Patrick's 1st degree burns

December 06, 2010

There are really some things that you have to experience so that you won't make the same mistake again.  That's exactly what happened to Patrick on December 5th when he got first degree burns because Stanley's radiator overheated.

We were supposed to go to Greenhills to buy Dana's costume for her Christmas presentation in school.  We were in a hurry because we only had a window of opportunity to get to Greenhills because of the color coding.  We have only traveled about 5 minutes from our house when Patrick said that Stanley was overheating.  I didn't know why it was happening but Patrick said we had to stop or the car will stall in the middle of the road.  So, we parked Stanley over at Savemore Nagtahan which was at least safe and near our house.

Patrick then opened the hood and triggered a release valve (or some thingy) on the radiator cap.  Supposedly this works to release the pent-up steam or vapor in the radiator (or that's my understanding of the contraption).  Well, guess what?  It was faulty and when Patrick opened the radiator cap, Whoosh!! a fountain of water of gigantic proportions shot up and out of Stanley, getting Patrick and the other bystanders wet (it's funny now that I'm writing about it) but not so funny then hehehe

At first, I wasn't worried but then I saw how red Patrick's face and arm had gotten.  He was also trembling and complaining of pain.  So, we got the kids and Mel on a pedicab so they'll get home first.  We then went straight to my aunt's vulcanizing shop to speak with Kuya Daniel, the mechanic, so he can take a look at Stanley.  We left Stanley with him so I could take Patrick to the hospital.

At the UST Emergency room, the doctors checked him out but he got ticked off when they kept saying it was just sunburn :)  Obviously, his burns shouldn't feel so bad if it was just sunburned.  The pain reliever they gave him was taking too long and he was already in tears.  We went home under instructions that if his burns got blisters, he was to proceed immediately back to the ER.  I was surprised that they didn't give him burn ointment at that time, huh..

It was after two days that the blisters appeared.  He didn't even notice them until they started leaking (eww, I know!)  He went back to the ER.  When he tried to remove the cotton the doctors placed over the blister, this was what happened.  The cotton took off a portion of the skin, exposing the flesh underneath it.. uggh.. He had to completely bandage his arm after that!

I guess know he knows better than to open the cap when the car is overheating.. What a painful lesson to learn..

In between activities

This post is a combination of the small though not trivial activities that happened in between major events in November.

November 04 - We found out that Stevie, Patrick's brother, was rushed to the hospital due to a tummy ache.  His wife, Toni, has been in touch with me during the day because she feared that Stevie was taking the pain too lightly and may not reach the hospital in record time.  Apparently, Stevie was in Bulacan working on a project when he felt that his stomach was giving him pain.  It took a long time for him to get to Manila which left Toni worried.  Around 6PM (by my recollection) he was already brought to surgery for an emergency appendectomy.  His appendix hasn't ruptured but there appeared to be infection around it and so the doctor had to remove it.  We went to the hospital that same day but it took a while for the anesthesia to leave his system so we didn't see him.  We came back on Friday.  Oh and we saw the appendix! hahaha Patrick thought it gross! LOL

November 12 - Both kids did well in their report cards.  Dylan has great improvements.  Dana got awarded the 3rd Top Borrower in School ! :) Guess who she takes after? LOL

November 13 - Happy 16th Anniversary to me and Patrick.  Unfortunately, this was a sore day because we didn't get to celebrate it because Patrick stayed overnight at the Hotel H2O at the Manila Ocean Park for the annual Top Gear Planning.   I could understand it, it's work, it's important, but to not send me a text message (AT LEAST!) that was the worst thing.  He didn't even call us that night!!! okay, enough with the rant, but I thought I'd just shout it out LOL

November 19 - Dana and I tagged along when Patrick went to Mall of Asia to cover a car show there.  We decided to watch Harry Potter 7 because we were at the mall early and I thought there wouldn't be a throng of people in line because school and offices  haven't really let out.  I like it but I knew it would be a tad slow because they had to stretch it to cover one whole film.  There were some highlights and I especially liked the dialogue.  It is recommended that you watch the first movies or at least read the prior books to have a better understanding of the movie.

