The death of a friend

One of the things we try to put at the back of our minds is that a sudden severe illness could result in death. This I think is true for most of us, but its even more important when you are not in your home country.

I am not going to state the obvious things like medical insurances and regular check ups, but rather what happened to my good friend and business partner last week. He is no longer with us, so he can not tell the story.

After a successful business meeting on the Friday, he got a Bus home, a three hour trip into a place called Matalam, remote, beautiful and friendly where he and Bing shared a house with their children and other relatives, where he grew his herbs and salads too.

Some of my facts from now on may be a little inaccurate, but having been to Matalam this week I am sure its as accurate as can be, without being there with him at the time.

Ian, that’s my friend, complained of a bad stomach ache on Sunday, but was still out jogging at 2pm waving to the locals, where he is so well known as the only white face for many, many miles. Later in the afternoon his pain became unbearable (and Ian never complained about pain) never in all the long years that he has lived and loved the Philippines.

After a 30 minute trip to the nearest hospital in Kidapawan, the staff noted that his blood pressure was already dangerously low, and his severe pain was not being helped by the pain killers. The hospital was apparently not well equipped, but that’s all Ian had, and there was not going to be time to transfer him from one place to another, and nor could they send him to Davao, which is three hours away.

Whatever was to be done had to be done immediately, as he was slipping away, and with the fear that trying to induce sleep through medication would take his BP too low, the hospital decided they had to operate on his stomach as he lay there, awake, they saw no other option in the moments left.

So my poor friend had to endure, what none of us can dream of in his last few minutes of consciousness, he did not scream or moan he was a strong 64 year old guy who would never let age slow him down. The examination and the full details are not known to me, except to say his organs were already closing down following an initial diagnosis of  a nodule on the stomach exploding, caused by lack of Fiber or infection. This was poisoning his whole body, and despite everything they tried, Ian lost his battle nearly two days later.

His condition shows the danger of not being near a major hospital, if he had been in Davao he may have had a better fighting chance as you need treatment within a few hours, and that assumes they can locate it straight away. No guarantees, but more doctors are around, more experience, and more chance of a quick diagnosis.

Ian  never complained about pain, he would tolerate it and try to exercise it off, as related by the fact he was jogging only a few hours before. We men hate going to the doctors, and unlike most of us expats Ian could talk the local dialect, even as he lay there, so he was able to communicate fully.

Ian was my friend, and even stayed in my house three days a week, and the shock of his death felt by his family and friends underlines  the respect people had for his ability to organize a successful expat group, to be a dad, a partner to Bing and friend to many.

His funeral is on the day of writing this article, and no medical insurance would have saved Ian, it was quick and decisive. He died in his adopted country, that he SO loved.

Goodbye Ian.

Another Customer Experience

I have heard and read here on LIP many stories of poor customer service experiences and negative about store personnel so when I had a recent experience with store personnel and customer service from a major store chain here I just had to share my story.

As most of you are aware, I have a mobility impairment that precludes me from ascending stairs and steep ramps for that matter, but doesn’t deter me from traveling and improvising when and where needed.

On a trip out and about I needed something from the drug store and I was downtown in Tagum City so I thought I would stop on the way home at one of the three branches of Mercury Drug here and browse and pick up what I needed.

Well on my arrival at the location nearest to my home, I encountered the standard, motorcycle parked on the ramp leading to the store doors, so with some local assistance we moved the bike and I proceeded to the front entrance.

To my dismay, they had a ramp to the walk but a foot high step in the front door ! So I went to an alternate drug store that has narrow aisles but at least I can let the store employees know what it is I need and they happily assist me, and they charge enough at that store to have happy helpers too !

So I make it back home, go on the Mercury Drug website and see a customer service feedback link, and I proceed to ask why that location is not wheelchair accessible.

To my utter surprise not two hours go by and I get a phone call from someone in Manila from Mercury drugs headquarters saying that they will investigate and remedy the problem as they value their customers.

Without thinking but surprised I got a response at all I went about my business not expecting anything to happen and my expectations were correct nothing did happen.

You see I was in customer relations on a senior level for many years for a major Japanese manufacturing company and never would I even consider to do what happened when I asked a second time about the accessibility issue at this store.

Again I e-mailed the customer service link asking if they were going to follow up or what their findings were and a few hours later i get a call and the representative asked what my address was, thinking this was strange and maybe they were going to put a hit out on me (remember I am from Chicago), I reluctantly gave them my address, and then went and laid down for a nap.

