Finding Time to Blog Again

It has been more than a decade since I wrote in this Blog. I am hoping to find time to blog again. Medical practice is good but scary because of the pandemic. The risk of being infected is very high but this is my vocation. It is like going to war zone every day. I pray that I will not be infected again.

Father More Than A Doctor

Last March 28 and 29, I was a father more than a doctor. I made my daily rounds during these 2 days early in the morning for me and my wife to accompany our son in taking his grade school entrance exam.

Our son is homeschooled under the Catholic Filipino Academy during his Nursery, Kindergarten and Preparatory. He is always with us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. My wife teaches him daily and I substitute whenever my wife is busy.

Actually we are having problems because he doesn’t want to be left behind even only for a second. This is the first time he entered a regular classroom. We were surprised he was brave enough to take the 2-day exam all be himself, with other kids his age, in an unfamiliar classroom, and a teacher he met for the first time.

Tears were about to flow in my eyes seeing my son walk straight to his exam room without looking back. I will remember these days... and one day he will be leaving us to have his own family.

P.S. He took the test not to transfer to a regular school. It is only to access if he is learning in homeschool. For our family, homeschooling is still the best... where the teacher-student ratio is 2:1... where school hours is 24/7.

On-to-Cebu

On February 20, 2011, I need to be in Cebu for the WONCA Asia Pacific Regional Conference and Philippine Academy of Family Physicians Annual Convention. I will also be conferred the title of Diplomate in Family Medicine. After passing only the written examination in December 2009, I was blessed to pass the OSCE (oral examination) last November 2010. And the good news arrived before Christmas.

Before the conference, my family will also visit a friend in Bohol who has been inviting us for the nth time. Nothing changed except for the initials DFM after my MD. I’m still treating and managing cases just like I use to with TLC - tender, love and care.

Aging Patients

I have been in private medical practice for 15 years. I finished my specialty training in Internal Medicine in 1995. The patients I met during my early practice in their 60s then are now nearing their 80s, the age that many patients succumb to death. Last month, an 81 year old patient died, partly because of old age.

Being my patients for 10, 15 years, they are like family to me. I don't only know their names but I recognize their voices as well. They have shared their happiness and sorrows, their successes and frustrations. These make it harder to let them go.

Back to Blogging

After 5 months of absence, I’m back to blogging again. Let me share my experiences as a physician. Know what I do, what I think and how I feel. Being a doctor is not just a work or job. It is a vocation... it is a way of life.

One Out Of Two

The long wait was over. Though I did not receive a call from PAFP, a friend informed me that the results of the exams were out. They informed only those who will be conferred Diplomate today, February 17. I was not among them… I passed only the written part. Better than my friend who did not pass any of the two. Out of the more than 450 who took the written part and 300 for the oral part, 121 made it. For my friend, it was over. For me, I will try again next time.

Cell phone: Not Just for Voice and Text Communications

I thought that cellular phone (cell phone) are just for voice and text communications until I met Andres (not his real name). Andres was brought to the hospital for abdominal pain. He is a special patient because he is deft-mute. I can only understand him through his relatives who interpret his sign language.

One time when I made my rounds, only his wife was with him. The first she did was hand me her cell phone. She is also deft-mute. Written in text message was how Andres feels. So, I wrote my questions and explanations in my phone. Now I look at cell phone in another way, not justfor voice and text messages, but also a writing pad that we carry everyday.

Back To Normal

My exams were finished 2 weeks ago. Everything is back to normal. I am seeing my admitted and clinic patients again, updated the websites and blogs I maintain, assisted my wife in home schooling our son and helped around the house.

There are still those who will take the oral exams on February 7. Results will be out probably on the second week of February before the Philippines Academy of Family Physicians (PAFP) annual convention on February 18-20, 2010. 

I hope that I will pass. By then I can say that everything is back to normal.

Filipino Physician OffLine

After typhoon “Ondoy”, it’s too hard to find time to blog. There are so many things to clean after the flood. I am also studying for my specialty board written exam in December and the oral exam in January. For the meantime I will be offline... so this is the Filipino Physician OffLine. But you can still email me at dfcs@dfcsantos.com.   By February, everything will be back to normal.

Rainbows

After the rain, there is a rainbow. Marikina was hardly hit by typhoon “Ondoy”. I was not spared. Chest-deep flood entered our home, including my clinic and car. All my medical records, prescription pads, stethoscope, BP apparatus and other equipment were submerged in muddy flood water. Most of it I have to discard but I cleaned my stethoscope and BP apparatus. These are the basic tools I needed to re-start my practice.

I felt like a newly licensed doctor. I have to start from scratch. I bought stuffs to furnish my clinic. Make new records for every patient I treat day by day. The only difference is that I already have my patient base.

I did my first rounds 2 days after the flood. I have to take a jeep and walked a kilometer because traffic was not moving. The road was slippery because of mud, and dirty because of files of thrown-away things destroyed by the flood. I was commuting and walking for 3 days more until my sister lent her car.

After every disaster, sickness follows. Cases of diarrhea increased because of contaminated water supply. Leptospirosis, a rat urine-borne bacteria, lingered in the flood and mud. Many consulted at my clinc. Hospital admissions rose, making all hospitals in Marikina full. Never in my practice that I had 11 admissions in a day. Some were simply diarrhea, some confirmed case of Leptospirosis, and requiring dialysis. Until now, I have more than 5 confined patients in a day.

After the rain, there is a rainbow. They say that at the end of the rainbow there is a pot of gold. I need patients to earn a living.