Since we were there at the mall, Dana and I had a ManiPedi session at the Mint Hand and Foot Spa in preparation for my cousin's wedding.  I was a little worried because I just had a traumatic ingrown infection that took a while to heal.  Fortunately, Gina, the senior technician was able to deal with my toe quite nicely.  It was also the first time I went to that nail salon and I must say, it was a good experience.  It was quiet and clean and the technicians were efficient.  :)
 

Dylan's 4th Birthday

Happy Birthday to Dylan !!!

He's 4 years old and we're excited because good things are happening to him.  His speech therapy classes are going well.  He's improved a lot considering he has been in therapy for the past 3 months.  He is now able to speak more words although he still needs to be prompted for some stuff.  At least, we've noticed that he's singing more and is more receptive to learning than before.

However, like all birthday celebrants (at least in my family) we always end up in the hospital in some way or another during our birthdays.. In Dylan's case, we ended up at the emergency room on the night of March 23rd because he slipped on the stairs and he got a nasty bump on the head.  Den's friends who were here at that time were almost passing out because of all the blood on Dylan's head but I kept my cool because I knew that head wounds tend to really bleed a lot.

We went to the nearest hospital and Dylan needed to have 4 stitches.  I couldn't bear to watch him because it was obvious he was in pain.  I was thinking that if Patrick was the one who had to go with him, he probably would pass out too.  Injections and blood don't hold too well with him :)  I was also reminded of my brother experiencing the same fate.  But with Allan, he was jumping on the bed, lost his balance and he hit his head on the corner or our Betamax.  He was taken to the same hospital and he also had stitches to the head.  It's funny, because now, Dylan, Dana and Rhys (their cousin) have the same scar on their heads LOL kinda like Harry Potter look alikes LOL

I don't have pictures of him while at the emergency room because it seemed wrong to be taking pictures while he's in pain but I did take a picture of him with his head bandaged and it seemed like nothing happened after the stitching hahaha  In fact, while he was being fixed, he was crying so hard and it was like he took a bath with perspiration.  The nurses had to keep him bound with the blankets so he wouldn't be squirming and moving, it was really hard to watch.  But immediately after the bandages were on, it was like nothing happened.  He was back to his cute and charming self :)

I took about a week for the sutures to come off.  It was hard cleaning the wound and protecting it from germs because of the gauze tape that keep getting attached to his hair LOL that was what was painful to him. :D

Anyway, his wound and scar is a story that he likes hearing about all the time :)

Car Emergency on the NLEX

September 12 - Today, we went to visit Uncle Dennis and his family in Pampanga. This time, we were joined by Stevie and his family as well. It was a good time spent catching up, mostly it was Stevie and Uncle Dennis because we were there recently. Around 5 PM, Stevie announced we were going home and so we packed up and left.

Immediately after exiting the tollway station, Stanley (for those who don't remember, Stanley is the name of our car) just started to shake and the steering wheel was really going crazy. We immediately stopped at the shoulder of the road. We tried driving slow to see if it was caused by the speed. It wasn't. Even if we were traveling at 20km/hour there was a minor "wiggle" to the car that can't be ignored. So we decided to stop at the nearest gas station to have a mechanic check the problem and if it's possible, to fix it. Surprisingly enough there wasn't a mechanic available at the Caltex Station. They gave us a number to a mechanic in San Simon whom we had to wait for. When he arrived 30 minutes later, he looked at the tires pronounced them unfit, released some of the pressure and sent us on our way. Oh and he told us that there was an accident on the Southbound lane of the NLEX. What a joy! right!

So on we went, it was now 6 PM. Oh and we let Stevie and his family go on ahead because the kids were getting fussy. And when you're traveling you don't want fussy kids in the car LOL

We were moving again but the wheels were still a problem. I asked Patrick to stop and call the emergency service of NLEX using their phone on the side of the road. That's what they're there for, right? So that in itself was an adventure for Patrick LOL Because he said, it wasn't technically a phone but a box - a talking box LOL He wanted to take a picture but it was getting dark and it was drizzling. Perfect timing and weather for your car to breakdown.

