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Trust God

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Friday d' 13th

Dahil sa sobrang hectic na duty schedule, ngayong jan 13 lang kami nakapag celebrate para sa pasko at new year, too early for next xmas at new year diba? HAHA. oh well kahit gaano pa ka late yun okay lang naman, nung nakapag bunutan na kami kung sino bibigyan namin ng gift nag message din kami sa isat isa ng kung anong type naming regalo. so ganito sinabi ko:

i would love to get something that will remind me of our good times together, something personalized”

Sobrang nasunod sinabi ko, i got this personalized starbucks tumbler from mickee :)) Madami kaming good memories sa starbucks, we consider it as our third place, kapag wala kaming magawa pumupunta kami dun to chill out at mag kwentuhan. Sobrang cute pa sa tumbler na to may mga pictures namin! dadalhin ko to lagi sa bag ko :))

Graduation Pictorial

Graduation wouldn't be complete without A Graduation Pictorial, Kaso they announced the scheduled date for the pictorial a week before, how can we possibly think and prepare for that? we're already interns, we have hectic and very tiring work scheds. So i ended up renting a dress from angeles, and voila! masquerade kuno ang theme ko! HAHA

here's sam with her vintage/mexican inspired dress :) madaming lace and ruffles kaya feeling ko mexican. we got her gow from manila.

first batch siya sa pictorial thats why me and jem are not dressed yet.

okay our turn na! ka stress yung make up nila. its everyone's make up! goodluck to my face.

better snap a picture before having layers of make up on my face. 

Here's jem :)

Sheila and me :)

and because sam is with the morning batch we were not able to take a pic together :(

more pictures :)

Karla "the Japanese doll" :)

Done with the pictorial! now we're off to class!

Running late but we still managed to take pictures xD

So here's the fruit of all the stress!

Credits to my very creative mom, she made that masquerade mask <3

Photo Credits:

@nowieserrano

Images by Child Play

MEDTECH INTERN LANG PO AKO. IKAW RMT KA BA NIYAN?

Oo alam ko. hindi pa ako intern. pero teka bago kayo mag react diyan pakinggan muna to…

Nung wednesday nilagnat ako habang nasa school kaya di ako pumasok hanggang ngayon (friday), may follow up check up ako today tsaka repeat CBC at PLT. so ayan since sa malayong lupain ako ng guagua nakatira at sobrang malayo yun sa AUFMC sa florida nalang ako nag pa blood test.

no choice ako at pumunta nalang sa isang maliit na lab sa bayan. pinili ko yung lab na yun kasi walang tao. feeling ko mabilis. nagmamadali kasi ako. edi pag pasok ko sinabi ko agad: “goodafternoon maam” (nakasanayan ko ng tawagin ng maam o sir yung mga tao kahit janitor man siya o sekyu,edi lalo na kung medtech. saludo ako jan ) pero ni hindi man lang ako kinibo.

tinanong lang niya, anong pangalan mo?

sabi ko naman serrano nowiena joyce po maam.

ano?isulat mo nalang.

sinulat ko naman.

tapos tanong ulit niya; anong kailangan mo?

CBC at PLT count po maam.

so ayun. kukunan na niya ako ng dugo. hiningi niya braso ko. tinaas ko naman. pero nagulat ako at balak niya akong kuhaan sa part na may pasa ako (galing yun sa blood test ko nung wednesday; magaling yung MT nun.  nag papasa lang talaga ako agad) so agad sinabi ko:

maam, may pasa pa po ako. sa kabila nalang.

taas mo yung isa sabi naman niya (parang nainis pa na pinigilan ko siya sa attempt niya)

feeling ko di niya makapa yung vein ko. well yung may pasa na part dun lang ako nakukuhaan talaga.

bigla sinabi niya akin na sa daliri nalang. 

binigay ko naman agad kamay ko.

nag disinfect siya with cotton na may alcohol.

at nag PRICK! solid na PRICK. prick kung prick. O.O

hindi naman ako madaling masaktan pero yung kanina ibang klase, parang may laman yung pagtusok niya. nairita kaya siya sa pangengealam ko?

hindi pa yun dun natapos. yung nilagay niya na cotton para ma stop yung pag bleed e yung cotton din na ginamit niyang pang disinfect! hay nako. bukod sa madumi na yun. ang hapdi pa kasi may alcohol.

oh well, move on na. ang mahalaga may dugo na. 

after ilang mins bumalik ako. pagkita ko ng resulta walang WBC DIFFERENTIAL COUNT. sa mga di nakakaalam yung CBC o complete blood count ay parang value meal; hindi basta fries lang, may kasamang drinks at burger. meaning hindi lang isang test yung CBC. madami. isa dun sa mga kasali na test is yung WHITE BLOOD CELL DIFFERENTIAL COUNT.

nagtanong ako agad, (in a nice and magalang way parin.)

maam, bakit po walang diff count?

sabi ba naman; akala ko bang cbc?yan cbc yan.

sabi ko; di ba po maam kasama yung diff count dun?

