Bawal magkasakit. Magastos. But inevitably, just like anyone else, illness will be contracted. I am a number in the statistics of seniors who underwent an open heart surgery. The post operation recuperation is really difficult for one who hasn’t undergone a major operation. Mine is a triple bypass, plus a tennis ball like muscle mass which grew near my heart removed.
>>> I was hospitalized at the Philippine Heart Center last week, September 26. The days before that I checked in at the Medical City Clark and my cardiologist, Dr. Frederick Gabriel initially recommended an angioplasty procedure since I am of senior age, and heart bypass may sit not well. But a fist size mass was detected blocking my heart and that posed a problem. So it was decided that I be brought to the Philippine Heart Center in Quezon City, where ‘open heart surgery is only a routine’ Doc Gabriel said.
It’s not easy to get a room there since hundreds of patients make a queue starting in wee hours of morning. Majority of whom are armed with guarantee letters ( GL) from politicians. For a better chance to admittance, book a private room and be ready to deposit a fistful of cash. I deposited P300 thousand and got me a room. I do understand that there’s some kind of socialized pricing even PHC is a government hospital. It might be recalled that it was during the Marcos administration under the supervision of then First Lady Imelda Marcos the hospital was built. It was 1975 when it was opened to the public. The first medical director was Avelino Aventura Sr. He served from 1975 to 1986. ( A bit of info I gathered was Dr. Aventura Sr. was with Dr. Christian Barnard’s team when the first open heart surgery was performed). His junior now, Dr. Avelino Aventura Jr. is the current medical executive director and headed the team of doctors which operated on me, October 4, 2004. I can presume that there are more than five doctors in that operating room, excluding nurses and the anesthesiologists.
Doctors make their rounds on their patients just like nurses doing your bed and make nocturnal visits to get your vital signs. In those snatched moments that I was able to engage into conversations Doc Jun Aventura and discuss the sad state of our health programs in our country. I pointed out how difficult to get admitted in the PHC. I queried him if there is a plan to establish similar heart centers one more in Luzon, one in the Visayas and another one in Mindanao. This is a cue to our congressmen and senators. I believe it is more productive for them to make assessment of our health care system instead of ‘walang katapusang hearing sa mga POGO.’