The medical adventure begins

This has been the longest time I was out in the office in my entire career of eight years...

Week 1: I was feeling my usual monthly flu-like feeling once again but worse. So I visited my highschool best friend who is now a doctor for consultation. I was advice to rest for 5 days and come back if the symptoms persist.

Week 2: The symptoms did persist! So with my second visit, we discussed what I was feeling much further. Even tracking back to the last 6 months to the last couple of years. 

My best friend is considering Chronic Fatigue for her diagnosis but I was advice to see an Internal Medicine specialist to run laboratory test before this could be finalized. But she urge that I immediately take a break from work before anything becomes worst. She said for the kind of beating my body has suffered for all these years, it is best to take 2-3 months rest. One month tops!

Of course, my head who is not very familiar to the idea of a long sabbath doesn't seem to agree on it plus the responsibilities on helping out pay the bills doesn't fit the timeline. But if only my body could speak up, I bet it would not just shout for ENOUGH but whack me in my head at the same time.

Week 3: Habagat strikes...  

Downloaded an app to help me monitor my meds

Week 4: Thanks to my Intellicare Medical Card, I visited one of their affiliated clinic which is Aventus Makati. A series of laboratory medical work up was requested through blood extraction.

I went back for the actual blood extraction after doing my 8-hour fast. The result is available the next day but the schedule of the Internal Medicine was a couple of days away.

I also saw an OB-Gynecologist in PULSE Clinic in Market Market since one of the major issues I have was my period which became irregular after actually I got married. My doctor was very thorough in explaining and hopeful after my Trans-V Ultrasound. She prescribed a pill that will help my cycle to become regular.

When I returned for my lab results to be read by the IM, the numbers were not good at all -- my glucose, bad cholesterol were high and my thyroid hormone was elevated. So I was endorsed to an Endocrinologist for more analysis on the thyroid result.

Week 5: I finally got to consult with THE Endocrinologist, who will change the course of my awareness regarding my body and put light on a very shady almost mysterious state that I am in for quite a while. The doctor asked me to take one more blood test before he gives his final diagnosis. But the result of that antibody blood test would come out a few weeks after but he already put me in a low dose of thyroid pill that will help balance my hormones and improve metabolism. The doctor emphasized the importance of doing a lifestyle change to help improve my health.

Week 6: Being in the IT industry, I could consider this "lifestyle change" to be a major upgrade on my legacy system... major enhancement... major release! So while waiting on the result of my last lab test, I had the task to find replacement to my former unhealthy food choices and re-program my sugar addiction to a more sophisticated good-for-the-body meals.

So the next grocery time with hubby was a series of reading the labels and experimenting if I could actually acquire a new tastebuds to these type of foods. I kept on asking God for wisdom for my daily choices and provision because the items on our shopping list do not come cheap.

Si Lord naman indi KJ, He even sent His Son to die for us so that we may live our lives to the FULL!!! Kaya thank you Lord for companies such as Nestle, Quaker, Growers and the makers of Nova.

And since I am limiting my rice intake, I just fell in love with the Gardenia Wheat Bread - Raisin and Cranberry Loaf. I don't feel I'm missing out on my carbohydrates because of it.

And of course, wala ng huhusay pa sa gumawa ng langit at lupa, prutas, lamang dagat, at sa nagbigay sa asawa ko ng talent sa pagluluto ng masasarap na seafood 'experiment' dishes.

Nestle Wellness

Staple snacks and Wheat Bread

Seafood helps with the thyroid function

and Mr. Crabs

Fruits, Fruits, and more Fruits

Week 7: This is finally it, the result of the antibody test is out and my doctor reads it... He then explained that base on the result, he is now able to say that I have nothing to worry about. The initial test which shows elevated TSH hormone (hormone produced by the pituary gland) can be categorized as subclinical hypothyroidism. This also affected my glucose so I am at risk to be pre-diabetic but this can be corrected with the meds he gave and you guess it right...la-la-la-lifestyle change! (I'll probably post another entry regarding my symptoms under subclinical hypothyroidism.)

After discussing my options on how conservative or aggressive we will address this, my doctor finally signed my Fit To Work Certificate... Praise God!

Fit to Work

Few days before I went back to work, I actually tried having a massage. It was my first to have someone non-related to me rub my back side while I am almost naked. I availed Olympic Manhattan Massage at the Big Apple Express Spa for only Php 99.00 (yes, less than 100 bucks) for 30 minutes and definitely it was the perfect culmination to my rest.

To beat that chronic fatigue

God is in control. With all things considered, even if in my eyes at first this experience was an inconvenience in my timeline, budget and career I trust God that He reigns over the situation. He revealed to me a lot of things during my quiet times in those 7 weeks. My relationship deepens even more with Him and I think He wanted that. For me to spend even more time with Him, listening to His voice minus the office deadlines. How He took care of me as I go through this valley in life and how His power of healing and wisdom manifested. Teaching me that the true sabbath is only found in Christ, our Lord. The Holy Spirit guiding me to bible verses that consoles me during the time of pain.

