BREAKCATION is how I describe the 23 days I spent at Adventist Hospital Davao (AHD), duty-bound to personally take care of my patient.

It all started with a cough that we thought can be treated by the medicines prescribed by Dr. Hannah Lee Mara of AHD on December 22, 2018. Few hours later, my patient complained of urinating discomfort which we did not take it seriously. But the severe pain in her front due to clogged urine prompted us to confine her at the AHD on the 25th.

Her attending physician Dr. Geovanni Patalinghug, after a normative checking of vitals, ordered a kidney ultrasound and chest x-ray which all rendered normal results including urine, blood, sugar and BP. Medicines were pump regularly but the condition of my patient became more serious, that on the second day she could hardly breathe even with the aid of oxygen.

On the 27th she was admitted to the ICU, intubated! Patalinghug ruled-out his first impression that my patient has Community Acquired Pneumonia in moderate risk, instead suffered Guillain-Barre Syndrome (GBS). He told me to prepare P500,000 for the Intravenous Immunoglobulin (IvIg); and broke down the astronomically high amount of money for a P20,000 per vial, five times a day for five days. The whole amount must be secured because the medication should not be interrupted until completely done in five days.

Whew! I looked straight to his eyes to somehow get a clue that he was joking until his eyeballs dropped down to his knees. I don’t know what was in his mind when he continued “Aw kung dili nimo makaya ang amount sir, supportive care nalang ta.” It would take months if the patient recovers.

He also ordered a lumbar puncture and cranial (brain flat) scan while my patient was intubated in the ICU. Since their CT scanner is not operational, we had to avail it from the neighboring hospital. One medical practitioner opined on how can a cranial scan relate to a cough? But because Patalinghug insisted it as a need for my patient, I was obliged to throw few thousands more, not to mention the risk in transporting my intubated patient to and from the other facility; only to find out later that my patient’s brain rendered untarnished result.

Mr. Bean and Dr. Patalinghug are obviously two different personalities, but I would rather laugh at the latter. The neurologist earlier dismissed the possibility of GBS because all limbs and senses are functioning normally. Also, the pulmonologist resolved to wean and extubate my responsive patient on the 7th of 8 days in the ICU. Now she is well and discharged without the half million pesos for her cough.

abrigodann@gmail.com