Pill-popper

Zaki started oral steroids since day 4 but it was only last night that she was able to take it without us having to dissolve it before giving it to her.

How'd we do it? Wrap it in chocolate.

Now, she is a certified pill-popper. Pics to come.

Nothing Worse than a Health Scare

Health maintenance and prevention are like cost-savings from company efficiencies that turn incoming cash flow into profits.

A week ago, Zaki started having slight fever but nothing Paracetamol didn't cool down. She also had been suffering from a minor case of colds even before that and based on past experiences, we simply brushed it aside as one of those normal 'sick' days she's having. Besides, she's still as strong as an ox, mind you.

With no other unusual signs associated with H-fever or any infection (even aH1N1), Zaki enjoyed a fever-free day last Saturday and was her usual whirling dervish self - dancing and singing to the songs we were playing at full volume, a regular weekend activity. It seems that everything's good. Boy, if only we knew what was coming!

By Sunday morning, I was holding Zaki in my arms, feverish and with uncontrollable chills, having vomited about 4 times already. Giving oral medicines was out of the question so I just had to make do with giving her a sponge bath to cool her down, something difficult to comprehend when holding someone who's like freezing to death. Fortunately, it worked.

All the while, wifey had been preparing things we need for confinement only to find out at the
hospital that there were no rooms available so we were forced to spend a whole morning inside the ER with other parent with their sick kids. With all the health threats inside the ER, staying in there is like attracting more problems so as soon as Zaki's condition stabilized, we signed a waiver that we're leaving. Lab results were inconclusive that Zaki wasn't even prescribed antibiotics but which I decided to give by myself anyway.

At home, it's obvious that Zaki was feeling a bit weak but still pretty normal if compared to other kids. She still has that good appetite for anything she can think of which we promptly give her. But by this time, we knew we had to be on guard for any warning signs.

That night, her temperature began to shoot up again that by midnight we were again busy preparing our things to go to any hospital the second time, albeit to a different one and hoping to find an available decent room. We were fortunate to find one in a general hospital not so far from our place. After the lab tests came in, there wasn't any doubt about an infection.

Despite the lack of any clinical signs of pulmonary congestion, except for colds and even confirmatory lab tests the previous morning, it turns out that Zaki was in serious condition.

The diagnosis: Pneumonia.

We spent 2 days at the hospital at the only room we can get, a shared one where there's no TV, which Zaki, as a regular hospital vacationer, noticed immediately. (Wifey and I were not complaining though, even if shared, it's quite big and adequately separated. No TV means less noise and besides, she's a remote-hog!)

We're now in the last few doses of antibiotics which we continued at home. We've tried not to fall too much behind with office work but coming from that kind of experience just puts a toll on you both physically and mentally. As much as I'd hate to admit, I'm throwing creativity for a while and just try to survive for the next few days. There's no time out from being a parent especially to one who has to take some medicines daily for her entire lifetime and exacerbating that condition with other health threats can just leave you feeling spent.

But then, I'm not one to mope and as a popular Pinoy saying goes, 'I've been worried most of my life that I can't worry further anymore.'

Special thanks to the hospital staff for the exemplary care given us round-the-clock (that robs you of continuous sleep :) and to family, friends and Twitter acquaintances who have kept Zaki in their prayers and also to a few who went out of their way to surprise us with a visit. We feel blessed. Amen.

Sick Day Quotes

Trouble with sick kids is that first sign that fever subsides, it's back to clowning around! It's in the jeans!

She has fever. My assessment is that it's not Swine Flu even as many are threatened these days. Fortunately, wifey is here, but it still will need a concerted effort, not just the necessary medicines to give the best possible care to little kid.

Weak as she is, you can't stop her from being silly.

"Dad, look. My cough sounds like fireworks! Awesome"

Asked on her preference of doctors, kid answers, "Dr. Banner (Hulk), Dr. Manhattan (Watchmen) and Dr. Connors (From Spidey). Why? "They don't have friends!"

Brain-fried.

Movies for Life

F/Poster Parent

Couple of things that happened Sunday/yesterday.

1. Was able to watch 2 movies at home on TV. If you have a kid and you have a TV set, you know this is rare. First movie we watched was Knowing and the second was Mulan. Funny but it seemed that those were good films about fatherhood and was trying to tell me something about the day. Watch and weep.

2. First time that Zaki greeted me Happy Father's Day! I'm not sure if she really gets it but she just came up to me while we were walking and greeted me with a hug. Sucker punched!

3. Went out early for groceries and terrible day to go to the malls. Call me grouché but I really am not into celebratory kind of moods created by commercialism.

4. Was kind of hard on Zaki for not getting her 'shapes' right but discovered that online kids' games sure are helpful especially those with vocals that ask questions. Besides, I was already 6 or 7 years old when I learned about those so I will have to remind myself to give her some slack .

