Friday, October 13, 2006
Pangalawang Ospital
12 October 2006, St. Luke’s Hospital
Upon the invitation of the Medical Acupuncturist, I decided to resort to a less than traditional means of alleviating my back pain. I didn’t even know acupuncture was offered in hospitals! Kung magpapaka-Oriental Medicine ka na rin lang, why not do it in a reputable institution, under the supervision of a competently trained medical professional, ‘di ba?
Dr. Francico V. Navarro’s clinic at St. Luke’s was unlike any I’ve been to. It has the interiors, lighting, music and scents of a small but luxurious spa! Dr. Navarro is a Chinoy graduate of UP’s INTARMED Program. He took advanced studies in Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and China. Legit itoh! (Again, my fascination is borne out of the misconception that traditional oriental medicine is not yet fully accepted by the medical community in the Philippines, and is thus practiced only in some shaman’s old house somewhere in Malate.)
Pinadapa ako in my underwear sa bed (complete with Chinese silk pillows). Akala ko may mararamdaman akong sakit ‘pag tusok ng pin pero hindi pala. The disposable acupuncture needles are so fine, “ten of them can fit in the bore of a common syringe needle!” Unang tinusok ‘yung parte ng lower back ko na masakit. Tapos tinusok din ‘yung opposite side. Then needles where stuck sa bawat alakalakan (I wanted to use that word because it’s one Filipino term that has no equivalent in English, “back of the knee”). ‘Yun ‘yung acupuncture.
Ginamit sa’kin ang halos lahat ng Chinese treatments. Nagpa-impress yata. Sunod naman ay hineat ‘yung mga neeles. Hindi ko sure kung ano ginamit to do this (parang rolled piece of paper yata). This is called moxabustion. You just have to get over the “I’m burning!” sensation to realize that it actually feels quite good. Tapos nu’ng inalis na’yung mga needles, dinikit na’yung mga glass vacuum cups. Ventosa naman ang tawag dito.
The therapy lasted an hour. And I swear as soon as I got up, nawala na ‘yung back pain na hindi matanggal-tanggal ng double doses ng Alaxan FR! Parang miracle cure! The only side effect na maiisip ko eh ‘yung marks na iniiwan nu’ng cups but even that could be sexy. Si Gwyneth Paltrow nga once proudly displayed hers!
Now I’m a believer. Call 723-0101 loc 5111 for an appointment with Dr. Francisco V. Navarro.
***
I brought you flowers.
Yeah, I read your blogs, you know?
(Yeah, I know. So alam mo na ibig-sabihin kung nagbibigay ako ng Flowers.)
Thank you for the flowers…Ano ibig-sabihin ng four red roses dito?
(Fishing ka, ha! Well, four words: “Mahal na mahal kita.” Puwede ring “Kelan ba tayo magho-holding-hands?”)
***
I’m always one to complain about the game. Comment nga ni Toffer sa nakakalitong lovelife ni Haydee, “Masyado kayong maraming sub-text. Bakit hindi na lang kayo maging straightforward?” Tama!
But as Toffer employs film criticism vocabulary, naalala ko rin ang isang lesson about films, “Ambiguity is a virtue.” There’s beauty nga naman in subtlety.
I am anything but subtle about my feelings for him. Pati ang supposedly symbolic na bulaklak came with a written annotation courtesy of my blog. But I do not expect any anwers. At least not now.
Siguro dahil hindi ko rin alam kung ano’ng sasabihin niya. Sapat na sa’king kinakausap niya ako. Minsan tumatawag pa. Tinatanggap naman niya kung anuman ‘yung nao-offer ko. Hindi ko pa naman kasi yata kayang diretsuhin siya dahil baka mamaya hindi naman favorable ang response.
At surprisingly, hindi ako nagrereklamo. Hindi ako nag-aalala. Bahala na. Basta steady lang. Just take in the punctures, the heat, the vacuum cuppings at hayaang mag-flow ang qi. Maaayos din ‘yan.
