"Life" in a hospital

I was at the hospital yesterday because my dear got sick. She was hospitalized Sunday evening and since her mom had already been absent from work for two days, I volunteered that I'd be the one to take care of her while her mom was at the office. I thought that, "Hey, this is not gonna be hard, just a piece of cake." I didn't really know what I got myself into. So here's a little look at my stay in the hospital:

2:00 pm

I arrived at the hospital at around this time, after having finished eating my lunch. Our teacher was absent again so I was able to grab a bite to eat. After arriving at the hospital lobby, I quickly took the elevator to the 3rd floor where my dear was staying. She was inside a ward along with 5 other patients since there wasn't any other private room available. Here are the first things that I observed when I first entered the room:

- The room was full of trash
- The room was badly ventilated
- The room had only one bathroom (6 people were in the room, excluding the one's taking care of them)

- All the people look stressed (the nurses included)
- All the people lacked sleep


There was one patient there, an old lady, who captured my attention. When you first look at her, you'd think that she was a man because her head had already been shaved off. When I inquired about this, the nurse said that the reason why she had short hair was so that she was easier to clean and so that it wouldn't be a hassle when they were taking care of her. Further investigation and "nosy-ing" around lead me to one sad truth, the old lady had been in that hospital for 7 months. She was abandoned by her real family and is now in the care of their former maid. The reason for this abandonment was supposedly because her family was supposed to migrate to the U.S. but her visa was not approved since she was too old to travel. Her family left for the U.S. anyway and she was left to the care of her old maid, with the promise that her family was gonna send some money for expenses. But seven months and a lot of tears later, not even a single peso was sent. One nurse told me that all her hospital bills and her medication is being shouldered by the doctors and nurses in the hospital. Since she has no where left to go (the maid's family are in no better shape than she is), the doctors and nurses decided that she stay in the hospital until her family comes back (or until she dies).

We might ask ourselves what this story has to do with us, us being of the post-modern nature and all. But if you ask me, this story has everything to do with us. What has happened to the family values that was supposedly inherent in the Filipino? Was has happened to the close family relations that we constantly brag about? Is this what our country has become? As I try to imagine what might happen to the old lady in the future, I can't help but think of her family being a bunch of inconsiderate ingrates. I feel sorry for the old lady, but more importantly, I feel sorry for her family, they have been so consumed by their ambition to go abroad that they forgot how important it is to be human. But even so, I know that she is still waiting for them, though their will come a time when she can wait no more, then she will give up. I hope the family realizes their mistake and come back for her, before it's too late.