5. I still have a lot to work on to be the best dad for Zaki. Hope it's never too late.

Not so dumb question from Zaki:
Why would someone like Anakin later turn bad and become Vader? Thinking that she won't get it if I spoke about greed, I answered: He wanted all the power for himself. While she thinks of power in superhero terms, I think about people's fundamental need for it as it relates to control over things external but never for that which is within. We both repeated ourselves at least twice more and left it at that. Both perplexed about the statements we made.

Better if we just watch the movie ...

BTW, Zaki loves singing along to the song Little Wonders and we love listening to it, too...

Beginner's Mind

Kid and her new kingdom

I had been wrestling with a project at work for almost 2 weeks now to the point of obsessing over it and not getting restful sleep - not that I had been getting any ever since Zaki has occupied almost half of the bed between mum and me. Or has it been ages even before that, probably.

Anyway, regarding the project, I had kept reading and referencing stuff and other materials every time I am in front of the computer which is something I'm proud to be quite adept at already. Yet offline, my brain still seems to function as if it were processing data on every possible outcome of the project - the answer to which is still hanging even as I write this piece. It is paralyzing, really and as a consequence, I am not able to fully appreciate time and life as a whole. It is easy to cry for a break but doing so is a different matter - especially when the reins are coming from inside. Mental, as we all would say.

Which has led me to again to tap into that internal resource for coping well which isn't as easy as pushing buttons but then events and surroundings have a peculiar way of offering help. Here goes:

1. It's back to school time for Zaki starting yesterday and how lovely it is to see school premises and bolted gates to keep kids from leaving (and parents from staying) again. New shoes, uniform and polished new smiles from kids who again embark on new adventures holding loads of books and unbelievably big luggages. So? They do have these different bags (Zaki's got Marvel Avengers :) yet none of the baggages. You see open hearts and open minds. Non-critical and in sync with positivity. There's more than a bit to that.

2. Twitter: A daily dose of wisdom. Quit Often To Succeed In Life . Strange but once you read it, you'll be enlightened. 3. Comparative Religion. I call it as such because I do believe that different religions convey something similar in their teachings though I'm partial to Jesus and Buddha by way of upbringing and interest. And so I thought that I wasn't working as efficiently on the project to the point that it feels like walking with weights and being caught in a whirlpool at same time. I knew I had to employ a different tact to make it all work and give my best self to it. Then comes Beginner's Mind.

But what about Jesus, I silently pondered. Surely, He would have something to say about this. True enough, she was in front of me all along.

Excuse me while I go and work some more...

Questions To Brush Aside (for now)

Jesus.

I don't know how other parents manage to take a lot of their young kids to attend Sunday mass. For quite a period of time, I'd just be adding more to my sin count trying to subdue Zaki from being the hyper kid that she is that I thought it better to not just attend mass. Of course, the alternative of going ourselves wasn't too appealing either as I'd rather spend as much time with her.

Fortunately, it might be because she's bit older now that we've started having better time now at church. Though she'd still occasionally move up and down seats which distracts other people fearing she'd be getting herself into an accident, we've managed to calm her clowning down a bit without employing scare tactics.

Still, we're not completely freed of the concerns associated with attending mass. This time, Zaki is on a philosophical assault.

If Jesus was good and has a lot of power, why is He on the cross? How come he has enemies? Why didn't he fight back? He is a superhero, right?

On the side, but related:
Even as a baby, Zaki's been a huge 'perspirer' that at home, she'd be most likely wearing just undies running around and playing. As a result, we often have a difficult time whenever we're supposed to go out and she has to put a dress on.

One time, in exasperation, wifey says, "Zaki, you can't go out dressed in panty/briefs! Better put some clothes on, otherwise, Jesus will get mad at you!"

Sad to say, that in this argument, she reasoned, Jesus up on the cross, was on her side.

Indeed, He has a soft side for all kids. Amen.

The Mummy

Zaki,

Honestly, Mom's Day is just commerce. Probably better to 'spend' those regular days celebrating time you have with mum and show how much we appreciate her for what she has done and for being the person that she is. Besides, it's apparent that, more and more each day, you'd end up a carbon copy of her so be nice or the transformation will speed up ten-fold!

Yes, terrible pic that is but it does serve as a (painful) reminder of what had happened this week.

1. You're no boxer and despite professing that you would like to be a boxer someday, thanks to Pacquiao-Hatton, hematoma doesn't look great on the face.

2. Always be careful! No need to run amok all day because you'd never know when the floor would prefer something else than your foot. Plus, Dad isn't there all the time!

3. We nearly went for a VTR who saw potential in you for TV ads as a child actor (or villain, perhaps). Maybe, someday when they remake the Hulk, as a prequel.

One more thing, that violet thingy is to remind you about the lolas, too. So, let's both be good to our mums and turn a new leaf . Keep that chin up, pun intended!

Love,
Dad