April 5, 2004

  • I went to the ER yesterday with my lola.  She was complaining of pain in her upper abdomen.  She's at that age where the smallest pain could be serious.  So if she says let's go to the doctor, we go, no matter how much I want to resist.  Boy did I not want to go yesterday.  I feel guilty about that.  My head said get Pepto Bismol.  She'll be fine.  My heart said don't be selfish.  Not after what I went through with mom.  My heart won.


    I went into Kaiser and right away said that we would need an interpreter.  They told me they didn't have one.  Of all the nurses that speak Tagalog, there wasn't one working that day in the ER.  Sure.  Well I was surprised that we got in there pretty fast, bt it makes sense to me now.  They checked her heart with an EKG, to make sure she wasn't having a heart attack, because heart attack symptoms in women are different than they are in men.  I learned that when my mom had her first of two heart attacks.  Back then, they said it was a mild heart attack.  As if there was such a thing.


    They also used an X-ray and checked to see that her intestines weren't blocked.  I guess that was okay too.  However, there was blood in her stool.  Not a good sign.  They took a CT Scan and found out that she had inflammation in her stomach.


    After eight hours of tests, they prescribed two antibiotics and sent us on our way home.  They said she wasn't supposed to eat within two hours of taking the medicine and to drink lots of water.  I don't know if she'll do it. 


    I wasn't sure if I should go into work this morning.  I did though.  She won't answer the phone when I call, so I don't even know if she's okay.  I got home and she was in her room, which is good, and she had taken her medicine.  As stubborn as she is, I don't know if she'll take all of the medicine.  It makes her want to vomit.  She says it's "mapait."  Anyone know what that means?  I don't know if it's Tagalog or Ilokano or Pangasinan.

Comments (3)

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    Hey Bobby, I hope that your Grandma will be okay...I think "pait" means bitter, but I'm not sure...LOL...well, take care.

    Always,
    Lyn

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  • ya mapait means bitter in ilocano. you should tell your lola to take it with warm milk so she won't taste the bitterness. that's what my lola does.

  • yes, mapait means bitter.

    And the previous comment above about warm milk really works too.  That's what my grandma and some of my residents do too..but grandma drinks it with soy milk, since a lot of asian digestive systems cannot digest lactose well.

    Take care

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