As I ended my "vacation", I wrote this in my journal to keep me focus in my journey:

Claiming this. Thank you Lord.

During my health hiatus last July to August, I saw 5 doctors from different specialty. All of them said 2 magic words even if we were still waiting on the results of my medical laboratory test. Those magic words are "LIFESTYLE CHANGE". It is bidding away from old bad habits of unhealthly food choices, sugar addiction and sedimentary lifestyle. So the choice had to be made! A 30-minute physical activity is enough to jumpstart this new life and enough to help improve my wellness. So last weekend, I dragged my hubby to a morning jog at Bonifacio Global City (BGC The Fort Taguig). We parked our car at Bonifacio High Street and walked towards Terra 28th park. According to this article:

Terra 28th is an 8,344-sqm park in 28th street which has picnic ground, open play fields, a dog park, a jogging path, interactive art installations, and a ‘Larong Pinoy’ area where families can revive old Pinoy games such as Piko, Holen, Patintero, Luksong Baka, and Habulang Taya.

The weather was perfect to our first day of jogging. The park frees you from worrying about the cars passing by or waiting for the signal lights to turn green before crossing the streets and lets you focus on your pacing... a pure bliss of jog on a weekend morning. It was totally a bonding time for us as well!

 

Group Deal: Last June 2012, I was able to avail a group deal from Cash Cash Pinoy for 50% off for an overnight stay for 2 pax with complimentary set breakfast in Canyon Woods Residential Resort in Batangas. I made the payment via their Dragonpay Corp Account in BPI. After sending out the requirement, I received the voucher for my purchase via email.

Booking: I planned the weekend getaway in one of the long weekends in August. Two weeks before our target date, I called their reservation office to make the booking. I received an email confirmation the next day. Two days before August 19-20, I called in to confirm that we are coming in. They also called us a day before our check in date.

Direction: Coming from The Fort Bonifacio Global City Taguig area, we took C5 then SLEX exiting in Sta. Rosa then Tagaytay Proper. Went straight ahead passing by Taal Vista, Residence Inn, Splendido, Buck Estates then turned left to Papaya Road (Tagaytay-Nasugbu). A few meters away there is a turn before a gasoline station, we turned left and went straight ahead then saw the Canyon Woods Entrance at the left side of the road. It was a long drive and there was traffic build up near the Bag of Beans vicinity so it took us 3 hours to get there.

Entrance Gate

Check-in: At the entrance gate, the guard already asked to see the voucher and 1 valid ID of the one who purchased it. They gave us the vehicle pass and entrance slip. We then proceeded to CWRR Clubhouse to check in. I presented my voucher and the front desk gave out the room keys, the brochure, map and instructions. The actual check-in time is at 3 pm but since the room is free, we were already allowed to check-in our room at The Lodge even if it was only 12 noon. The lodging facilities was a two-minute drive from the clubhouse, you may opt to leave your car in the clubhouse and just take their shuttle going there but we chose to bring Victor, our car, instead. It is also near the outdoor amenities such as the pavilion, the lake, the tennis court and mini golf course.

Clubhouse Lobby Area

The staff in The Lodge ushered us to room 209 and an immaculately clean room greeted us as soon as we opened the door of our home for the night. It features 2 single beds, spacious bathroom, balcony, cable TV. In the closet I found 2 bath robes, flat iron and the mini-ref contains 2 bottled water.

The Lodge: Room 209

Any girl would love the bathroom for their vanity mirror, hair dryer and toiletries. 3 bathroom towels and 3 hand towels are also on stock.The shower is also spacious. The only thing missing in it was a bath tub. But the cleanliness is just superb!

Bathroom Essentials

We planned going out to take pictures of the scenery but it started to rain as soon as we settled in the room. So  I took an afternoon nap instead while hubby watched movies and munched on our baon.

Side Note: Just love their interior. Reminds me of Costa Lou resort in the movie No Other Woman which I recently saw in Cinema One. Hihihi....

Main Dining Furnitures

Food: The voucher says no food allowed and the brochure indicates corkage fee for food being brought in. We brought in some snacks though so I am not sure what their rules really are about this.

We called in the front desk for the shuttle to pick us up so we could dine at the main hall for dinner. The clubhouse restaurant offers buffet for Php 500/pax but they also take per meal orders but it would take a while to be served. They also have room service but the delivery depends on the availability of shuttle. Below are the dishes served that night.

Dinner Buffet Php 500/pax

The next morning we availed the set breakfast included in our voucher but for additional Php 150 you could upgrade it to buffet breakfast. For the set breakfast, you can choose between the Traditional or American Breakfast. I chose the Angus Tapa Meal with Batangas Coffee while hubby chose Adobo with Mango Juice.

Complimentary Breakfast

Activities: CW holds on to their end for residential resort for it offers quite an array of activities for the whole family. Just a reminder though that if you are planning to go swimming, be prepared to pay Php 200 per swimming cap or better yet bring your own to save you a few pesos.