An hour later our house help knocked  0n my door saying I had a visitor in fact I had two visitors. I jumped out of bed scratching my head and yes you guessed it – two employees from Mercury Drug were sitting in my living room, one was the branch manager for Tagum and the other the store manager.

We had a wonderful conversation and they asked how they could help, me being a disability advocate in the US and familiar with architectural barrier construction, I explained how they could remedy the situation.

They both agreed that the plan presented was in fact attainable and it would be presented to their manager in Manila so the necessary paperwork could be started to get the repair started.

Never in a hundred years would I ever expect a company rep to come to my home from any major company in the US, so with this I was surprised, also I would never think a problem could be remedied with such little hassle.

The reps explained to me, that for the most part, their customer base is rather reluctant to voice their concerns as most are shy and do not expect any result.

I really feel that this is not the case here with Mercury Drug and have every expectation that they will follow through as the store manager has agreed to personally deliver any drugs i need until the access problem is fixed!

Now how is that for customer service – kudos to Mercury drug!

What about expats?

Before I start writing on my topic for today, let me say in advance that this is a real hot button issue for Americans.  I want to remind all readers and participants on LiP to please keep the discussion civil.  No name calling.  Please, let’s just focus in on how expats are affected, and not the debate of the issue itself.

Health care. It has been a major issue in the United States for decades now.  There was a big rush of activity in the early 90’s when President Bill Clinton tried to push through a National Health Care plan, with the effort being headed up by his wife, Hillary.  After the proposal was shot down in the early 90’s, the issue of a nationalized health care system kind of faded for a while, although issues like the cost of health care and such continued to be ever present.

With the new administration of President Obama, there has been a renewed push to get a National Health Care system in place in the United States.  In the past 24 hours, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed their Health Care Plan by a very slim 220-215 vote.  One Republican crossed to vote with the Democrats, so it can hardly be called a bipartisan effort.  The debate over health care now shifts to the U.S. Senate, where a bill has yet to be passed.  If the Senate passes Health Care legislation, the next step will be for the two houses to meet in a conference session to wrangle out the differences in the two bills that are passed.  After that, the final bill would be presented to the President for his signature.

I know what you are thinking…

But, Bob, you don’t live in the United States, why would you really care, and what does it have to do with Living in the Philippines?  Why are you writing about this?

Well, as the bill sits right now, it would seem that it might have an impact on expats living anywhere in the world, even in the Philippines.  Why?  How?

Under the House version of the bill, there is language that says that every American must have health care coverage.  In fact, if you do not purchase a health insurance plan, you are subject to a fine of $15,000, and if you do not pay that fine, you can be put in jail.  Yes, if the Health Care plan is signed into law as it is now written, you may be put in jail if you do not have Health Insurance.

What about expats?

The bill does not say “All Americans who live in the United States must have coverage.”  It says that “All Americans must have health insurance.”  So, what if you do not live in the United States?  I am an American, but I have not been in the United States for nearly a decade.  I do not have any kind of US Health Insurance coverage, because I have no plans to go to the USA for any kind of health care treatment.  I feel perfectly safe with the health care that is available to me in the Philippines.

There are only a few (actually I know of only one) Health Insurance plans available in the USA that will cover you for treatment in the Philippines.  The one that I am aware of is Tri Care, a plan for US Military Personnel and Retirees.  Other plans will cover you for emergency care in the Philippines, but not for regular health care for those who live here.  I am not saying that there are no such plans, only that I know of none.

Now, there are health care plans that you can avail of here.  If you have a Philippine spouse, you can get PhilHealth, the Philippine Government Insurance plan for your health.  It is very inexpensive (P1,200 per year!), but the coverage is also limited.  If I have PhilHealth Coverage, I wonder if the US would consider me to be in compliance with the proposed law?  I sort of doubt it.

So, will I, and others like me, be required to purchase Health Care Insurance coverage from a US company, even though we don’t live there?  If we don’t buy it, will we face a stiff fine, or jail time?  Frankly, I think that is crazy.  I also think that it is something that has not been considered by those who are considering the law.  There are tens of thousands (possibly hundreds of thousands, I’m not sure) of Americans who do not live in the USA, so this is a real issue that needs to be checked out.

So, what do you think?  When or if you move to the Philippines, what are your Health Insurance plans?  Do you have any plans?  Do you plan to self-insure, since health care costs here are actually quite low?