(nagpapasenxa parin ako. pero eto yung di ko kinaya)

sabi niya; yan yung CBC. alam mo ba kung ano yung diff count na yun. iba yun. (alam mo yung tono na parang sinasabi niya to my face na hoy medtech ako. alam ko ginagawa ko)

hindi ako nakatiis. pakiramdam ko kasi pinapalabas niya na tanga ako. sinabi ko tuloy bigla : MEDTECH INTERN PO AKO MAAM, ALAM KO PO YUNG DIFF COUNT.

SABAY ALIS SA LAB. >:/

pansin ko namutla siya ng konti at lumaki ang mata nung sinabi ko na MEDTECH INTERN AKO. LOL XD

guilty ako oo. di pa ako medtech intern pero nasabi ko lang yun bgla kasi naoffend ako sakanya. tsaka ilang buwan nalang. cguro naman forgiveable ako sa pag claim na intern na ako. 

mabalik sa usapan, ginagalang ko lahat ng mga nasa propesyon. pero hindi porke nag graduate ka ng kung ano mang degree yan o nagkaron ka man ng award hindi ibig sabihin nun na dapat tratuhin mo yung ibang tao na MAS MATAAS ka kesa sakanila. kahit pulubi pa yan o ano man dapat mo parin galangin.

kung sakali naman na may personal na problema ka hindi dapat na idamay mo pa yung ibang tao. walang masama na magkamali ka at paalalahanan ka ng ibang tao. tanggapin mo. mag move on ka. hindi yung imamali mo ibang tao para lang magmukhang tama ka.

In the end sino bang niloloko mo nun. diba SARILI MO DIN?

A Blood Banker's Story

EXCITEMENT.

That is exactly what i felt the moment that my classmate told me that we are required to bring our donor for our BB laboratory class; for those who are not into the field, BB is Blood Banking :))

Learning how to bleed a donor is one thing i am really INTERESTED. I am an advocate of Giving/Donating Blood. In fact, i am a regular blood donor. I am willing to give a part of me (like my blood) to whoever who needs it. This is because i believe that giving blood can be a way of thanking GOD.

So being a part of the donation process is indeed a significant experience to me. Not only as a Medical technologist but also as a person who is thankful to the good health condition that GOD has given me.

The first thing i did is to find a donor, i browsed into my phone contacts and saw Web’s number (a medtech 3rd year friend).

i texted him saying: “can i ask for a favor?”

he immediately replied: sure. what is it?

me:  i hope you wont change your mind after you hear this.

web: lol. seems like i knew it already.

me: yes. i need a donor for the BB class.

i got so nervous, thinking he’ll change his mind. but to my surprise he still said “YES, ako na donor mo” :))

i asked him to fill up the donor form and go to the school clinic for the physical check up. To my surprise he got deferred :( (not because he is sick, but because he took some medications)

Finding a healthy/fit donor is HARD, but you know what is HARDER? it is finding a person who is whole heartedly willing to DONATE. Everyone seems to be afraid of it. Just by hearing the word Blood donor they immediately say NO and move away as if i have a highly contagious disease that would infect them. I even got silly and annoying answers like : ” I CAN’T, COZ I HAVE A TATTOO ON MY BUTT” , “I CAN’T COZ MY BLOOD IS GREEN” , AND WORST IS “I CANT COZ I DON’T HAVE BLOOD”.

C’Mon people why are you so afraid? i won’t lie and say its Painless. of course you’ll feel pain, but the pain is tolerable, especially if you put in mind that you are actually about to save someones LIFE.

Finally, 2 days before the scheduled date i found a good hearted person willing to donate; someone like me, a regular BLOOD DONOR.

