Indomitable Spirit

Catastrophes can either make or unmake us.

I was 18 when Super Typhoon Sisang (designated Nina) slammed into the southern part of the Philippines, most especially the Bicol Region, where I was studying. It sustained winds of 275 mph as compared to Ketsana's 105 mph. Sisang/Nina was (at that time) reportedly the worst typhoon to have hit the Philippines in 20 years. I was in the dormitory, in bed, on the second floor, with no clue as to what was to come. Suddenly, I heard and saw girls screaming, doors slamming so hard, beds flying outside the window - yes, from the second floor. All of us who could pry our doors open ran downstairs, and huddled close as the winds continued to lash against the windows. Then the building shook. The piano in the corner slid to the other end. Other furniture followed. Broken glasses. More screaming. Flooding in. I remember hugging two of my friends and praying out loud, "Jesus, save us."

We stacked chairs and furniture one on top of the other as high as we could and perched on top, my fellow dormers and I. I helped remove shards of glasses from the arms and legs of the other girls who were unfortunate enough to have been by the windows when the winds lashed their fury.

We waited out the 'eye of the storm.' It was past midnight when the stillness engulfed us. Nobody slept, to say the least. Morning greeted us waist-deep in water. No breakfast, of course (I was mildly amused despite the situation), but everybody talked of going home, which was 60 km away (1 1/2 hours) for me. I packed whatever I could and started off with my friends. As the dormitory was inside the university campus, we had to walk through the maze of corridors in order to get out.

There was no university in site. One building was ground to a pulp. The rest was a sight to behold. Flood and debris everywhere. Hugging my belongings to my chest, I gasped when, thigh-deep in water, I saw a rat, about a foot away from me, swimming for dear life. It was then that reality sank in.

No transportation (we took buses). Landslides everywhere, buried bridges. We walked. Not the whole way, but miles and miles and miles of it just the same.

Home meant overlooking the moon at night as part of the roof was ripped off from my room. One friend joked he had to enter their house by the window. It was the only one open. Many more were worse off, as they had no houses left.

The whole thing meant no electricity (I think in the whole province) for 3 months. None. I do not know when we resumed classes (I was in my second year of Nursing) but when we did, it was in a modified building. No fish on the table. All sorts of stories like finding fingers and rings inside fishes' bodies circulated. And plenty of dead. I heard a story about a body floating from one town to another. And not enough coffins. The local priest had to minister benediction to bodies rolled in mats. And at least one woman went crazy looking for her dead. I heard these stories. And there were many more.

Ketsana's damage was in the unceasing rains, causing the 20 feet flooding, a catastrophe unheard of in more than 20 years. I perched scared and cold on top of chairs many years ago, while many of the recent typhoon survivors ENDURED hopeless days and nights on rooftops, not knowing if they would live or die. There is no fear like the fear of the unknown, and certainly the fear of death.

I am almost ashamed to admit that I do not know how I would have survived Ketsana with only the clothes on my back, and my undying faith.

Especially since my sister says the pedicab driver across the street continues to mindlessly ferry people to and fro while playing Christmas songs.

***

I thank everybody who has joined me and millions of others in the crusade of helping the calamity victims not only in the Philippines but also in Vietnam, Indonesia and the American Samoa. As we sleep tonight, many of them are still hungry or in search of their loved ones, or sick and injured. Let's keep them in our prayers. Many, many thanks, and God bless us all. ~~~ To those who still want to donate or help spread links to relief centers, please check out my older posts. Thank you for your kind heart.

"Please give me back my smile."

(photo source: nzherald.co.nz)

Skywatch and a still picture of the tsunami aftermath in American Samoa a few days ago.

(photo source: BBC News)

Skywatch over Indonesia after the killer quakes a few days ago.

(photo source: BBC News)

~~Watery Wednesday meme entry~~

Twenty feet of floodwaters swallowed these houses, and so much more in a month's worth of rain that poured non-stop for 12 hours in the Philippines over the weekend.



My dear friends, here are a few more links to our desperate brothers and sisters
in the Philippines, Indonesia, and the American Samoa. Let us help them get their smiles back:

1. The Catholic Relief Services. It is the international humanitarian agency of the Catholic community in the United States. It provides assistance to people in more than 100 countries and territories based on need, regardless of race, nationality or creed.

This week alone, it has responded to 4 emergencies, including those in the Philippines and Indonesia.