Give me your thoughts, but please remember, let’s only talk about how this legislation affects expats.  No name calling, it’s just now what we do here!

The Mighty Mosquito

You’ve heard the old saying that the pen is mightier than the sword, right?  Well, over the past several weeks, I have come to find out that the mosquito may just be mightier than either the sword or the pen.  Because of a mosquito, I have been sick for three weeks already.  And, when I say sick, I am not just saying that I didn’t feel well, I have been seriously ill.

Three weeks ago, I thought I had a cold.  I had sniffles, a slight fever and a sore throat.  It took a week or so, but it passed.  For a couple of days, I felt OK.  Weak, but OK.  Then, I had a couple of events to attend to one day – a breakfast with a friend, and then lunch with another friend the same day.  By the end of the day, I was so tired and weak that I could hardly even stand up!  I figured that I was not quite over my cold yet, and had overexerted myself.

After this overexertion, I had a higher fever, and was very, very weak.  It had been years since I had felt this sick.  I don’t get sick too often, but when I do, it tends to be somewhat serious.  Well, this time, as it turned out, it was quite serious.  I found out that what I had was not a common cold, but rather, I had Dengue Fever.  I should say, I have Dengue Fever, as I am still sick as I type this.

The next thing that happened was rather strange… I suddenly broke out with a whole bunch of red dots on my legs, and a few on my chest and face.  I wondered if it was measles or something, but I’ve already had that when I was a child.  I saw a doctor, and he told me that it was not measles, but rather, I was in the final stages of Dengue.

So, right now, the disease has passed, for the most part.  It can take weeks, even months, though, to regain your strength after going through Dengue Fever, so I still have  a ways to go before I am feeling normal again.  It’s a tough disease, and it really saps you of all of your strength!  Sometimes, you have so little strength that it is all you can do to just stand up.  Doing anything more than that can seem almost impossible.

What are the symptoms of dengue?

Well, there are many symptoms, and you may have some or all, it just varies.  For me, it started out with severe headache, cough, sore throat and sniffles.  I only had a minor fever, although the next week my fever was higher, but still not severe.  Also, I experienced some nausea and stomach discomfort.  Like I said, the red dots on my skin too, which were very numerous.  Pain behind my eyes was quite severe, like a lot of pressure behind the eyes.

With these symptoms, I first thought I had a cold.  Later, I knew it was too severe for a cold, and I thought I might have H1N1, Swine Flu.  Truth is, I think that Swine Flu, from what I’ve heard and read, is probably a lot milder than Dengue is, though.

What are the treatments of dengue?

Truth is, there are no treatments for dengue, officially.  No type of medicine will cure it.  There are “folk” remedies, though.  I have been using two.  Firstly, my friend, AmericanLola e-mailed me to tell me that one thing that is helpful is to make a juice by crushing the leaves of a papaya tree, which I’ve been doing.  It is some bitter stuff, but I drink it by the shot glass!  I don’t know if it works or not, but I’m trying it.  Another folk treatment is to make a tea from tawa tawa, a weed.  I did that once, and drank part of it.  I really didn’t like the stuff, though.

How do you catch dengue?

As far as I know, there is only one way to catch Dengue Fever, and that is from a mosquito bite.  It is from a certain type of mosquito, not just any mosquito.  This type of mosquito bites during the day, which I am told others don’t.  Also, only the female mosquito bites, which I never knew before.

While I cannot be certain, I believe that I may have picked up the virus when I visited Dinagat Island a few weeks ago.  I say this because I got sick about 4 days or so after I got back, so it would seem logical that I got the bite either on the Island, or perhaps on the bus while I was traveling.  That said, it is only my guess, and I could have just as easily picked it up right here in Davao, I just don’t know for certain.  I have no memory of being bitten by any mosquitoes, but it must have happened.

Dengue is not contagious, so one person cannot pass it to another.  You only get it from the bite of this certain mosquito.  I am thankful that I was not able to pass it along to anybody else in the family.

If you are visiting the Philippines, or any other tropical area in the world, I would recommend that you avoid mosquitoes at all possible cost.  Use some kind of mosquito repellent to keep them away from you too.  Believe me, you don’t want to catch Dengue!  It has proven to be a very uncomfortable sickness, and I hope you can avoid it – I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody.

