Sunday, January 29, 2012

January ... Go, Go .. go!



Nearing the end of  January , I couldn't help myself looking back to the last few weeks that had passed by so quickly. From the celebration of New Year's day with my family after 16 yrs is a big change for all of us back in the Philipppines, to the celebration of my daughter's 25th Birthday

Happy 25th Birthday Barbie !
the occassion where I had accidentaly burned my left hand while baking some chocolate chip cookies using a gas oven unknowingly turned off by my wondering 1 yr old grandson ,
As u can see... some of the cookies were burned too ! 
Luckily , that was the last batch in the oven ha-ha !

Just a few mins after my hand got exposed to the fire that sudeenly came out of the gas oven when I lit it up ! Ahhhhhhh it was  extremely painful !

Then to the silent moments of my own birthday back in Perth on the 3rd week ...

Thanks for the thoughtful greetings from my friends who happen to include Fire Mountain Gems .
My favorite Beading supplier from the USA.
Thank You So Much !

My birthday which started with disaster when the flower shops I went to were closed during that day.


I was about to buy myself my favorite flowers ... but luckily I found some good ones in a supermarket in FLOREAT FORUM. So still , my day wasn't bad at all ... plus ... now hear this one ... I had an extra bunch of flowers around noon from hubby. We both have the same color theme too .. Yellow ! Now that's a sure miracle LOL!



before I forget ( How can I  ? ) , my kids had also given me a nice Birthday present. This nice shiny clock was perfect to keep me in time . Thanks kids .. muaaahhhhh !


Anyways , there is really so much more to tell about this month.
But , oh my ...my head starts to stir while trying to recall the events . Hmmmmmmm this is gonna be a long blog for sure ha-ha !

My days are filled with chores to catch up to when I was back in Perth.  But my poor left hand was often keeping me at bay so from time to time I do sit and browse the internet for some news and get updates from friends. I also had visited my ebay sites and even bought a nice pair of garnet earrings from ebay seller "jewelsbyheather".
. Isn't this pair gorgeous ?



I bought it as a birthday gift to myself  LOL!
I had this pair included in my Garnet collection I had bought for myself several years ago . Garnet is my favorite color / stone and by coincidence and luck ... it happened to be my birrhstone .



Anyways, back to my poor burned left hand , despite of what my hand had bern  putting me through it never stopped me from beading a cleopatra necklace for 3 days !

Despite of the pain ... my passion still has to go on. Beading just never ends !

3 days of beading and my cleopatra necklace is now ready !

The skin layer under the burned skin was still raw and inside was still tender and sore so I have to be very careful not to loose the upper layer of the skin inorder not to expose myself to infection.

Now this stage was the worst  moment coz the skin came off when I was washing my hair in the shower !
Awwwwwwww

 I was almost into crying for several nights coz the itch and the pain were combining ! I had tried to soothe my skin with Aloe Vera gel as often as I can . Unbelievable but true, The gel had healed my hand fast ... much better than the Papaw ointment considered as a healing oitment for burns. So my advice to all of you out there is to stock up on Aloe Vera Gel . I don't just use it for the burned hand but I had been already using it on my face as a moisturizer for over a year now.
 It worked wonders I'm telling you !


Image Detail
This is an image of what I had used to soothe my burned hand. I had bought this bottle in Singapore last December 2011
So go and don't hesitate to try this product .

My burned left hand has now healed with just a slight scar by the base of my middle finger.



But my pain isn't over yet. Presently, I'm suffering from a severe left back pain. I just couldn't sit for a long time but I tried my best to move around as much as I can. In fact , been doing a lot of movements in n out of the house just to put my attention somewhere else to ignore the pain. But of course in the end ... I need to sit and keep my hands busy ... beading like crazy as usual ha-ha . Truthfully, the pain is worst if I sit and I don't know why !


 I still have to unpacked  the loads of beads / findings I had amassed during my trip to Singapore and Philippines. They are all still in plastic bags. Oh no ! With my aching back right now ... leaning and reaching down is my biggest problem coz it creates a huge stabbing pain on my left back. How I hate this pain.