I'm not sure during peak season but I suggest you maximize the shuttle service to save you gas and from getting lost! We got a bit lost when we were going to The Lodge and going to The Clubhouse during check out. Hahaha.

Fun Center showcases Billiards, Wii, Air Hockey

Lake in front of the Casitas

Plus Points: Aside from the posh estate, the staff made our short stay truly a breath of fresh air.

Things to improve:

• We got a room with 2 Single beds... People -- we are married young couple going on a vacation. Need I say more?
• Door locks are malfunctioning: the sliding door needs some pushing before you can enjoy the view in the balcony and the bathroom door got totally locked. Good thing no one was inside the bathroom when it happened. The locksmith was on call though so he was able to fix it in no time.
• I believe there was a brownout the next day so when we got back to our room, the security card is not working because there was no electricity. We were still fine because after 15 mins. the staff was able to open our door by key. I could not say the same for the other couple because they where still in the lobby of The Lodge during our check out.
• Not all facilities are well kept during the season we came in like the locker room near the pavilion but that is not much of a big deal for me really. 

Sassy Note: So here we are making our stamp on the place. Mostly goofing around and taking practice shots with our tripod and DSLR. I was still on leave due to health reason and it was actually my first time to go out from the house so I wasn't really making much of kulit exploration of the place and just enjoyed the slow walks breathing in fresh Batangas air.

For more pictures of the actual place, you may access the YAPtography Photo Set: Canyon Woods Batangas.

The Yaps, Telenovela shots inside our room

Sweet Breakfast Morning

Young and Rested

Thank you Lord for granting us Sabbath

Monday this week when the monsoon was enhanced by the typhoon Haikui that caused torrential rains that night in Luzon Philippines. Despite the rain in Day 1, there was no flooding in our area in Makati...well not until midnight of Tuesday. So hubby brought the car to safety to the nearby mall parking for the rest of the night.

As we woke up Wednesday, flooding slowly subsided but as the weather forecast mentioned rains could continue that day. The flood water started rising up again, this time at a faster rate. The houses at the end of our street is already submerged under water. Hubby and I stayed calm but alert preparing for possible things that could happen to our apartment unit in the first floor.

Day 2 - 12 nn

In between twitting updates regarding the water level in our area, I would also tweet bible verses and song lyrics to remind myself most especially to continue trusting the Lord. For His loving arms to protect not just only us but our parents who are in Cavite.

Day 2 - 2 pm

Day 2 - 2 pm: The front of our apartment building became an instant motorcycle garage for the neighbors

Day 2 - 3 pm: neighbor made their airbed into a floating device

To be honest with you, it was actually when the raining stopped in Thursday and the water level remain as is when fear started to creep in me. I knew it was the enemy's scheme that kept me worried. With God's mercy, I kept asking for His grace upon me to give me the strength. I was so emotionally exhausted after, that I slept all day the next day when the sun shined the entire time.

Day 2 to 3: The water did not completely go down until Friday.

I don't exactly know why things played out the way that it did but I know God is weaving another testimony with this story. He continue to reign over our lives.

We are safe now so as well as our family. But please do include the rest of our countrymen who are greatly affected by this. For any help that you can extend, you can route it through our church at Victory Fort. Details here.

Twitter Hashtag #tulongpinoy

Every first Thursday of the month, the Victory Fellowship Church in the whole of Metro Manila gather in the different centers to hold the 'Worship Night'. Two hours of songs of praises and worship spent together as one body. So despite the rain, attendees in Victory Fort head to Every Nation Building for this month's installment.

Music Ministry

The focus of this particular Worship Night is: God the Jehovah Jireh (the Provider) as depicted in the story of Abraham in Genesis 22 when the Lord asked him to sacrifice Isaac, his beloved, one and only son. We know the story that this is just to test Abraham's faith.

Pastor-Doc Jun Aguilar highlighted in verse 13 that in the right moment God provided a ram for Abraham to sacrifice instead of his beloved Isaac. With this,

¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, “On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided. ”

Pastors praying for different areas of breakthrough

Another take away for me that night is to make sure you are in the right mountain - in Abraham's case, in Moriah! In that particular mountain, the Lord prepared the bush that will caught the ram and the ram itself that will be used by His servant, Abraham.

It means that the provision can be found in the place where the Lord asks you to be. Often times, we take control of the course of our lives. Making decision out from our personal whims or preferences without asking God where He wants to direct us. With such decisions, we find ourselves lacking of provisions because it was not the place where the Lord prepared His provisions for us. End result: we get frustrated and disappointed or worse blame God for our situation.

In all things, submit it to the Lord in prayer and listen to His leading through the Holy Spirit. This is the crucial point even before we begin our journey for we would encounter lacks on our way but because we know the we have laid upon our decision at His feet we could be in faith that He will be true to His promise that He is the Jehovah Jireh, our provider.

Through Grace VGroup in attendance that night