Lampa. That’s how I have always described myself. I don’t know any kind of sports except perhaps patintero. I don’t know how to play even the more girly stuff such as the Chinese garter (no offense meant to this race...I wonder where this game got its name). And although a professional dancer once said that I had the feet of a ballet dancer (Literally! That’s because of the deep arches of my feet.), the one thing they do best is to walk. Of the eight intelligences, I am not really gifted with the physical/ motor / kinetics.
Last month, I underwent a medical procedure that required me to be put under spinal anesthesia. Shortly after the procedure, which lasted for almost two hours, I was back in my room, wide awake. My initial reaction was “Gutom ako! Give me food!” Unfortunately, I was not allowed to take anything until nine hours later. There was no pain. None at all. Well, except for the I.V. My doctor and the nurses kept checking on me if I felt any pain and I kept answering “Masakit yung I.V.!” Despite my assertion that I felt no pain, the nurse begged me to take mefanamic acid lest my doctor scold her for not carrying out her instructions. Poor nurse! So I just took the tablets and send the nurse away. The tablets later found their way to my purse. In no time, I was already in my walking clothes. I packed my things that night, ready to be discharged the following morning.
I paid the bills and processed the discharge papers myself, which took the hospital four long hours to release. Last stop was at the nurse station. The nurse said, “Ma’am, ikuha ko lang po ng wheelchair ang patient.” “A e, ako yung patient,” I said. I was not sure whether she was shocked or amused, but I left her laughing heartily.
That afternoon, I was already in the mall. I spent the next day on the beach. No pain really.
This experience made me realize how great my body is! I may be lampa but my body is doing very well. =)
