Ama, mulit ne!

“Ama! Mulit ne!” 

Over the last week, I have heard this phrase over and over again. It means, “Dad, I want to go home.” I am in Puerto Princesa right now with Burut, a 7 year old Palawano kid that we brought to the hospital. They showed up at our place over a week ago, and the child was swollen up like a marshmallow. Our medical team members were pretty sure the problem was kidney disease, but in our place there is nothing we can do about that. So we gave them some money in order to take a bus to the hospital in town. The next day another man came by our house with a message from the doctor at the hospital. They said they were pretty sure it was kidney disease, but they did not have the facilities to test to find out the extent of the disease. So we needed to send him to Puerto Princesa.

I was on top of the mountain about 5 hours up river when they called me in the morning to tell me I needed to take the kid to the hospital. My son and I were doing an overnight hike up there (more about that later). We were planning to stay 1 more night, but the medical emergency pre-empted our trip and so we came home that day. The next day I went to Quezon and met the kid with his dad, and together we proceeded to the hospital in Puerto Princesa. That was last Saturday, and we are still here a week later. The prognosis looks good for a release this weekend or early in the week. However, the young boy still has to wait.

It has been hard on the family for multiple reasons. First of all, they have not had any contact with their family that they left up in the mountains, so they are probably wondering what has happened. Secondly, the hospital is not an ideal place for people that are used to living in a free and open place, where they get up in the morning or at night and can look out to see as far as the eye can see. Also, they were embarrassed to bathe and/or use the restroom at first, but eventually they got over that and had to use it.

On the good side, the other Filipinos that are in the hospital have been very nice to the patients. We are in a ward with 5 beds, and all the families of the other people there have been very courteous and pleasant towards the dad and his kid. They have not made them feel embarrassed at all about being “natibos”, but instead have included them in discussions and talks, making them feel welcome.

So with regard to this, we ask for your prayers for little Burut’s completed healing! As of this morning, his swelling had been reduced significantly, and if the urine tests in the morning show the disease to be in remission, then he will be allowed to leave the hospital.