I need to see a physiotherapist as soon as possible. After I had searched the internet for the possible causes of this back problem I can be sure it concerns a muscle tissue I had strained in my back from carrying heavy loads from the supermarket about a week ago. Here in Perth , I have to carry everything in n out of the cart, into the cashier back in the cart then out again to put in the car then out of the car once again to bring inside the house. How I miss Singapore for the home deliveries coz they deliver all the boxes of drinks and groceries all the way into the kitchen ! Here in Perth , I can't get that convenience at all ! I have to do this job all alone everytime !

Well anyways ...  I am glad I can still sit right now to type my blog . Sitting while leaning on a warm bottle of water to relax the muscle on my back and relieve the pain somehow. But surely tomorrow when I wake up ... 1st thing I'm gonna do is go to my doctor and ask for referral to a physiotherapist ! I can't bear this pain anymore . So ... I must go ... go ... go !

Monday, January 09, 2012

25 Years ...




Lorenine Barbie 1 yr Old

January 1987 ~ The greatest gift to humanity is nothing else but the birth of a new life . Unfortunately, to some who where unable to continue their generation their grief is replaced by adopting abandoned or unfortunate children from poor families . I am thankful up to this day that I was one of the chosen gifted ones who can add to the continuation of life and generation of my family. It's now exactly 25 years since my 1st child was born the normal way in the evening of 9th January 1997. She weighs a little over 7 lbs and about 50-51 cms long.

I had a baby girl who's face was so peaceful in her sleep.
I named her Lorenine Barbie .
Lore ~was derived from my own name and I added the word Nine coz she was born on the 9th of January. Then followed by Barbie coz she looks like a doll.
She got long beautiful eyebrows and lots of hair with a rounded angelic face.
Her 1st smile brought me such an enormous priceless joy .


 She was brought to me from the nursery a few hours after I gave birth so I can breastfeed her for the very 1st time . Then they took her away again back to the nursery so I can rest and sleep afterwards.
It was such a happy experience to craddle her in my arms and give her a motherly kiss on her chubby cheeks for the very 1st time . She was so beautiful and smells like a bunch of fresh flowers in her baby wrap.


The following morning, the nurses came and told me I should start walking around. Get out of my bed so i can start stretching to avoid catching Pneumonia or bed sores from sweating on my back from laying down all the time. I was dizzy when I got up and felt blood coming out of me when I sat on the side of the bed. Nurses said there's no need to worry .. it's a normal reaction coz I just gave birth. So I tried to get out of my bed slowly and held on the bed rails for support. I need to stand on my own and walk around a bit. My legs were both shaking when I tried to stand up. It wasn't easy but finally did it after few minutes. I walked the hallway passing the other patients in the ward. I think there are more than 50 beds in the room where I was. All like me who just gave birth. I was in the big maternity ward of Fabella Hospital in Manila.

I had about 10 mins walk before I decided to take a rest. Baby Lorenine wrapped in her white n pink baby wrap arrived from the nursery with the nurse. It's time to breastfeed her again and keep her in my bed permanently to give space to other babies coming in the nursery.I was delighted to finally have her with me in my bed. She was hungry so I quickly fed her. But I just noticed after she had fed that she threw up a bit. But I thought it was just a normal reflux. So I just ignored it and cleaned her face. But after few hours ... she keeps giving out liquid from her mouth even thru her nose. She won't breastfeed and she keeps vomitting the milk she had before. I get alarmed. It's been all day and I got worried coz she doesn't want to feed. When the nurses came to check me & her up , I told them about the problem. They advised me to keep watching her till my doctor comes for my daily routine check up .

