differentials

what is UTI?

This is the story of Mercy, a Filipino caregiver in Ireland. She has worked here for 5 years now. She earns 400 euros a week. She feeds her family from here. And she hates it here.

I asked her if Dublin Zoo were any good. She said, “Ay naku. Hindi. Mas maganda pa ang Manila Zoo.” Shitness. That was scary. I was looking forward to going to the zoo. And shitness that it will be turning out to be worse than the sick, sloppy and emaciated elephants of Manila Zoo. And it has less attractions than Manila zoo’s collection of eagles, monkeys, and um… what else do we have there again? Sheesh.

She asks, “Nagagandahan ka dito?” I said yes. I said I love the bricks the houses are made of. I like the old structures. She doesn’t like it. She says, “mas maganda pa rin sa Asia.”

She goes on to say, “Ang babaduy nila dito. Yung mga nag-oopisina, parang sa mga magbubukid lang sa tin.” Hmn. Really?

An Irish tells me, medical practice here is good especially in the north when there was still a lot of violence there and the surgeons are great. Mercy says the medical doctors and dentists here are no good. And she says with bitterness that everything must be by appointment. Even if it were an emergency–“kahit mamatay ka na”, she says, you’d have to have an appointment. That is incredulous, I thought. And she claims back, “siguro yung talagang mamatay ka na yun talagang emergency, yun titingnan ka.” There. She’s just like the people who are squeamish and go to the ER and claim they have an emergency… but, really, they don’t. She goes on and says “Dati nga nung akala ko may appendix ako, 4 hours bago ako natingnan.” I was jumping at a diagnosis when she said, “masakit dito ko tapos namamanhid hanggang hita” That seemed acute in course. So I figured it was UTI. And she’s ok now. She didn’t die. I thought, at least we’re disposing such anxious patients faster in Ambu. No matter what other people say about how harsh the PGH brood is, I think that the Ambulatory care is doing well with their patch-it-now-let’s-resolve-it-somewhere-else deal. Most patients do go home in less than 2 hours. Mercy will be proud if she knew that.

Then I go on to talk about the nurses. She then snaps bitterly, “mayayabang yung mga yun dito. Mga isnabera”. Hay. How could anybody be so bitter about everything?!

I am insensitive. That shouldn’t be a question. Imagine leaving your family, being cramped in a rented 1200 euro-house with 5 other folks, taking day-offs just to spend them doing part-time job still, and opting to take a bus just so you wouldn’t pass by the stores and get sad that you have to scrimp and not buy anything you want. I asked her if she wanted to stay here for good. She laughed and said she won’t stay here for good. She’ll go back to her family. For a moment there, I thought I saw longing in her eyes. It is a hard life they live here and I hope she does have a good life. It is what she deserves. It is what the Filipino who shines through with the spirit of resilience deserves.

Mercy’s UTI reminds me so much of her life. Who has ever had urinary tract infection? It is the story of my people who walk the many cities of the world. You know the feeling of having to urinate every now and then? Sometimes it is even painful urinating. Sometimes you even have to wake up just to empty your bladder. That isn’t too comfortable. Yet you do take time to urinate. You fight against the stasis in your inner filters so that the bugs won’t thrive. And you will live through that uprising they put up with you. You drink more so as to feed the wells of your filters so that you urinate more. That gives you more discomfort. Yet, you go on. You just wish that this fighting will someday end and you are back to where you were before they bugged you. The Filipino diaspora is all about this thriving and fighting to make a life in the hopes of having good end. It is our story that I await a good end to.

Anyway, I’ve decided to still go to the Dublin Zoo. I’ve missed the Thai Zoo. I’ve lost my pictures of the Darwin Zoo. So there. I can’t miss this one even if it were worse than the Manila Zoo.

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