I told him its my First time to use that straw like needle. (im expecting him to back out) but he didnt. He even told me: there’s nothing to worry basta wag ko wawasakin vein niya. STRONG naman daw siya :) (he’s really a nice person)

and then, the day all of us have been waiting for. I got really nervous and stresses by the time na ako na. OO. ako na. TURN ko na! Jai’s (my donor) median and cephalic veins are not prominent yung basilic lang and prominent. I had to choose between the median vein or basilic. But the basilic vein is the most painful. I dont want to risk and puncture the median vein which i could not even palpate. So ayun, kahit masakit basilic vein nalang instead of the median.And since the basilic vein is a moveable vein i have to hold the needle in place until the bag is filled. (Sorry jai.pinili ko basilic because i dont want to make more than one shot in filling up the blood bag.) I know its painful thats why i am so thankful that all of the time i ask you how does it feel you always say “oks lang”. 

The most precious and heart warming part is when my teacher told me: Nowie, ang galing. Medtech kana. Congrats :)) - those words may mean nothing to others, but for me those words made me much stronger and more determined of becoming a REGISTERED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIST.

I learned a lot through that experience. Its something i will never forget. <3

I'm almost there.

Yes i am almost there. Months from now i'll be a Medical Technology intern,

and i"ll be graduating soon :)

The days passed by so fast, let me share you some of my unforgettable moments as a 3rd year Medical Technology Student :)

Gram Positive Staphylococcus aureus
 from my classmate's pimple.

Let me start with the face wrecking MICROBIOLOGY; literally face wrecking because every laboratory period we come in close contact with LOTS of bacteria particularly Staphylococcus aureus which causes pimples.

From all the laboratory classes i had (can't count them all coz they're too many) i enjoyed MICRO lab the most in spite of the fact that every lab period i go home with another pimple popping out my forehead.

Several antibiotic discs
were tested against E.coli

Culture, Identification and Sensitivity are the 3 most important things i learned from the subject, these things are important in identifying unknown diseases caused by unknown microorganisms.

With the help of microbiology we can artificially grow bacteria and perform laboratory tests necessary in the identification of the bacteria type or even up to its specie name. Once the microorganism is already identified it would be easy to find a drug that can kill it through antibiotic sensitivity testing.

Now let us talk about the appetite destroying PARASITOLOGY that makes me imagine my favorite spaghetti as a bolus of Ascaris lumbricoides.

Human Whip worm or Trichuris trichiura
 from a 5 year old kid

When we were still in the lower years i hate it when the teacher tells us to wear the complete PPE or personal protective equipment, i always say : "why do i need to wear a mask and hairnet?" it is because during those lab periods we don't come into close contact with biological hazards.

What is funny is when parasitology lab came, we all wore the needed PPE; from the laboratory gown (buttons all closed), mask (doubled and sometimes even tripled with handkerchief), gloves and hairnet (hair even tied up and clipped).

 If you are still wondering WHAT is the CAUSE OF THIS SUDDEN CHANGE I'll answer you with a question, DO YOU WANT YOUR HAIR or YOUR SKIN to come in contact with POOP? LOL XD.

 Yes. poop. Every lab period we are poking and observing sh*t. Not only because it is nasty to get poop in your hair or skin, the poop we are handling are pathologic ones. These samples came from persons with parasites on their stomachs.

HELL weeks. 

We usually call the "exam week" as "hell week", this is one of the most depressing part of being a student. Major exams.Long Tests. Requirements ; things that make us students stay up late or even sometimes deprives us from sleeping.

I have experienced going to school without sleep at all. I remember that it is because i have to finish a requirement; i am not the kind of student that likes to rush things and do projects the last minute before submission. During that time there is a misunderstanding between us and the professor. We were not informed about the requirement, we just knew about it the night before the day of submission. STRESSFUL huh? 

"My 3rd Blood Donation"

Lets forget about the stressful things and talk about happy moments :))

If i'll be asked what is the most fulfilling thing i did during my 3rd year in this course i'll be proud to say that "I DONATED BLOOD". 

For me, donating blood is like giving life.Giving some of my blood is my own way of thanking God the father for the good health condition i have and all the blessings i receive, its like paying him back; God will me so much happy if he see's us (his children) care for others.

Check out my blog about blog donation :) just click on the link. HELP SAVE LIVES

There are still a lot more to share but i cant type it all. 

Everyone says that Third year is the hardest part(in our course). It's actually true, i couldn't agree more. But i do believe that GOD will never let us be in a situation that he knows we can't handle. To all those who are struggling in their studies just believe in yourself. Do it. Never hesitate and doubt your abilities. I believe that in reaching your dreams you don't have to be super smart, you just have to be hardworking. Do everything with your best effort and don't forget to ask God's guidance. You will surely make it till the end.

-Stay positive. That is how i see life. I hope you enjoyed reading :) God bless :)

Philippians 4:13

New International Version (NIV)

¹³ I can do all this through him who gives me strength.