To donate via phone: 1-877-HELP-CRS

To donate online: www.crs.org

To write a check: Catholic Relief Services
P.O. Box 17090
Baltimore, MD 21203-7090

(source: Thomson Reuters Foundation AlertNet - Alerting Humanitarians to Agencies)

2. To donate to Samoa (as I am not sure that it is included in the countries CRS serves, maybe so): please contact the American Red Cross
ARC - 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767)

Disaster Relief Fund:

American Red Cross
P.O. Box 37243
Washington, DC 20013 or your local ARC chapter

For a secure online donation: http://www.redcross.org/

(source: the American Red Cross. org.)

***

Thank you, everyone, for your patience. Would you link this up to your site (write a short article) so maybe we can gather more readership and touch more humanitarian hearts? We can't help these countries enough. Their needs are immediate. Many, many thanks from the bottom of my heart.

An Article on Southeast Asia Improving Its Response to Disasters

(lifted from CTV news, Oct. 1, 2009)

About 60 per cent of the world's natural disasters happen in Southeast Asia, and in the last few years important measures have been taken to limit the impact of these tragedies in the world's most vulnerable region.

The region is fraught with environmental circumstances that challenge rescue and relief organizations, experts say.

The last few days bear witness to just how fragile the region is:

Two earthquakes have hit Indonesia, killing hundreds of people and leaving thousands trapped under rubble.

A deadly Tsunami washed over the nation of Samoa, killing at least 150 people.

Residents of the Philippines are still trying to recover from devastating floods and Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are bracing for a dangerous typhoon.

These low-lying Southeast Asian countries are located on "extremely active" grounds, said Alison Bird, an earthquake seismologist with the Geological Survey of Canada.

There are several subduction zones in Southeast Asia that not only trigger earthquakes but spark volcanic eruptions and stir tsunamis.

Tsunamis are the most dangerous of natural disasters, Bird said in an interview with CTV.ca Thursday.

"Even the smallest wave can go quite far inland and cause quite the destruction," she said. "You can't outrun these -- they're too fast, too powerful."

Part of what makes the region so vulnerable is the land's topography. There's not a lot to protect residents who live close to the coast from a tsunami or even high winds.

Plus, poverty and dire circumstances has forced hundreds of people to live close to the water, putting them and their shelter in immediate danger of being destroyed.

Smart structures

A key element to helping people survive these disasters is better infrastructure and smarter engineering, said Bird.

"It doesn't take a lot to make structures earthquake resistant," she said. "It's been proven that there's an incredible increase in people's chance of survival."

Building better shelter and training Southeast Asian volunteers about survival has been a key mandate of the Red Cross, particularly since the calamity of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed nearly 230,000 people.

The Red Cross has built 5,500 homes in Indonesia since the disaster and has trained 1,200 volunteers in first aid, emergency evacuation, shelter and community preparedness, said Christina Lopes, a spokesperson for the organization.

"Build back better is our policy," she said. "The homes were built with more earthquake-resistant materials and they are better located, further up from the shore."

She said the recent disasters have shown her how much better residents in the area are prepared than they were back in 2004.

People were quicker to evacuate and the impact -- though devastating -- was not quite as deep.

She said she wouldn't be surprised if the Red Cross relied less on international assistance this time around than it did when it dealt with previous disasters.

Tough to overcome

Despite the overwhelming response from disaster relief charities to Southeast Asia, there are some obstacles that simply can't be overcome with charity work.

The challenges of developing countries are always exacerbated during a crisis. Weak and aging infrastructure turns into washed out roadways and bridges that make it impossible for relief workers to deliver supplies in a timely fashion.

"Poverty makes difficult living conditions even more difficult when there's a disaster," said Wesley Normington, a spokesperson for GlobalMedic -- an organization that sends paramedics and police officers from the Greater Toronto Area overseas to help out during a catastrophe.

The organization has sent several people to Indonesia to help with rescue and relief efforts.
"Their sewage system gets backed up which makes flooding worse. People don't have funds to purchase new items for their homes that would help them survive or they can't get themselves to a hospital," he said. "In the third world, they can't afford transportation so they have to walk for days to get to the nearest health care."

However, because the region is so prone to natural disasters, relief agencies have learned from experience over the years and have begun to coordinate their efforts.

Best of all, Normington said, accountability of the charities have drastically improved.