Oh, if you are thinking of getting a shot to immunize yourself against dengue… don’t even bother.  There is no immunization against dengue.  The only way you can prevent the disease is by not getting bitten by any mosquitoes.

Waste not Want not

OK so that was a popular saying that has little to do with this story but I liked it for a title. The reality is this article is much more dirty then that! What I am talking about is where does it go?  You know, when we use the CR and dump a pail of water in the toilet to flush the waste, where does it go? Here in Tagum City we have a sewer system that, well to me is just a little bit different.

You see right out in front of our house is a drainage system that is nothing more then a concrete ditch that lines both sides of the street, and if you wondered, yea it stinks, but I guess that is part of the Philippines.

Just a few blocks away there are huge drainage concrete sewer pipe that is on the side of the road along with what I imagine was a very expensive tractor/grader that seems to have just been abandoned as there are weeds and other plats growing around it and the neighbor kids play on it, no not very safe but when i was a kid I can remember playing on construction equipment as well.

But the real question is where does it go? I often wonder this, then I remember staying at the Waterfront Hotel in Davao and seeing a drainage ditch with raw waste just draining into the open Gulf of Davao and thought to myself “wow what a waste.”

Is it like that everywhere here in the Philippines? Are there any waste treatment facilities?

I have lots of questions but few answers, I will get to the bottom of it though. I wonder why have a sewer system that is for the most part just open and why have it at all if it doesn’t drain into a treatment facility?

Where i came from in Florida I had a septic system at my home as I lived outside of the city so I provided my own type of treatment facility as well as pumped and treated my own water.

I have little to  complain about as far as the water goes here, cause it’s pretty good and potable, when its on. It, for the most part, is not available early in the morning until about 11:00 A.M. or so, I guess this is because the pumping station that is only around the corner from where we live is not able to keep up with demand.

There are more questions then answers in this post, but I will continue my research and I am sure with the quantity and quality of the LIP community I will get my answers. Then we will all be educated as to… where it goes.

Did I come here for my health ?

Well in short I did in fact come to the Philippines for my health. I didn’t realize it at first but I have noticed a substantial improvement in my health. I suffer from a few quite common ailments that I am quite sure a few of you also endure in reading some of the posts here in LIP. I suffer from adult onset diabetes and high cholesterol as well as being overweight and mobility impaired to top it all off. When I left Florida I was taking a tablet twice a day to control my blood sugar and one for my cholesterol and one for acid reflux disease.

It seems this combination of afflictions are in epidemic status in the US and are some of the most common forms of illness being treated by medical community in north America. I really didn’t come here to the Philippines in hopes of being healthier but it is always my goal no matter where I am to live a healthy life. I don’t smoke or drink alcohol and am a fairly active individual but even with that going for me back in the US, it just seemed my health was on the decline. Until I moved here.

I have lived here only a little over three months and in that short amount of time i have managed to lose almost 15 pounds and have reduced my diabetes meds to half of my previous dosage.

If  I were to continue taking my tablets as was prescribed for me before i would suffer from severe sugar lows in the middle of the day so I halved my dosage and still my sugar levels are around 105 – 115, I think that is a significant improvement.

I also have reduced my dependence on anti acid medication as I had to take daily because when I slept, I would have acid reflux so severe I would wake up gasping for breath and a burning throat.

I think my improvements in my health are due in part to the reduction in stress i feel here. I mean I just don’t sweat the petty stuff anymore, maybe it is the attitude of the people here to think that way and I feel I am adopting the attitude as well.

The other part is my wife’s cooking, ha ha no she isn’t’ a bad cook, in fact quite to the contrary she is a wonderful cook and as much as I prod her to go out to dinner or get fast food she almost always prefers to cook for the family or eat at home rather then get a pizza or burger.

We do eat a lot of rice as that is her tradition but I have grown accustomed to that and actually look forward to good rice at our meals.

I still indulge in my morning coffee but I don’t have the need to use Splenda as my sweetener any longer. In general I feel better due to the weight loss but I know I have a ways to go.

I have a set of loft strand crutches that I used to use as my main means of mobility only five years ago. I never took a wheelchair out of the house before, because if I went to the mall or grocery they were always available to use there. But I Was able to visit at anyone’s home without having the access issue to concern me. Now I do have to plan that way but I hope to get where I was and finally now see that if my health keeps improving that can and will be a reality for me.

I believe I do in fact owe it all, or mostly to our decision to live here in the Philippines, just one more reason if this is a contributing factor for you too

Sige Daw! Let's try it! Let's do it!