He talked to someone, they said they'll send the nearest Patrol Car (which happened to be a few minutes away at the scene of the accident we just passed LOL) They examined the car, said it was something else that was the trouble. Finally, we decided we can't go on like this forever and so we asked them the rates for towing. P1,200 up to the nearest exit which was Pulilan. P4,200 up to the end of the NLEX, further than that, they charge more of course. hmm.. so that kept us thinking LOL

And so we thought. And the solution at that time was to call Sharon (my sister) and have Jowell (her husband) tow us back to Manila by any means necessary LOL But that didn't pan out because as the Patrol guys said, only the accredited towing service of NLEX is allowed to tow vehicles there. The option was, we get towed to Pulilan have them pick us up there and then use the McArthur Highway to get back to Manila. So that was our option. Better, P1,200 than P4,200 LOL

When the towing service came, it was from AAP or the Automobile Association of the Philippines.. Woohoo!! We were members which meant we didn't have to pay the P1,200!! hahahah one less problem solved LOL

They towed us to Pulilan and they recommended a car shop who can probably fix Stanley. By that time, Sharon and her family arrived in Pulilan too and Jowell was there at the shop with a watchful eye.

They replaced the left wheel with the spare tire. They fiddled with something. Jowell test drove it. It seemed to work fine. So we were off, no towing necessary but we were running at 40km/hr on the shoulder of the road because it was still wiggling. The steering kept fighting with Patrick.

We arrived at the house around 12. The kids were tired. We were tired but we arrived safe though not so sound LOL In our stress, we even landed on the truck lane at the exit tollgate because we were concentrating on every sound and move that Stanley was making, we didn't notice that the lanes were widening LOL

Monday morning, we took Stanley to my aunt's vulcanizing shop and one look at Stanley's underside and we saw the problem. The CV joints were busted. Not the tie rod, not the wheels. The CV joints were blown out, bearings gone, it was a surprise they didn't break off too, the mechanic said. Got those parts replaced from Banawe (original parts for P3,000) each.. expensive but at least they're not surplus.

And Stanley was as good as new.. well sort of :) Here are the pictures, forgive them if they're dark LOL
The Towing Truck

Preparing to get Stanley on the truck

Stanley on the truck. As Dana said, Stanley has his own driver now :)

A Nasty Weekend

This weekend was a blur to me.. Man, I've been cleaning the house like crazy!! It's doubly hard because everything is manual! I cleaned the house, did the laundry, changed the curtains, fixed my plants, etc. etc. etc.. and that was just Saturday LOL by the evening, I knew I was in big trouble because every little part of me ached, even my aches have aches and that's when I realized I really am getting old LOL

And then on Sunday, I tried to figure out how to expand my blog (in terms of margins) coz to me it felt squished, like sardines in a can.. so I surfed the Net and got good tips, it's like taking a crash course in HTML hahahaha and CSS too :) so I tried to edit it and voila.. I did it!! and that makes me feel so proud ! LOL even though it may sound like a no-brainer to most of you guys out there hahahaha so as you can see, the blog has more room, it doesn't strain your eyes LOL

The clincher to the day was in the evening. Dylan fell down the stairs while playing with Dana. Patrick tried to catch him but he was too late. He cried and cried, he busted his lips and he got a bump on the head.. it's kind of nerve-wracking because this is his first major "accident" and even his sister was traumatized.. we immediately put ice on his head, although that also made him cry even harder and staunched his bleeding mouth.. this happened around 10:30pm last night and we knew we can't let him sleep yet, so we all tried to keep him occupied and entertained. we were still observing him for some untoward signs in case we need to rush him to the emergency, but so far, nothing.. at around 1am, he's still full of energy...

today, we'll still keep him under observation.. and hope for the best..