Happy Birthday Lei.

it's that same day every year.. but this time.. it was different. I'll be celebrating my birthday at my workplace. i said to myself that there's no such fulfilling gift at my age other than to offer my self for service. so i did.

but the night before that, i was really worried for some unknown reason.. and laugh at a joke i said to myself of having a status of "I've celebrated my birthday with a DOA (death on arrival)", considering the nature of my work and my designated working area.

morning of that special day, i've reported early at work. I did some necessary pre-shift tasks and prepared myself for work.

6AM. start of shift. the emergency room door was opened briskly by the lobby guard. an 18 year old girl was rushed in and placed immediately on bed with no heart rate and no breathing. immediate cardio-pulmonary resuscitation was administered for an hour. and you know the other drill. IV line.. cardiac monitor.. epinephrine.. intubation, so on and so forth..

upon assessment and history taking, the patient was grunting and moaning while asleep when her father noticed her early that morning. then she stopped. they massaged her and tried to wake her up but she was unresponsive. so they brought her to the emergency room. though she entered the ER with no vitals already.

other than fainting while at school because of stress (as what their school doctor have said), the patient has no other health problems known.

7:07AM. after an hour, she was pronounced dead by the resident doctor with the senior house officer.

it took a while until i made it up to my senses regarding the uncomfortable feeling i had last night. the DOA feeling. i was already doing the post-mortem care at the said patient, wiping her face with a soaked cloth to remove some secretions.

how could an 18 year old teenager with unknown history of any illness die while sleeping. especially during this day. my birth day. and i could hear the patient's mother crying is despair for the death of her youngest girl while i'm wrapping her up in a white linen.

and that's it. i'll never forget this special day. where i witnessed death and agony on the same date i was brought to life. i'm ok. i wondered for a meanwhile. but i'm fine.



few hours later, i learned that a baby boy was delivered at the delivery room.

Life. it's a cycle. and we are lucky to celebrate every second of it. for we don't know when will our time stop. appreciate every minute. every breath. every smile. appreciate everything you have. before it's too late.


Happy Birthday Lei. Appreciate.