"Accountability is probably the most important thing that has come out after the (2004) tsunami," he said. "Not only are people more aware now but steps have been taken by the international community to make sure charities are more accountable."
Bird agreed that things have certainly improved since the 2004 disaster and credited public education.

"The tsunami really woke a lot of people up and education goes a long way," she said.

***

I want to thank everyone who has extended most valuable and needed help to the Philippines. It seems as though there is no end to all the tragedies. With one out, another one comes in. It is very sad. But there is no devastation so immense that can break a faithful heart. Thank you for crossing the lines, for embracing brotherhood, and for giving LOVE a whole new meaning. I am a mere stranger to many of you but you have not been hesitant. Let us now help our brothers and sisters in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the American Samoa. I will post the international relief organizations here for said countries as soon as I can. Or if you have them, please forward them to me, too. God bless you, my precious, blogger friends, my brothers and sisters.

Thank you for helping us.

My dear friends, this is the map of my country, with the darkened areas severely affected by the Typhoon Ketsana over the weekend. 12 hours of rain (a month's worth), 20 feet of sweeping, muddy floodwaters in Marikina, Pasig, and Antipolo, and over 300 thousand lives displaced.

This is an excerpt from the letter of my friend Melodie of Immateur Anthropologist, to me, and I forward it to you.

If anyone from abroad is planning to send donations in cash or in kind to any of the relief organizations in the Philippines, please be informed that at this point, the relief orgs prefer that assistance from abroad be sent in the form of cash/funds.
Help is needed ASAP and relief orgs do not have the time / personnel / resources right now to arrange for the release of any shipment of goods from customs. They need the funds to purchase food, medicines, drinking water, toiletries, blankets, mosquito nets, etc.

Click here for an updated list of verified relief orgs. (More organizations are setting up their own operations.) Some of them do not accept cash donations of course as they are government agencies. But maybe you can send help through your relatives here.

Here is the link to the Philippine National Red Cross.

We thank you for helping us help our countrymen. Please contact any Filipino in your neighborhood, and see if their church accepts help by any means. Thank you so much.

(photo lifted from Yahoo Pictures)

Thoughtful Thursday

Today, Aug. 21st in the Philippines, marks the death anniversary of Senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino, a Philippine national hero. It remains an 'unsolved' murder, thanks to political arm-bendings. My country, as far as my 'adult' mind can remember, has weathered political storm after storm after that. Within two years of his death, his widow (who also just recently passed), became the First Woman President of the country. And among many young idealists born into and caught in the nation's passionate political strife, I was right there, rah-rah-ing, wearing yellow, the color of freedom.

On the very night that the ONLY president I had ever known in all of my 16 years was ousted, and flown outside the country, I was in Iloilo City, a Region you fly to from where I lived, or travelled by ship to reach (as the Philippines is an archipelago of more than 7,000 islands). I was one of over a thousand high school students competing in a National Writing Competition. I won second place, amidst all the drama outside of that dark auditorium, and the topic we were asked to develop impromptu, my winning piece, was aptly titled 'The Youth of Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.' My winning was not extraordinary. Half the kid in my class could have done it, just give them a pen, tell them to read and focus, and be upbeat about the country as much as possible, and you'd have a winner. We were an intense young generation. If I had lost, I would still have been a winner from having competed alone.

Holding my trophy was little compensation for the general reason for the jubilation outside in the streets. I thought of Ninoy that night. He was also a writer when he was young, 17 years old when he was sent to Korea as a war correspondent. He had died when I was 14.

I was not sad when I thought of him. I luxuriated in the company of fellow young writers celebrating the death of 'Yesterday's' youth, which included myself.

Little did I think on that night that I would be saying that my children are 'Tomorrow's' youth. And yet I am. Many, many years later, my husband and I left the country when Matthew was 1. The boy speaks and understands the Pilipino language, and calls himself Filipino. He excels in school and is included in the Advanced Classes program.

I do not want him to have to march on the streets like his father and mother did before him, to clamor for change. But I will respect his decisions, when the time comes, to determine the form of government he wants his country to have, and to choose the country he wants to live in.

For now, I will rest my pen. He sleeps. And I'm sure somewhere, Ninoy is proud.

Just Gotta

The journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are back! I mean, well, there are things going on around the world like the passing of Former President of the Philippines, Corazon Aquino two days ago, a most gracious lady and benevolent woman. Other things not too glamorous in magnitude perhaps like the death of one of my favorite writers Frank McCourt a few weeks back. My never-ending rashes.

