Hospital Again After 1 Year

Exactly 1 year after I was confined for meningitis, I'm back. Same hospital, same floor :( There were some improvements in the hospital though. Bigger room. My TV now is 32" LCD, a big improvement from the 14" CRT TV last year. Incidentally, like last year, I was watching again The Voice PH Blind Auditions in the hospital. This made me wanna sing: "Same bed but it feels just a little bit bigger now..." hehe.

After I consulted my IDS at SAGIP, my doctor wanted to admit me ASAP. Why? I've been taking Valacyclovir for 4 days already, yet she saw that there were still some new blisters coming out due to my shingles (herpes zoster). Since my CD4 is still below 100, she wanted to be sure, and didn't want the infection to spread to my internal organs (like brain, ears, eyes... yikes, that's scary). 

Okay, so I made the room reservation after my consultation with my IDS. Then, I went home to get my stuff, and went back to the hospital. On my way to the hospital, I was so sad and worried, that I wanted to cry; I remembered my hospital admission last year. Uncertain of what might come, yet looking forward to the day when I will be discharged. 

When I got to my room, it was the same Q&A from the resident doctor. What meds are you taking? Are you on ARV? When were you diagnosed? What were your OIs? Did you have sex with women/men? Are you heterosexual/homosexual? How many sexual partners did you have? When was your last sex? What types of sex did you do (in short, are you top/bottom, oral receiver/giver)? How did you get infected? Did you use drugs? Next time, I swear, I'll bring an FAQ sheet, so I don't have to answer them again and again... 

After the admission protocols, there goes my IV.

Then, the nurses came. One by one, they started to greet me. They were all very friendly. "Hi sir, I remember you! You were here last year, right?" Seems like they were happy to see my again (in a positive way). Also, all of them (even the nursing aide) said, you gained a lot of weight? Nicer built now! Good... I'm flattered! Perhaps, due to how serious my illness was last year, and how thin I was at that time (at 115 lbs), they were quite surprised to see me looking well and fit. It also seemed like they were surprised that I was only hospitalized again after 1 year (and perhaps to still see me alive), despite having an advanced AIDS illness last year. 

Anyway, those comments lifted my spirit. So happy to have recovered pretty well from that painful meningitis last year. And I'm also glad that this hospitalization, is a lot less serious than than. 

After 1 week, my shingles dried up with acyclovir antiviral IV. The bad news was, that acyclovir IV was so damn expensive! And Philhealth only covered 10% of my bill. 

Good thing that I recovered in 1 week as expected. My shingles started to dry up. It did not spread to my internal organs. After 1 week, I was discharged. Thanks to my doctors for managing me well, and making sure I don't get any complications. And thanks to the nurses who were very friendly when they saw me again, though I don't want to see you guys again (at least in the hospital). :)  Also, buti na lang I'm paying Philhealth as an Individually Paying member now, apart from the contribution of my employer. At least, I don't need to ask for an MDR and certificate of contribution from my employer. And for that, they will not know that I was admitted in a hospital again.  

Damn, I lost 3 lbs in the hospital. Well... this is my license to eat at Vikings next week. :)

#latepost