Life has ups and downs. Also here in the Philippines.

I met Evelyn sometime in 2001. She worked in the Department of Labor and Employment here in Davao City. We became very good friends. One day she told me about her cancer. I really started admiring her and the way she fought against the big “C”.

In 2003 two important things happened: First Evelyn invited me a Classic Concert of the “Himig Singers Alumni Chorus in the Apo View Hotel. Second: this event has been also the book launching of “Sige Daw”, which is a beautiful little book written by people who have one thing in common – an encounter with cancer. Between the covers we find their stories – stories of healing, stories of inner-struggle, stories of passionate patience and obstinate faith, by those who may have lost their hair but never lost hope. These cancer survivors belong to the “Amuma Cancer Support Group”. “Amuma” means “to care” in Cebuano.

Evelyn was one of the authors of this book. She talked about shock and disbelief, denial, anger, blame and guilt, resentment, withdrawal and isolation – but, also about values she has learned: acceptance, forgiveness, contentment and generosity.

Evelyn wrote: “Most people become overwhelmed when told they have cancer. A number of feelings build up, feelings that are muddled and quickly change. Reactions may differ from one person to another – there is no right or wrong way to feel. These are parts of the process people go through in trying to come to terms with their illness. Partners, family members, and friends frequently need as much support and guidance in coping with their feelings”.

The book published by the Research and Publication Office of the Ateneo de Davao University is still available. The Amuma Cancer Support Group Foundation, Inc. under the new president Dr. Alex Tan, are still meeting in the Imperial Hotel in Davao City. the group need support and appreciate all forms of assistance, which one could provide.

I know there are a lot of similar groups and foundations in the Philippines. Please bear with me, because I only mention this Davao based group.

*****

Two days ago, after a miscall, I received a text message from Evelyn: “I am sick! I am again due to chemotherapy!”

I won the Lotto, but no money!

Sometimes in the hassle and the rushing around in our lives we get stressed about so many things, like late deliveries, work colleagues even our formidable other halves, who we sometimes take for granted.

We tend to always push our mortality to the back of our minds and keep planning, and planning and aiming for so many goals. That’s me too.

However I was reminded that at the tender age of 50 (yes I know, so young, lol), that just like Michael Jackson you have no idea of when your time is up, and money or no money its not a guarantee of beating the grim reaper.

You may remember a few weeks ago I did an article about Migs being in the hospital, and while I was there I suffered a very painful experience somewhere in the body, I will let you guess.

Being practical I gave myself some antibiotics and it cleared for a few weeks, however I noticed my Lymph glands were up a few weeks later and some other symptoms made me go see my excellent doctor here in Davao City.

She sent me for tests at a local hospital, now this in itself caused me confusion as being on your own and not understanding the “pay as you go ” system I managed to miss out some of the tests even though I had paid for them.

But the tests I did have, flagged up three life changing problems and maybe life shortening too. Surprised and shocked as to be honest apart from bad eyes and a small jaw problem I have had a very illness free life and do NOT take any regular medications.

I had to take further tests and by pure coincidence all the results were available at the same time, on a Friday afternoon. My doctor arranged to meet me at 4pm but an emergency delayed her arrival and as I waited I was surprised how calm I was.

I looked out the window and the Pinoy children playing in the street imaging what life those guys would have. I watched the tricycles pass me by and as silly as it sounds now I hoped that whatever the results were I could stay here in my adopted country of choice, although I knew that it would be unlikely, as the medical costs would break me and the ability to get the treatment would be better in the UK. But still I did not want to go back to the UK.

Now I had told no one apart from Migs and my friend Steve in the UK about what was happening, and although I wanted to, I knew if I started talking about it to people I would crack up and lose the ability to listen and make decisions.

So alone I went into the office and made some joke about this is the biggest lotto, and after some pleasantries I pushed the conversation forward to get the results from my amazing doctor.

First result was clear and just a problem of old scar tissue…  STRIKE ONE.
Second result was a problem but treatable and not life threatening now… STRIKE TWO.

I was so pleased but I knew I had used up all my luck now the last result, which is the most serious by far, so I had made up my mind I was going to enter the next minute of my life in fear.

She looked at me and like a Poker player gave no signs, I said “I know I am gay but if this comes in ok I will marry you.”  She laughed and said she could not accept my kind offer!!
Third result ALL CLEAR!!!!!!!

