by Telly G. Ocampo
The Florence Nightingales
I woke up this morning, September 1, 2021, with Jose Mari Chan singing with “Christmas in Our Hearts” making alive the following lines:
Let’s sing Merry Christmas
And a happy holiday
This season may we never forget
The love we have for Jesus
I listened to the song with joy and hope and aspiration. September makes us eagerly anticipate the celebration of Christmas in December. Peace on earth goodwill to men is truly the message of Christmas, though at times, this message gets lost in the frenzy of the celebration.
This time of the year, I find myself repotting my plants called ikog sa iring, and these are my substitutes for poinsettias. The ikog sa airing has flowers that are red all the season, rain or shine, unlike the poinsettias. You have to put them under the shade of a black cloth to simulate night. And secondly aphids congregate on the plant. Our plastic Christmas tree, which I had for some time, was thrown a long time ago. And now, I have gone organic except for the Christmas balls and Christmas lights. It seems the Christmas feeling is always in the heart when there are lights that glitter nga kumukutikutitap.
Amidst our eagerness to put our Christmas decors, television has been showcasing the difficult plight of the Filipino nurses and the health workers. This is quite sad. Our nurses and caregivers are the best in the world. And yet in our own country, they have not been given the same benefits like the other professionals. I just don’t know which comes first: the lure of the dollars or the devotion to the profession, like the passion of Florence Nightingale. Is it because our nurses have prepared themselves to go abroad and they just work here temporarily so they can earn enough experience? Sometimes, they work without pay just so they could earn that certificate of employment, a document they have to present to the employers abroad.
I just hope the government will give them the benefits they have long been asking for. ASAP should be the proper time for this. .
Today, I also received a video via messenger expressing the message for Christmas during this time of the pandemic. It says: Let’s count our blessings. What struck me most in the message were the pictures of Christmasses (we used to have) on Christmas cards that we were receiving from friends from across the miles. I was brought back to those times when Christmas was just suman, maruyang ubi ug camote. It was easy for a child to smile and be thankful for a few pieces of texas bubble gum and seniorita candies nga tagdako. Lami ug lipay na mi kaayo adto.
Before, as early as November, my Oyong Ando would already have all those ready for Christmas; and all those were put in clean tin cans prepared by my Uyang Tiva. This was to ensure that the stuff would not attract the ants and insects before Christmas comes. Plastic containers were not yet the fad at that time.
When I was younger, I always pictured myself as a nurse. I made a nurse cap in bond paper and had a rope tied with bottle caps on both ends as my stethoscope imagining myself to be a Florence nightingale. I had that dream until my mother had a difficult miscarriage. I realized I cannot stand the sight of blood streaming on the bed. And that was the end of my dream.
But I still admire those nurses who would always have a smile on their face and put sunshine to their patient’s faces. There was a time when nurses were almost like doctors especially in the rural areas. Before, even in hospitals, I noticed that nurses tend to pamper the patients. There were attendants who would bathe you, change your clothes, comb your hair slowly especially if you have just given birth. Mohapohap pa gyud ni sila nimo kun magbati ka na ug hapit ka na manganak. These are true experiences and joyful memories in hospitals in yesteryears.
As we are now in the sunset years of our lives, and in this time of the pandemic, it’s so difficult to go to the hospital. There is no more close contact with the patients due to the third invisible enemy, the virus with a crown. Pastilan kalisud ba gayud. All of a sudden, the tender, loving care of the nurses is gone. Social distancing has to be followed. I’m just thankful, we have found a competent nurse, in the person of Rommel Andoy, who couldfind time for our health needs. He has been in a hospital abroad but has settled down for his parents. Now that they are gone, he has become a free lancer surviving in a world where competence is no longer the main criterion for sticking it out in an institution. It is survival of the fittest.
It’s really sad so very sad that health workers are not compensated the way policemen are. But we know there is always a season for them.
Evelyn C. Naces – a supervisor nurse at the ALLIED CARE EXPERTS (ACE) Medical Center – Bohol who is also the OIC Director of Nursing (on a rotation basis)
Mary Rose Labadia Batoy – A nurse handling In-Service Education Coordination and Occupational Safety and Health Management at the RAMIRO COMMUNITY HOSPITAL.