And this. The lady journalists are back, thank You, Lord Jesus!

I taught (South) Korean students the English Grammar for more than 10 years on and off from 1991 till 2003, shortly before immigrating to the US with my family. They ARE a studious lot, fiercely loyal to their roots and history, and always I would say wishful, desirous, of unification with the North. I had never heard them say a word against their counterparts behind the Demilitarized Zone. I never egged, it was impolite. As a result, I have kept friendships with them, up to now. Some of my Filipino friends are married to some of them. Some of my students have married each other. They are good, respectable people.

And so I read. I read about Kim Il-Sung. And Kim Jong-Il. And now his son, Kim Jong-Un. I know about the defections, the prisons and brutal punishments and tortures, the kidnappings, the starving of the citizens and the fattening of the soldiers, forgive my language. I read a story about a kid who wandered close to the Chinese border, was amazed at how free the Chinese were to move around, and got imprisoned for his experience. Kids in prison. Atrocious. I know of the eating of rats and cockroaches in prison. Their missile gigs are beyond me, and the expensive public operatic presentations AND expansive displays of affection for the Dearly Beloved make me gag. I am sorry.

I am beyond happy. These journalists are here, alive, and with their families. I think even the ordinary reader will understand where I'm coming from. I think a great moment has just come for all of us.

Thank you all for reading.

Last Night

Please let me DRONE on, yup, you read it right - I won't bore you, though, I promise, but there's little else to do.

Clothes Talk
I was at work, yeah, yeah, wearing another one of my pretty scrub tops and my patients were going oooh, and my co-workers were like, "Really, Cherie, you wear a size 0? Wow, I've never worn anything UNDER 14." We were not talking about my scrubs - just ordinary clothes, this time. I said, do you know that store called Petite over at Smithfield's? It's MY store, guys, nothing else. Everywhere else, I'll have to try the BIG GIRLS section first - that's MILD for Kid's Section. Well. I like to look good, and every woman SHOULD like to look good. It need not be expensive, but it's almost like the eleventh commandment for me. Come on, now.

Well, one of my favorite patients said to me, "Cherie I don't always admire what people wear around here, but I like your blouse." It was a nice compliment while I checked her pulse.

Rashes
Before going to work, though, we picked up a refill for my Prednisone (remember the poison ivy episode some posts back?) Well, my arms, yes, it's the arms this time, started itching yesterday afternoon, pretty much controlled by Hydrocortisone (Matthew even applied salt, encouraged by tales of my childhood post-caterpillar run-ins). I was fine. Until about 9:30. Boy, the itching! Aaron was kind enough to relieve me from 11:30 till 7 this morning. I said he could have the Hardee's chicken I brought for the staff. (Blanda, the black lady in my post SCRUBBED, made a coconut pie - yum - which I ate a slice of first before leaving.)

I am so tired of these rashes. I am allergic to Penicillin and Aspirin, and was wary of crustaceans growing up. I was found allergic to one brand of lipstick, and another of shampoo. God knows plenty of people irritate the skin out of me, but i'd never been allergic to plants. Aris said I should go for a patch test to see what this is this time. He's beginning to think something from work is doing it. Hah.

Back Home
The boys were bushed but after I showered, I stayed up and a friend came up on my Yahoo Messenger. Imagine my surprise when he said he has Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma of the Right Lung. We are both nurses. My instinct wanted to know how long - you know what I mean, because stage 4 lung cancer is incurable. Surgery is out of the question because this type metastasizes to the other organs (brain, liver, bones, etc.). Chemotherapy will offer palliative relief, but nothing more. So I offerred intercessory prayers. Please include him in yours, too, so at least when it's time to go, it won't be painful.

At 5:57 am
I woke up with an intense itch on my arms and ran to the bathroom to wash them with soap and water. I didn't bother with the cream this time but downed 3 pills of Prednisone. I've never encountered as bitter pills as these in my life, so I always take P with orange juice, and if there's none, I keep a spoonful of sugar ready (Mary Poppins is right about it making the medicine go down, no doubt about that.)

I started reading Mr. Fleckenstein's blogs YESTERDAY so I'll be doing more of that today. I am very interested in how Americans view the Healthcare Reform Bill (with a thousand other names).

We'll go walking when it's not so hot. There was a nice fog over here, too, yesterday morning, we were on the lookout for deer crossing the roads.