Up to that point I had stayed calm, but now it was like being told tomorrow and a load of tomorrows now exist! I walked in the rain, had a coffee and phoned a delighted Migs and walked in the rain more, talking to many shocked Filipinos is a poor area of Davao, and they all knew I must be crazy, but were gracious to not tell me.

My medical insurance would have not been sufficient to get me through, and to be honest if it had gone against me I would have had to leave my adopted country, and that would have been like a slow death.

So now and myself and Migs are planning an unscheduled celebration trip to Baguio.

H1N1 and the Philippines (updated)

Remember a month ago, maybe 2 months ago?  H1N1, or Swine Flu as it was called back then was a hot topic on the news.  Mexico was ground zero for the swine flu.  The USA was not far behind, with plenty of cases of Swine Flu showing up in many US States.  There were many deaths in both the USA and Mexico.

It didn’t take long, and “Swine Flu” was out of the headlines.  Instead, the H1N1 Virus took over.  It was the same thing, but the name was changed, reportedly because Pig Farmers complained and didn’t want their business to suffer because of the name, “Swine Flu.”  So, instead, newspapers and TV news reports were reporting about H1N1 Virus, but it was still at the top of the headlines.

These days, though, when I watch foreign news channels like CNN or others, H1N1 is rarely a topic any longer.  However, the virus has not gone away.  In fact, it seems to be getting even more widespread.  I still hear of occasional cases in the USA, as a matter of fact, another death was just reported in Washington State.  Other states are reporting additional cases of the virus too.  Idaho.  Texas.  Michigan too.

The thing that is worrisome  in terms of life in the Philippines, though, is that the Virus has moved to the East.  China has experienced more than 70 cases so far.  How about this one… more than 1,000 cases of H1N1 in Australia!

The Philippines was one of the few H1N1 free countries in the early days of the Virus, but these days H1N1 seems to be spreading fast in the Philippines too.  As a matter of fact, last week, when a Philippine Senator had a fever, causing her to cancel a hearing, rumors broke out that she had been striken with the dreaded virus.

Now, the Philippine Department of Education is even postponing classes in many Universities as a precaution toward stopping the spread of the H1N1 Virus.  Feyma and I have laughed about it a bit, wondering why University classes would be suspended, but kids in Elementary and High School have a full class schedule!  Are University aged students more worth of protection from the virus compared to their younger siblings?

Latest statistics show that there have been 33 reported cases of H1N1 in the Philippines to date.  So, I am wondering, why has world news coverage of this virus gone way down?  It is still affecting the First World, and is now spreading into locations that had no such outbreak before.  To me, this would tend to indicate that the virus is spreading much faster than it was a month or so ago.  So, why is it being under reported now compared to 4 or 6 weeks ago?  Was it just the hot topic of the day when the outbreak first occurred, and now it’s old news?  That is my bet.  But, if this thing is spreading like wildfire, and still causing deaths, this old news could turn into disaster.

In a place like the Philippines where people live in very close quarters, where animals are cramped in very near to the family, this swin flu could indeed become a disaster.

Precautions are being put into place in the Philippines.  A largely Catholic country, some of the measures are somewhat unbelievable to me.  At some Churches, hand holding during the ceremony has been banned.  The Archbishop of Manila issued an order that Communion is to be given only hand to hand;  no hand to mouth contact is now allowed during the Communion sacrament.

The truth is that a lot of people in the Philippines are very scared of this virus, and rightly so.  For a long time, way before the virus had been reported in the Philippines, I already saw people wearing masks in public.  Remember, the SARS Virus and the Bird Flu were widespread in Asia over the past few years.  On both of those viruses, the Philippines was spared.  However, on the H1N1, the Philippines is now the hardest hit nation in   SE Asia.  So, it is right to take precautions at this point.

What can you tell me?  If you are in the USA or maybe in Europe, is this virus still in the news where you are?  Or, as I have noted, has it kind of died down in the amount of coverage it is getting?

Update June 8, 2009, 10am Philippine Time: Philippine news just reported that six new cases of H1N1 have been confirmed in the Philippines, bringing the total number of cases to 39.

Update 2 June 8, 2009, 8pm Philippine Time: Seven more confirmed cases, 46 confirmed cases as of now.

Filipinos only want your money

Filipinos are only out for your money.