The nurses informed my doctor about my baby's condition. The doctor came and he immediately checked Baby Lorenine. She'd started to get dehydrated. But no matter how I try to breastfeed and the nurses' attempts to give her bottle feed she won't take any. So the doctor decided to check her belly with a stethoscope . The sound he heard wasn't good so he decided to put an intravenous drip. Baby Lorenine needed to transfer in the Pediatric ward up in the 4th floor so she can be observed more . I was in the maternity ward on the 2nd floor. So I'll have to carry and take her there myself while the nurses ready the necessary things for her. I wrapped her well I walked up the stairs holding unto her tightly while my other hand held on to the handrails while I slowly go up the stairs to the 4th floor. I suddenly feel blood coming out n dripping on my legs down to the steps when I was halfway up the stairs. I just kept moving up the steps slowly on my own with her but I got nervous after a while when i started to have blurry vision. So I stopped and waited for people to come by. Luckily, someone saw the trail of blood on the steps and alerted the nurses to give me some help. They took the baby up to the pediatric ward and a nurse took me to the 1st aid. I was ok after they cleaned me up. I asked them I needed to be with my baby so they kindly assisted me to go up. The building was an old one without lifts for the public so there's no other way but to go up but the stairs!

My heart sank when I heard my baby crying. The sound of her cry is not just due to hunger. But a cry coz she was in severe pain . The doctor assisted with 2 nurses had started poking her with the needles. She was so tiny that they couldn't find a vein big enough to put the needle in . Every poke of the needle into her pinkish skin is a poke into my heart. Oh My God it was such a horrible experience for a 1st time mother like me ! I started to cry ... it's unbearable to see my tiny baby Lorenine crying in pain right infront of me . Worst is I just couldn't even hold to soothe her . It's absolutely devastating !

Seeing me crying , the doctor asked me if I would prefer to stay outside the room while they try to put the needle in . I just nodded my head and stayed there with my baby all the time. I can't leave her alone in pain . I was there to be strong for her coz she herself was strong. She was struggling and kicking her tiny legs a lot .
Just a day old and she has to go through a lot of pain already. This is not fair !
2nd Day ~ Doctors from the pediatric ward came to see baby Lorenine in the morning. She was with the drip and not allowed to be fed . I had not slept well coz I didn't have a bed in that pediatric room. All I have is a chair beside her crib. I had been rubbing a wet cotton on her lips everytime to keep it moist so the lips won't dry and flake. The doctors told me to be ready for some tests & x-ray for her. I got even more nervous. I asked myself - "Is my baby dying ? What's wrong with her ? " She looked very healthy at that time . From the outside , she looked like she's very healthy and got nothing wrong at all . I was confused and problematic coz I was also destitute. I only have very few pesos I had saved for my child birth. In fact to even save more, I gave birth in a charity ward coz I can't afford to be in a private clinic or be attended by a private doctor. So knowing she's gonna be undergoing medical tests gave me a huge amount of stress.

Despite of everything that had happened after that 1st day of her life ...I never stopped  to find the final cure for her. I'm a mother who wants nothing else in this world but to see my child well and healthy.

Baby Lorenine about 10 months old .

We had stayed in the hospital for 2 months since she was born coz she was diagnosed with " Megacolon" and she had undergone surgery for colostomy .


Baby Lorenine 3 mos old. A month after she left the hospital
Baby Lorenine at 4 months old with her colostomy.

Lorenine was about 2 yrs old when we went to Puerto Galera, Mindoro Philippines

 Her colostomy surgery took her under the knife 5 times and it went on for 5 long years before it was finally closed in 1992 at Lungsod Ng Kabataan ( now called Philippine Children's Medical Center )  under the supervision of a well known Pediairic Surgeon  Dr. Leonardo Cua who did a charity surgery for her for free the first time she was operated.




The final surgery being sponsored by a kind hearted Australian Guy Mr. Don Mentz of CAB International who readily volunteered to support her medical expenses upon seeing her condition.. A guy with a big heart and one who acted like a father to me who passed away few years ago due to a heart attack. May his soul rest in peace.
.

Lorenine had showed me enormous anount of courage even when she was just a tiny baby. She was my inspiration in life and she had pushed me a lot to be strong and to never ever give up on hope. Have a positve way of thinking and always convince myself that there's always light at the end of the dark tunnel.


There are several attempts to close her colostomy. The 4th attempt she almost died due to some fever and complications. But she was strong and so was I. We never gave up on each other... If there's a will ... there's a way ...I kept telling that to myself.
For sure, there's someone up there watching over us I know .

