I’m having a writer’s block. An artist’s block. Whatever you call it. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I’ve been trying to finish this article since Monday but so far I have only managed to write 355 words. It used to be easy to write this kind of stories but I don’t know why I am in a creative rut now. Like there’s this black hole somewhere that saps all energy in me. I’ve been trying to alter my work hours so I can push myself creatively. Like right now (11:06 pm), I’m attempting to add more paragraphs to the article I’ve been working on for days.

I need to work in a coworking space tomorrow. This unproductiveness can’t go on and on…

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I should be relieved that there is overall regression in my daughter’s GI TB. I’m not sure why there is an increase in lymph nodes…Oh God, don’t let it be lymphoma. Let it be just the TB acting up or some virus.

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I guess I’m still stuck in the creative desert. I still couldn’t produce anything decent these days. I will salvage this painting tomorrow. I think I used a too-bright green for the rice field still planted with rice.

I’ll lay off a bit from painting. All throughout the weekend, I wanted to paint but the creative juices weren’t there.

What this video taught me was that during the post-pandemic years, mid-tier luxury brands like Chanel and Louis Vuitton suffered sales slowdown while ultra luxe brands like Loro Piana and Delvaux still saw an uptick despite catering to a very small number of clientele. This is because mid-tier brands cater mainly to the middle class who want to flaunt the aspirational brands, hence, the screaming logos. When inflation went through the roof, the middle class stopped spending and saved instead whereas the 0.1% of the economic pyramid is nonplussed. They still spent on top cashmere for their regular wear. The middle class? They buy these brands as a treat, not as a regular shopping item, like underwear or usual grocery item.

It’s like what I wrote about a couple of years ago in an article, the sit-down dining restaurants (such as Bistro Group or Moment Group restos) are the ones that are greatly affected during economic difficulties because their major market—the middle class—goes down a notch lower to dine at quick service restaurants. Perfect example of price elasticity of demand.

So what am I driving at? Nothing. I am just wondering about where investors should be placing their money. Should they place their bets on businesses that cater to the middle class that are price sensitive? Or on businesses that cater to the mass market since the sheer volume can make up for the price elasticity of products geared towards this market? 🤔

Why am I thinking about this? As a business journo, I should be paying attention to such things because these musings direct me to ask more probing questions.

Speaking of investments, my friend, M, egged me to try crypto currency. While I don’t believe in that shit—because there is no rhyme nor reason behind that thing—I tested it just to be able to delve into the world of crypto trading to educate myself. I joked to him that I will just invest so I can buy myself a Nintendo Switch. So as of this moment, it’s up 14.6% and I don’t understand how and why when these digital assets are being minted daily in huge amounts. I also want to see how it would behave when gold is up/down, when fixed income markets are shot, or when equities are yo-yoing. Meanwhile, M, placed a huge amount on this silly game of his. I told him, you are a business journalist and yet you succumbed to this scam. 🤦🏻‍♀️I’m just in this for the silliness of it, akin to buying lotto tickets just in case stars aligned.

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My indoor cats were keeping a watchful eye over me while I was sitting in my pseudo-balcony because Ampon had been trying to get inside my house through my bedroom window (she figured out a way how to climb the emergency exit balcony). Ampon is desperately trying to get adopted as an indoor cat but of course my two suplada tricolor would have none of it. So as consolation, I sat outside to keep her company or else I would have her yowling by my bedroom window at 3 am (which she had done several times).

But then Sushi and Kimchi are a jealous lot so they went out on the cat ledge to guard me. They kept meowing at me, telling me to get inside.

What have I gotten myself into? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Because I was too lazy to cook, I agreed to Twin I’s suggestion of buying dinner at the fair. I think I regreted that decision. I’m already old for this kind of thing.

My kids had been going here everyday with their friends. I couldn’t deny them that enjoyment because this thing has been an annual event for me and my friends since we were in grade school. We saved up pocket money so we can buy jewelry, foodstuff, or buy tickets to the carnival rides.

So today my girls went to the local comic con to see cosplayers and buy stuff. Twin I went home early and then Twin A went home before dinner just to get more pocket money from her safe. They managed to drag me out of the house.

And my girls bought their own stuff, which consists mainly of earrings for Twin I and stickers for Twin A.