I hear it every day from a lot of foreigners.  I hear it from people I meet with face to face.  I hear it from people who e-mail me.  I remember when I first got married to Feyma.  So many people told me – “Oh, she only wants a green card.“  Imagine, if a lot of people told me that to my face, how many people were thinking it but just too embarrassed to speak up?  Lots, I am sure.

Well, Feyma and I were married nearly 19 years ago, and we are still married.  She got her green card, but she still stayed with me.  She even became a US citizen and stuck by my side.  Even when I convinced her to move back to the Philippines, she did so.  Funny how that happened, but so many people told me that after she got a green card she would be out the door.

What about this, though, that people say Filipinos only want money? Do you believe it?  I mean, when you go to the market, they sometimes add an extra P5 onto the price because of your white skin, they must be out to take your money.  What about the “white man tax” that so many foreigners talk about.

Well, let me tell you about something that happened this week, and you can think about it, and decide if you think that Filipinos only want money from the foreigners.

This week, one of my sisters-in-law came to visit, and she brought along her young son, who is 4 years old.  He is a cute kid, and really a polite and friendly little fellow.  Of course, I know him, but I don’t see him very often.  I enjoyed spending some time with him, though.  I like kids, and it was fun to play with him, give him a few special treats that he would not get at home, etc.

There was one thing that reallly bothered me a lot about him, though.  His teeth were absolutely rotten.  I mean they were black with decay.  His teeth were among the worst that I’ve ever seen, and it made me sick to even look at them.  Not only was it a sickening site literally, but to think that this kid was family, and in this kind of condition was something that made me feel badly.

I say this not to embarrass anybody, but am simply stating a fact.  I won’t name anybody involved, and none of the readers of this site would know who the kid or his parents are anyway.

The next morning after they had arrived, I had a talk with Feyma about the youngster.  I told Feyma that I wanted the kid to be taken to the dentist.  We have a regular dentist here in town that we use, and whom we also recommend to a lot of readers who visit here.  Her name is Dr. Lourdes Lebosada.  I consider Lourdes not only my dentist, but a good friend as well.  She has always taken good care of me when I’ve used her for dentistry, but also has been friendly and helpful to me whenever I have encountered her.

I decided to come along with Feyma and her sister when we took the young man to the dentist.  I wanted to see Lourdes, and to talk with her about what would be needed to get this kid’s teeth straightened out and make him healthier.  To be honest, when I saw Lourdes examining this child, I felt bad that Lourdes even had to put her hands inside, or even near, this kid’s mouth.  It is something I wouldn’t want to do.  But, Lourdes did it, all the while with a smile on her face and a pleasant attitude too.  I asked her what needed to be done to get this kid on the right path.  She recommended that he have a fixed crown put across his front teeth after she did some work to clean the teeth up and stop any decay.  I asked Lourdes, how much will this cost me?

I was not only surprised, but so grateful to Lourdes when she said to me that she would do it as a favor to me.  I have done things for Lourdes in the past.  Last year, I helped her set up a website, and put up some web advertising for her, and in exchange she got all of my dental work all caught up.  Let me say here, I am not writing this as any kind of advertisement for Lourdes.  I am genuinely writing this to show that Filipinos are not out to take money from foreigners.

Today, my nephew came home from the dentist with all of his teeth fixed up, a bright white smile on his face, and looking great!  Even at just 4 years old, I believe he was very self conscience about his teeth before, because I never really saw him smile much.  Today, he was all smiles.  It made me feel really good to see that.

The final thing that we had to do, though, was to teach this kid about how to properly brush his teeth.  I also told him that whenever I see him I am going to be checking his teeth, so he better make sure to take good care of them!

I was hesitant to write this article, because I didn’t want to make it seem like I was belittling my nephew or his mother.  But, this is something that made me feel so good in so many ways, that I just felt I needed to write about it.

So, anyway, next time you hear about the “white man tax” or how every foreigner is overcharged, think about this.  The dentist did this work for me for nothing, free, gratis.  Do you think she was “out for my money?”  No, she was not, and it’s important to remember that the vast majority of Filipinos are not out to rip you off.  Yeah, there are a few who will try to take advantage of you.  But, think about it… aren’t there people in your home country that take advantage of others?  It is something that happens everywhere in the world, not just in the Philippines.

Thank you very much, Lourdes, if you read this.  You are a kind lady, a good dentist, and a good friend.  Your generosity will certainly be repaid some day in some way.  I am very confident of that.

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