The Black Nazarene

Quiapo Church at night .
The Shrine of the "BLACK NAZARENE" inside Quiapo Church.
By coincidence or perhaps by pure luck , she was born on the day of the feast for   " The Black Nazarene " found in the church of Quiapo . This is one major event in the history of the Church attended by thousands of devotees every year.

The most unforgettable day when Lorenine got fever after her operation. She was immedtely transferred  in the intensive care and given a lot of attention by her attending surgeon.

Recovery time for her ...

Her little brother Meier is keeping Lorenine company in the hospital during the day .

Our lives spent  going in n out of the hospitals for the first five years of her life, made both us and our bond much even stronger.



I had surpassed so much aches just like her.
We both came out as survivors.
Our struggles had paid off.
Now she even had given way to a new life herself  .

Visiting Lorenine in hospital after she gave birth prematurely to Rhendolf who stayed in the incubator for few days.

My grandson Rhendolf  was her 1st born .

Lorenine on her wedding day in Dec 2010

I was happy both of them are healthy despite of what she's been through .




Today , 9th of January 2012 is Lorenine's 25th Birthday and the feast of The Black Nazarene  !
I just would like to tell her how much I love her and wishing all devotees of the Black Nazareen a safe & wonderful day !




HAPPY 25th BIRTHDAY !!!


Sunday, January 01, 2012

2011 ... At A Glance !




Hello 2012 - Goodbye 2011


I'm kind of speechless today ... a new year had started hours ago greeted by fireworks seen from the 2nd floor terrace of my humble home here in the town of Sta. Cruz, Laguna Philippines .

Sta. Cruz , Laguna Philippines




This is the 1st time in 16 years that I had celebrated Christmas & New Year with my own family back here in my hometown.


Relatives from even far away places came to visit and I was able to see  them after so many years ! The best part is seeing my mom happy being with her sisters . My aunties whom my mom hardly see and be with. Even the gathering of young children in my family is fun and wacky to see ...



 I felt much happier compared to the last few years ! Indeed the feeling of happiness is overwhelmong although in a corner near my heart I have this pain knowing my 2 younger children where back in Perth away from me and were not able to join the fun.This is the very 1st time I ever left them for almost a month . Leaving them on their own with their father makes me sad coz I know it's not easy without me managing with them. Oh well .. time is moving on and they're growing up. About time they learn to manage themselves too. I'm sure they would do ok . Soon I'll be home anyways .

2011 is now over but memories of the year that had passed would forever linger and bring back  the smile as well as tears spent with certain events in my life . The last 2 years had been a constant roller coaster ride for me and I did held on tight to whatever for dear life and constant search for happiness.

My stay in Perth for over a year now yielded more struggle to overcome loneliness and stress brought about by personal problems. But as a cliche goes  " No one can put a good man down !". So I'm here proudly with my chin up high to prove that I'm still firm where I stand !

I 'm well blessed to have the strenght to keep my wits together and have my loyal good friends scattered in different parts of the world always running to my side. How I love them all dearly.

Preparation of beads for a crocheted wire design .


The finished wire crochet beaded necklace proudly worn by a good friend of mine who bought it while I was travelling in Singapore. last Dec 2011.

 My beads ... how I love my craft materials which are my constant companion in the wee hours of the night. They are my most trusted buddies distracting me from thinking about my personal problems and helping me somehow financially. Not only I gained materially but I also earned respect and admiration from friends I had known before and to new friends I meet along the way when I attended the bazaars  to sell my handcrafted jewelries.









The Australians are very nice people to hang around with . Especially those I had met during the craft bazaars and those I had come across with last November from the Living Faith community church. Somewhere somehow I felt like I had a new found family who takes me in no matter who I am . The feeling was great ... awesome .. and I enjoy coming to meet them every Sunday morning in the community church.

.

Not only these people adopted me but they also supported my jewelries. For the month of Dec., I had sold almost all the angel themed car charms, key chains I had made to support some charities.


I do thank you all for your support and wishing everyone a

Happy New Year 2012.


Flowers on the front entrance of the International School Of Western Australia

 
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