Upon the invitation of the Medical Acupuncturist, I decided to resort to a less than traditional means of alleviating my back pain. I didn’t even know acupuncture was offered in hospitals! Kung magpapaka-Oriental Medicine ka na rin lang, why not do it in a reputable institution, under the supervision of a competently trained medical professional, ‘di ba?
Dr. Francico V. Navarro’s clinic at St. Luke’s was unlike any I’ve been to. It has the interiors, lighting, music and scents of a small but luxurious spa! Dr. Navarro is a Chinoy graduate of UP’s INTARMED Program. He took advanced studies in Chinese Medicine in San Francisco and China. Legit itoh! (Again, my fascination is borne out of the misconception that traditional oriental medicine is not yet fully accepted by the medical community in the Philippines, and is thus practiced only in some shaman’s old house somewhere in Malate.)
Pinadapa ako in my underwear sa bed (complete with Chinese silk pillows). Akala ko may mararamdaman akong sakit ‘pag tusok ng pin pero hindi pala. The disposable acupuncture needles are so fine, “ten of them can fit in the bore of a common syringe needle!” Unang tinusok ‘yung parte ng lower back ko na masakit. Tapos tinusok din ‘yung opposite side. Then needles where stuck sa bawat alakalakan (I wanted to use that word because it’s one Filipino term that has no equivalent in English, “back of the knee”). ‘Yun ‘yung acupuncture.
Ginamit sa’kin ang halos lahat ng Chinese treatments. Nagpa-impress yata. Sunod naman ay hineat ‘yung mga neeles. Hindi ko sure kung ano ginamit to do this (parang rolled piece of paper yata). This is called moxabustion. You just have to get over the “I’m burning!” sensation to realize that it actually feels quite good. Tapos nu’ng inalis na’yung mga needles, dinikit na’yung mga glass vacuum cups. Ventosa naman ang tawag dito.
The therapy lasted an hour. And I swear as soon as I got up, nawala na ‘yung back pain na hindi matanggal-tanggal ng double doses ng Alaxan FR! Parang miracle cure! The only side effect na maiisip ko eh ‘yung marks na iniiwan nu’ng cups but even that could be sexy. Si Gwyneth Paltrow nga once proudly displayed hers!
Now I’m a believer. Call 723-0101 loc 5111 for an appointment with Dr. Francisco V. Navarro.
***
I brought you flowers.
Yeah, I read your blogs, you know?
(Yeah, I know. So alam mo na ibig-sabihin kung nagbibigay ako ng Flowers.)
Thank you for the flowers…Ano ibig-sabihin ng four red roses dito?
(Fishing ka, ha! Well, four words: “Mahal na mahal kita.” Puwede ring “Kelan ba tayo magho-holding-hands?”)
***
I’m always one to complain about the game. Comment nga ni Toffer sa nakakalitong lovelife ni Haydee, “Masyado kayong maraming sub-text. Bakit hindi na lang kayo maging straightforward?” Tama!
But as Toffer employs film criticism vocabulary, naalala ko rin ang isang lesson about films, “Ambiguity is a virtue.” There’s beauty nga naman in subtlety.
I am anything but subtle about my feelings for him. Pati ang supposedly symbolic na bulaklak came with a written annotation courtesy of my blog. But I do not expect any anwers. At least not now.
Siguro dahil hindi ko rin alam kung ano’ng sasabihin niya. Sapat na sa’king kinakausap niya ako. Minsan tumatawag pa. Tinatanggap naman niya kung anuman ‘yung nao-offer ko. Hindi ko pa naman kasi yata kayang diretsuhin siya dahil baka mamaya hindi naman favorable ang response.
At surprisingly, hindi ako nagrereklamo. Hindi ako nag-aalala. Bahala na. Basta steady lang. Just take in the punctures, the heat, the vacuum cuppings at hayaang mag-flow ang qi. Maaayos din ‘yan.
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# posted by rey agapay @ 2:35 AM 
