Weekend-Engagement Week #214: In Times Of Emergency

Despite my mom being against me studying nursing, I was somehow able to convince her to agree. Well, I made a deal not to work as a nurse, but never did I regret choosing that major. I may not be able to work as a nurse, but the knowledge and skills I've learned then are pretty much handy in my day-to-day life.

I graduated March of 2012 and got my license at the end of the same year. My journey was crazy and really difficult, but it was also fun and enjoyable.

Perhaps, I may not be as confident as I was back then since it's been more than 10 years ago and I didn't practice my profession, but I'm positive that I know how to handle certain situations. One thing I'm quite good at is that I don't panic easily. I believe this is essential because when you do, it's really difficult to think straight.

I remember this one time, I was in a jeepney on my way home from my night-shift when suddenly a 7.2 earthquake occured. Everyone was in a panic except for me, the driver and the conductor. The woman beside me was crying and shaking... and seeing a building destroyed a few blocks away didn't help at all. She was in a panic attack. I remember the driver asking me to help since everyone else was in a state of frenzy.

I managed to calm her down and assisted her to breathe properly because if she didn't it would have been a bigger problem. Luckily, we both have the same stop and I found out her house is on the way to my place, so I took her home. Her family thanked me for doing so. When I got home, my mom felt relieved to see me and I heard my dad telling her, "Told you so. There's no need to worry about her. (meaning me)" He was quite confident that I won't panic and he was even proud when I told him my experience earlier that day.

Luckily, we don't have a lot of health emergencies happening. Well, we do have some health issues in the family, though.

Last year, when we were having dinner, my mom suddenly felt bad and dizzy. We didn't have a device for blood pressure that time, but I was suspecting that she's experiencing hypertension. I guided her on how to breathe and did some first aid. She was able to calm down.

I bought a blood pressure equipment and it was confirmed that she has high blood pressure. She refused getting a checkup and taking medicine, so I decided to do it the long way... change of lifestyle. :)

And in order for her to successfully do it, my father and I should do the same. We cut down on salt, and added more fiber and potassium in our diet. We switched from white rice to brown rice, we avoided fatty food and resorted to chicken fillet and tofu mostly. We added more vegetables and fruits to our diet... and we exercise at least 15-20 minutes every day. I also encouraged her to sleep earlier than usual. She used to sleep at 1AM, now, she sleeps before midnight.

And after a month or so, her blood pressure decreased from 180/110 to 140/80. We continued with our lifestyle change and it's almost been a year since then. There are times when her blood pressure reaches 140/80 at most especially when it's really hot, but mostly it's already back to her usual BP which was 120/80 to 130/90. There are even times when it's below 120/80, so it's really good progress.

One good thing I've learned from school was the side effects of medications. A lot of people rely so much on medicine which can later on damage other organs especially the liver and kidneys. If it's possible, it's better to do non-pharmacological interventions first.

It's the same when managing pain. A lot of people resort to painkillers immediately when they experience a little bit of pain. Well, it's not wrong, but I believe that relying on it every time can be damaging as well. Some of them can be addictive that even in hospitals, doctors limit the patient's intake of pain medication. Some patients develop tolerance to pain medication, so they end up needing more dosage which would lead to more damage in the long run.

It's just interesting that despite knowing how amazing and advance the medical field has become, I realized that doing things naturally is still so much better. It may require time and effort, but it would definitely pay off. In the end, prevention is multiple times better than cure, so take good care of yourselves! :)

See you around!