After the flood that flushed away most of the things that make my life comfortable, I learned one thing. “We must live simply so that others may simply live.”

Life Is A Gamble

G.T., a 24 year old male was referred to me because of fever, rashes and decreased platelet count. His initial platelet was 76. In the management of decreased platelet like in dengue, transfusion of platelet is warranted if the platelet count is 50 or less or if there is a sign of bleeding... epistaxis, gum bleeding, tarry stools... The reason for the delay is that a rising platelet count is the gauge if the patient is already recovering from the disease.

When the patient’s platelet was already 58, the attending physician requested 3 units of platelet concentrate as standby. However the blood was not immediately available. Platelet went down to 50 and I ordered the transfusion at once. But they haven’t secured even a unit.

When we were informed that 3 units are available in another hospital, the latest platelet was already 62. I was faced with a decision whether or not to go on with the transfusion. The next platelet was 63, so I proceeded. A unit of platelet concentrate will increase the count by 10. With 3 units, I expect his platelet to rise by 30 or to 93 starting with 63. But later platelet counts after the transfusion were 67, 74, 78 and 84. This means probably that his count further decreased even after transfusion.

I compare this decision like playing black jack. When your card total is around 18 to 20, you can hit for another card. But there is a chance that you can go over 21. If I had not proceeded with the transfusion, I could have compromised the life of my patient.

Going Home

I have given the order to discharge patient P.R. (see Stubborn Mother). He has less phlegm and breathing without oxygen. He was very happy to go home. I attended a meeting. After about 3 hours, the resident physician called because P.R. arrested. His heart rate is zero, blood pressure is zero and no breathing. CPR was futile. I considered that he aspirated.

He is now going home. Not to their earthly home but in the home of our Father. Home... where he will be always happy... no physical deformities... no mental deficiencies. He will be forever with our Fathers arms.

Stubborn Mother

I admitted P.R. last Sunday, August 30, a 24 year old male with cerebral palsy. He looks like a 7 year old boy with severe malformed body. I diagnosed him to have pneumonia.

They want to stay for 24 hours only.

Aside from the challenge that I have to compute for the medicines to give, his mother refused the antibiotic, antipyretic and ferrous sulphate because he has history of allergy. For a patient who has pneumonia, I’m only giving inhaled bronchodilators.

The mother did not sign the Home Against Medical Advice form. No other medication was given until today, September 2, when his father arrived. Now I am giving the proper management.

Almost 3 days were wasted. If I was able to treat him properly at the start, he could be home by now or tomorrow.

Cases Come In Pairs

I was called to see patient C.N. to have tonic-clonic seizures. My primary consideration was that the seizure is due to hypoglacemia and alcohol. A day prior, he had a drinking spree and the following morning he was not able to eat because of abdominal pain and vomiting. He was then seen to have tonic-clonic convulsions. At the wards, he had no episodes of seizures. The laboratory exams done were all normal except for the low potassium.

At my clinic, I saw patient M.C. who had twitching of the right arm. The patient was able to tell what happened to her. And laboratory results were all normal.

Initially, I thought both are cases of seizure disorder, but they turned to be not. Cases may come in pairs, sometimes in threes. Worst, there were times that I have two mortalities few days apart. I hate those days.

Apostolate

I went to Antipolo General Hospital to get my professional fee for patient M.E. She has not gone home yet after I discharge her 3 weeks ago. Reason: she has no money. This is not the first time it happened in this hospital or in any other hospital I am affiliated. Worst, the hospital may ask her just to pay only the hospital bills and leave me with a promissory note. This is not the first time it happened to me either. I have a lot of promissory notes. This is part of my apostolate.

Complicated Pregnancy

E. K. is a 41 year old female admitted for headache and numbness of the whole body. She was admitted in May for palpitation and in June for weakness of the right side of the body. This case looks simple but what complicates my management is the fact she is 7 months pregnant.

In May, good that her obstetrician-gynecologist allowed be to give Amiodarone 200 mg capsules BID which reverted her cardiac rhythm to normal at once. In June, only Vitamin B complex was given which offered relief. I think that all these signs and symptoms are due to hormonal changes of pregnancy.

This admission, she is being treated for pre-eclampsia (hypertension with pregnancy) with Methyldopa 250 mg tablet TID.

Start of the Filipino Physician OnLine

     Hi! I am Dr. Dindo Ferdinand C. Santos, an Internist and a Family Physician, practicing medicine in the Philippines. I am the Filipino Physician OnLine. 

The PHYSICIAN 
     I am a graduate of University of the East Ramon Magsaysay Memorial Medical Center (1988). I finished my residency training in Internal Medicine in 1995 and had my certification in Family Medicine in 2003. Internal Medicine deals with the medical treatment of adults while Family Medicine deals with general practice. So, I can treat both adults and children that don't need surgery. 

The WEBSITE DESIGNER 
     I started web designing in 1995 with my own personal website. I am the webmaster of my club, the Rotary Club of Marikina, 2001 to 2005 and 2007-2010; and our district, Rotary International District 3800, from 2001 to 2008 and 2009 to 2010. 

     When I started my personal website entitled Filipino Internist on the Internet, I had the topic “The Doctor Is In” where my visitors can ask medical question via email. One case that I will never forget was a teenager in the US whose parents went on a vacation. She had continuous abdominal pain. She could have waited for her parents but I advised her to go to the emergency room immediately. Her sister brought her and true enough she was diagnosed to have appendicitis. If she had waited, her appendix could have ruptured. 

     If you have some medical queries, you can email me. I will answer them to the best of my ability. But please remember, there is no substitute to a consultation with your physician.