Looking Back

Ours is a closely knit clan. You can say we are your typical Filipino family. We normally do things together. We love celebrations, we love giving gifts to each other no matter what the occasion is. Needless to say we comfort each other in times of needs and challenging situations.

Like how it was when both my grandparents were hospitalized at the same time. I do not know if it was some stroke of faith or a mere coincidence. But the hardest part here was that they were in different places.

My grandmother on my mother's side was in the country so it was easier to look after her. We can monitor her regularly. Anytime we want we can call her doctor and ask how she was progressing. We can go to the hospital where she was confined anytime we want. Us, her grandchildren took turns looking after her.

It was a different story with my grandmother living in the U.S. then. Only my father and my aunt were able to visit her. We were constantly on the phone asking about how she was doing. We were really worried since my father mentioned that all sorts of medical equipment were attached to her body to help her breathe properly. She had pneumonia. Even so we anticipate good news every time the phone rings. My father and my aunt update us so we all know what is going on with our grandmother.

My grandmother from my mother's side went well in a couple of weeks, five days of which she spent in the hospital. She had severe arthritis so she had to be on a power wheelchair which cost quite a sum but the family pitched in so she can be comfortable during her therapy. We just wanted her to be well in no time. Used medical equipment in the U.S. are no problem but it was quite hard to find one here. Refurbished medical equipment are often a good choice since quality is assured at a lower cost. Anyway, true enough, her therapy was quick at only a month and she was back on track.

My father stayed in the U.S. for two months to be with my grandmother. She was released from the hospital after two weeks. What's good was she did not need any therapy but it was as if she did not get pneumonia when she stepped out of the hospital. I fondly recalled she wanted to play tennis right away after that. But of course she needed a lot of rest and my father was there to look after her.

Both my grandmothers are in heaven now but as a family, it's always a heart warming recollection whenever we reminisce how it was with our loving grandmothers.