Family: Matthew is playing with his friend Mario outside.

AJ is here: he is saying with doleful eyes: "Mom, look at me. I'm sad. I don't want Daddy going out." He is the dramatic actor of all time, and the sweetest, I tell him not to be sad, and give them the biggest hug.

The Daddy: is cleaning the Isuzu, our clunker car. He wants to get a truck if we eventually decide to cash in our old ride. It's good for short distance driving, though, and has served us well all these years, even in the harsh winters of Pittsburgh before we got our Pilot. I guess the bigger the families, the more diverse the needs, the more the priorities change no matter how attached we are to our properties. Well, a good converation piece over lunch between us later, that's for sure as we love all our stuff even the old ones.

I'm still miffed that I didn't get to see Robert Frost's House or maybe Daniel Webster's (gotta check this one out) while we were up in New Hampshire, and it does not help that my brother is ribbing me about going all the way to Connecticut in BAD weather to see Mark Twain's when RF's was right around the corner. Aaaaahhh!! I'll never live this out, but there's always something.

By the way, Mrs. Robin's NOT gone. She's been really busy feeding those big mouths - I am so wondering if the food is WORMS. Aris warns me (he is terribly protective and clearly the worrywart between us two) to keep a good distance because the mother bird he says is just hovering around but is wary of people and strangers, and the birds need to eat. So I am keeping away, and hoping they all get big and fat.

I'm really going now. Please don't say I bored you. Have a blessed Tuesday!

Jack and Jill Go to Hospital

How many of you know the second half of the rhyme?

Up Jack got

And home did trot

As fast as he could caper

Went to bed

And plastered his head

With vinegar and brown paper.

But Jill is worried and wants a CAT scan. As a nurse, she wants to know what type of head injury Jack may have incurred. No time to lose! As she cranks up the car, she lists in her mind the almost similar symptoms one gets with blows to the head, and keeps her fingers crossed.

Her mind races, and she thinks of all the possible things that can happen, among others:

Skull fracture

Subarachnoid hemorrhage

Cerebral contusion

Concussion

(sometimes) Shaken Baby Syndrome

Right now Jack has a Glasgow Coma Scale of 12/15 -he opens his eyes spontaneously, but he acts confused and disoriented, and flexes his arms to painful stimuli. Jill puts miles on the car.

Her mind is on that poor Canadian woman who couldn't get a surgery despite her spinal problem, and couldn't even find a surgeon months after her diagnosis. Oh, what to do!

She parks the car in front of the Emergency Department, where their primary physician is on duty, waves frantically at the first attendant she sees, clutches their insurance cards, and as Jack is wheeled in by a set of professionals, prays to high heavens that all this debate on the nationalization of the health system will come to a good close.

---------------------------

Sometimes, we don't need too much rhetoric, just simple understandable concepts to deliver facts. Healthcare is 20% of America's economy. There is immense pressure to 'fix' it as a healthy healthcare means a healthy economy - billions of jobs can be generated from savings, taxes saved to put up more infrastructures, etc. We hope to do away with firewalls that are restricting Americans from making the choices they want for their health. But at the same time, we also aim to safeguard the patients' interests from those people and businesses whose purpose for either opposing or okaying Obama's bill is to nickel and dime their way to profitability.

*******

food for thought

november 4th

i will try to be very brief. there's no school today. my first-grader told me yesterday 'mom, we have no school tomorrow, it's national election day! two men want to be president - barack obama and john mccain, and a woman wants to be vice president!'

sometimes matthew does talk without breathing for a pause.

and so it is election day today. it is raining.

i wish i could go out there and vote. instead i sit at home and watch (the kids) and the news. because we are not citizens yet.

so, upon waking up, i told my 6-year-old that this is a great and promising day.

i told him that we are filipinos, but are part of a great community of nationalities in one great nation, and that we came here to the us 5 years ago because his father and i believed it was in his best interest to pursue a life that we didn't have back home.

i wish i could tell my son about problems besieging the government - about wars and imperialism , and climate issues and economic woes. but he really won't understand. in fact he will get very bored.

so i told him instead about how man first went to the moon, and how beautiful it is said the earth looked from there. i told him that it means we always have to have dreams even if people think they are impossible.

good comes out of good. and the american people are braving the cold and rain today to vote for a president who might be able to change the world. and on this historic, fall day in 2008, i'll leave it at that.

God bless us all!