Her story- "Our Memory"

Blog #10

March 25, 2022 Friday

Good day my read.cash family.

Today was a very busy day. A lot of things have been going on in school and at home.

This afternoon, we were able to visit the wake of our previous principal who passed away because of lung problems. I do not know the exact details about it.

I just also remembered the time when I experience a loss of a dear loved one.

Last January 2020, our family mourned for the early death of my niece.

She was a very jolly and supportive big sister to my two daughters. She was a very good dancer. They call her “Ate Samie”.

This started when she was getting her laboratory as a requirement to study education units in CTU-Cebu City. At that time, she was working in an agency as a Recruitment Officer. This time when the doctor read her lab results, it showed that she has a very high creatinine level.

What is creatinine and its normal level?

Creatinine is a byproduct of normal muscle function. It is a metabolite of creatine phosphate, which the muscles use as an energy source.

The greater someone’s muscle mass, the higher their creatinine levels. For this reason, males tend to have higher creatinine levels than females.

The primary way in which the body removes creatinine from the blood is by filtration through the kidneys and then excretion in the urine.

( source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/when-to-worry-about-creatinine-levels#creatinine)

According to the British Medical Journal, the usual reference range for serum creatinine is 60–110 micromoles per liter (mcmol/l), or 0.7–1.2 milligrams per deciliter (mg/dl), for males and 45–90 mcmol/l (0.5–1.0 mg/dl) for females.

( source: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/when-to-worry-about-creatinine-levels#creatinine)

The doctor advised her to be hospitalized so she quickly called up my older sister. We were very shocked to know the news where in fact there are no signs that indicated that she has it. It was around August 2019 when she was admitted. She stayed in the hospital for three weeks. She was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure. The doctor said that only 10% of her kidney is functioning. She was really crying and could not accept that her life would come at that point. Her mother, who is my older sister, advised her to accept because there was nothing, they can do about it. Though it breaks her mother so much seeing her daughter in such a feeling of helplessness, she should be brave also for her daughter. She was in dialysis while in the hospital. It was three times a week. There was something inserted into her neck. It was where the dialysis machine was connected. That’s how bad the situation was.

They asked if they can be discharged because the bill also was getting bigger. Our family made contributions for the hospital bill at that time. At that time, each dialysis cost Php5,000 or USD100 per session, and that was three times a week. My sister was so problematic that time each time they were scheduled for dialysis. Our family has been supportive to them but of course, we have our own expenses and the salaries are somehow just enough.

Eventually, they were able to enroll in Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSCMMC)-Cebu City in the dialysis center. They were paying less than Php2,000 or USD40. It is a government hospital and sometimes the schedules were not followed because sometimes the machine would have some technical problems. The three times a week schedule would fall two times a week only. I can really feel the struggle they have to take both my sister and her daughter.

 She was able to attend the first birthday of my son last September 2019 and made the decorations and balloon. She even took the birthday pictures for her cousin.

 She was my make-up artist during our night at our barangay during the teachers’ nite. My second daughter’s make-up artist for her dance number during the nite for the elementary.

The following day after the nite, she experienced difficulty in breathing because she was not allowed to get too excited, too sad, overworked, and stressed. So, the oxygen was attached to her since there was one unit prepared for her.

She has a cheerful disposition always. She even made a video of the “Tala Dance” challenge which was popular at that time.  

 She spent her Christmas 2019 with her mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, and sibling (kuya).

January 2020, they were scheduled for dialysis. My second daughter will be joining the Sinulog in the school, and she needs a headdress. So I asked her to buy one for me for her cousin. She said that she will be texting and sending pictures for me if she could buy one. She and her boyfriend planned to witness the fireworks for the Sinulog after her dialysis.

 That day, my older sister called up and said that my niece was rushed to the hospital because of difficulty breathing. She said that its as if it is already the end. She was revived but already with a ventilator machine. I can’t explain how I felt that time. I know that it would really come to that point but it was just too sudden.

 My husband and I visited her at the hospital, and I could help but cry.  I was crying inside because my sister was there, and I want to be strong for her also. We called up my kids and let her hear their voices. Telling her to be better because they would be waiting for her to come home. The feeling that from the looks of it that it is really the end but there was still a grain of faith that somehow and maybe a miracle would happen.

 January 23, 2020, Thursday, the doctor talked to my sister to decide because it has been days, but she has no response to the medications. So, my sister and brother-in-law waited for the older brother to be at the hospital. By the afternoon of the same day, the family decided to take off the ventilator and observe if she still can breathe on her own without the machine.

 January 24, 2020, the ventilator machine was taken off. As described by my sister, somehow all her body has become reddish. She was pronounced dead. She was 25 years old. It was very painful and we cried for her.

 Today, there are moments when I can think about her. What if she is still here? She could see her cousins getting bigger already. At some point also, I become teary-eyed remembering her.

 Death is inevitable. We may not understand the feeling of those who mourn when it is our time to mourn. We cannot explain the pain of those who lost their loved ones when it is our time to feel the pain. Everybody says that when someone died, we should not be sad. Instead, be happy because eternal life is waiting for them. No more pain. No more suffering.

 We make every minute count and spend our time wisely. We may work very hard for the money but do not forget to spend time with family and friends.

Take a break. Bond with family. Live healthily.

(Photos were taken when she was already on her dialysis.)

(My two daughters were so happy receiving their Christmas gifts from Ate Samie.)

(They were very close ever since.)

This article is dedicated to Ate Samie. We love you so much. Our hearts remember you always.

Thanks for giving your time to read my article. Do not forget to hit like. Leave your comments, and upvotes. If you have any suggestions for my next article, please write down on the comment section.

Thank you for your time.

For my other blog, you can click the link below:

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/lets-eat-f248c9a9

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/life-changing-goal-family-journey-a96c79a1

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/challenge-accepted-c9cd2089

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/what-is-more-than-labor-pain-af8b2f3c

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/music-from-nature-2d80b0d4

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/a-life-away-from-home-coming-home-85ee734c

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/a-life-away-from-home-part-2-4d5b4498

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/a-life-away-from-home-part-1-1c73fd0e

https://read.cash/@Ayen22/a-glimpse-of-myself-7cc89e52