phone to the Samsung service center and he was told that the mainboard should be replaced again... after just 5 days? You could imagine Noah's blood almost at boiling point. Anyway he decided there and there to demand a full refund for the 200+$ that he spent for repairs, and the phone went straight to the trash.

So that's it my friends. Never ever buy a Samsung smartphone in your life - never!

samsung smartphone: a losing investment

The iPhone has been this writer's choice and previous phone before Samsung came into his life. It was a choice prodded by the good reviews about the great shots that the Samsung Galaxy Note4 made thus negating the need to tote a bulky camera during short trips.

True to the reviews this smartphone produced awesome night shots and some good unprepared shots just when you needed a cam in the nick of time.

15 months into the life of the Note4 some battery weakness was noted. The battery life became shorter and it was necessary to recharge twice a day in spite of minimal use.

20 months from purchase the phone just died without preceding signs and attempts to resuscitate it failed. Diagnosis? "mainboard damage." This came about a few days after a friend's sumsung phone spontaneously passed away and one day before my son's S4 also gave up the ghost - both diagnosed with the same fateful pronouncement: mother-freaking board failure.

With the phone costing as much as a good laptop computer, 20 months life-span is just pure failure of a product. No wonder the gadgets with this brand name have a very low resale value.

The photo below shows the damaged motherboard that was replaced...

... to the tune of 7,900 Baht or about 200 US$.

The reader is advised to avoid purchasing any Samsung product that has a motherboard. Apparently, it is the mother that is the problem.

Friday the 13th of May 2016. Good luck or misfortune?

This is the very date that transformed Noah (me of course) into a pensioner. It also took away his livelihood at Yanhee International Hospital, made him a free agent, raised his butt from the daily 8-hour cycle of scanning in and out and made him available to whoever wished to use him for a fee or for free.

Did this Friday the 13th bring good luck or misfortune?

Neither. I consider today as a Gift from God through the death of Jesus and the companionship of the Holy Spirit. Luck or misfortune has no place in this celebration. Everything that happened and will happen in my life is the execution of the blue print that God set for me.

I will be forever grateful for God's gift of life.

Retirement... watcha talkin 'bout?

Certain things in life that were a mystery to me are gradually gaining clarity in the recent days. This doesn’t pertain to spirituality as I have had my enlightenment about a decade ago. Neither is it about health and death as these have been my bed-mates since I left medical school nor is it about sexual attraction and love, because these have made my mind their playground even at an early age.

It is actually the mystery of retirement and growing out of a company's age limit policy. So this is it and how did it dawn on me? 

First, someone tells me that she heard someone - a reputable source, say that I will be terminated on the month of my 60th birthday, which was a few months away. This could not be construed as hearsay, because I was actually told 5 years ago by the HR office that 60 was the mandatory age for retirement for employees at Yanhee International Hospital. They wanted me to retire at 55, but my manager allowed me to choose if I should work 5 years more.

Second, someone asks my wife if I already know that I will be made to retire in less than two months... hmmm, this is getting to be freaky. People talk about it behind my back, but there is no official word. It's like the guys concerned are too timid to give me something that could possibly turn my world upside-down. 

C'mon guys, give it to me. I've been waiting 60 years for this moment!

the "Latter Rain" dilemma

The photo above makes a lot of sense when coupled with these words:

 “As I view what is happening in so many situations around the globe, I see that the end of time is upon us. The Lord is coming soon! God is working in an unusual way, and the latter rain is about to fall.” Pres. Ted N. C. Wilson

“About to fall” means that it has not started raining yet. When there is no rain – it means a drought.

The photo was taken at the Alamodome where the SDA church had its meeting recently. The phrase quoted was also said at the same event by the president of this church himself. Knowingly or unknowingly he declared the exact condition of this church… no rain.

From Bangkal.. to Bukla.. to Bulacao.. to Bulacan… I have witness this attitude in the church of my birth. Only in my exit did I realize that this behavior in church does not hold true in groups where the members call themselves “born again Christians.” 

It doesn’t take a degree in theology to keep your audience awake and interested. You don’t need to be an entertainer or a standup comedian to hold the attention of your listeners.

All you need is the Holy Spirit moving inside the sanctuary and every action and uttered word will find its mark in the heart.

the SDA church declares... and denies.

I came across a recent article (July 2015) in the Adventist Review and this paragraph caught my eye:

“Instead let us focus on what realities we can change—a less than 3% growth rate among non-immigrant North Americans. Let us focus on the realities we must focus on—the bleeding of our youth out the back doors of our church at a rate of more than 50%. Instead of being irritated by what the world votes we may or may not do, let us be irritated to the point of action by the fact that there are an estimated 1 million former Adventists we must love back into the church. Instead of debating incessantly for change outside of the appropriate places for those debates, let us debate among ourselves how we can re-engage a largely inactive membership, so that our church attendance numbers are equal to our reported numbers.”

Such a short statement, but loaded with facts straight from the leadership of this church. An admission of sorts - so to speak.

       1. Growth rate in membership in the North American Division (not counting immigrants) is only 3%.

       2. The rate at which they are losing members from the youth sector through the “back door” is more than 50%.

       3. The number of former SDA members is estimated to be 1 million.

       4. The membership count reported by the church is bloated and untrue.

The article may seem a credible concern for the leaders, but there are some things that are obviously denied.

       1. Lost membership is not limited to the youth. The recent surge in defectors is from the work force rank and file. This includes ordained ministers, teachers and employees of the church’s companies, which certainly do not fall within the “youth” category.

       2. The exit is not through the “back door,” but rather via the front door when the member turns in a letter asking that his name be deleted from the records and sometimes with the church actively kicking out the ‘erring’ member.

       3. The method suggested to attract the former member is to “love them back into the church.” This denies the existing fact that the most common reason why members are defecting, is because of the unbiblical doctrines that originated from the prophetess, which contradict key points in the doctrine of salvation and grace. Loving the former member to make him come back is a losing proposition.

Here’s the link to the article: http://www.adventistreview.org/san-antonio-360/2015-07-09-the-north-american-division%E2%80%99s-new-reality

Same sex marriage and science

The Bible and Science stand across a deep divide from each other when it comes to the topic “the Origin of Life.” Is this the same situation with the subject - “Same Sex Marriage?”

In the field of Animal Anatomy and Physiology, science tells us that there are 2 genders: male and female. There is no other gender in between. Gonadal hormones are also classified as such.

In the field of Engineering and Architecture, Science tells us that toilets are basic components of private and public structures. There is nothing in this field of science that basically incorporates a third structure outside the male/female concept (aside from toilets for the disabled which is sometimes used for both genders).

In the field of Psychiatry and Psychology, Science tells us that gender reassignment surgery may be a treatment for gender identity disorder, but not same sex-marriage.

In the field of Obstetrics and Animal Husbandry, Science tells us that the genitalia of both male and female are for procreation. Coitus is between the male and the female for the purpose of reproduction. This means that the penis was made for the vagina. The anus has another role and this is not unique for either gender.

In the field of no-science (the people that didn’t come under the influence of scientific knowledge – the illiterate and pre-school) does same sex union make sense? Any hillbilly who hasn’t been to school will tell you that a male horse that allows his arse to be penetrated by the horsehood of another male horse is exhibiting bizarre behavior - falling outside of the normal.

With this discourse it can be concluded that Science and the Bible now stand united. Same sex marriage can only find support with the Supreme Court of the United States of America.