My legs couldn’t stand it anymore or it’s the large number of people that sapped my energy but I just wanted to go home immediately after I bought a footlong hotdog. I was just hankering for junkfood like this.

If I were younger, I would have stayed or come back to watch the rockbands that were supposed to play. But no, I’m already old and I just want to be in my comfy bed after that long drive back home late last night.

On my way to Makati to meet friends and work at the same time. Yes, we journos combine socializing with work like that. With deadlines.  Then attend a dinner party with execs of a conglomerate. On a Friday after payday. 😬

Still waiting for my sis in law and her boys here in a gas station along SLEX while they have a bathroom break. They’re hitching a ride with me because, why not?

I’m hungry.

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Time check: 11:21 pm along SLEX

We left for PGH when it was still dark, around 5:40 am, and yet we couldn’t get a parking slot when we arrived there 1.5 hrs later. I had to drop off Twin A at FMAB so I can park at Robinsons Manila, which was a bit a of a walk…

This is Twin A’s 6th month full abdomen MRI with contrast to check whether there is still omental caking, nodular peritoneal thickening has subsided, and there are no enlarged lymph nodes anymore. Praying everything is fine and there are no other underlying issues…I’m still scared, you know.

Because for some bizarre reason, the infectious diseases lab wasn’t able to culture any TB bacteria. Nothing came out after 8 weeks. 😱

But the thing is, her histopathology pointed to TB and she is getting better. Her last MRI showed no thickening of the colon, lymph nodes have shrunk, ascites have resolved and all symptoms that were thought to be cancer are gone that’s why we were cleared by our hemato-oncologist. She is still communicating with our IDS who went on leave to take care of her son with leukemia.

This situation might be bizarre for developed countries but very common for the rest of the developing world. My cousin’s TB culture and AFB tests were also negative and her IDS’ only proof that it’s not cancer is her histopathology and her response to the anti-TB meds.

My colleague in Singapore, who writes for a sister publication, told me in late November (when I flew there last year) about her frustrating experience with the healthcare system in that country. She said the doctors there are “textbook doctors.” She and her son spent two to three months in the hospital (and good thing her husband’s insurance coverage was good) because the doctors couldn’t figure out what was wrong with the boy. They already did surgery on the leg and so on but they couldn’t cure him. Nothing fits in the checklist that was based on their textbooks so they couldn’t treat him according to protocol.

She’s Indian and her doctor back in her home country told her to bring her son to him, to their top national research hospital (an equivalent to PGH, she said). Her doctor suggested treating him for tuberculosis. Right off the bat, my colleague’s son responded to the treatment. In no time he got well.

She said it would have saved her from a lot of stress, tears, and money if she had just gone straight home to India for her son’s treatment. The surgery in Singapore may or may not have been necessary at all, just like the bone marrow biopsy for Twin A was not needed.

My colleague and I concluded it’s because doctors in developing countries are more flexible and more experimental when it comes to treatments. It’s because cases that may be uncommon or not textbook in first world countries are very common in countries like ours. They had to take chances because most patients in our countries cannot afford regular MRIs or the hospitals nationwide are not equipped with enough/right diagnostic reagents. All forms of TB infections (brain, bone, GI, larnyx, etc) are ever present in our countries, that’s why my IDS told me, “believe me, I’ve seen them all.”

I told my colleague our first IDS in the private hospital we first went to also said the same thing. He said he has seen the same thing over and over that’s why he was confident that it was TB. He had his training at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center—the go-to hospital for indigent pediatric patients after PGH. But I guess he began doubting when Twin A’s high fevers were not abating so he was also working hard to have her admitted to PGH or PCMC. Our IDS in PGH—who knows our first IDS—said the latter was correct, but Covid just messed up the situation that’s why our first team of doctors were thrown off-balance. Symptoms of different diseases were overlapping. She said the previous team was only looking for respiratory symptoms of Covid that’s why they were blindsided. Twin A’s high fevers, vomiting, and continuous diarrhea without the usual cough and colds or pneumonia were consistent with Covid in pediatric cases. If it were not for Covid, Twin A’s case wouldn’t have been that baffling. But kudos to our first IDS for starting Twin A with the anti-TB meds soon while waiting for biopsy to be done. Or else she would have deteriorated quickly and God knows what could have happened.

I also told my colleague about how my dad’s orthopedic surgeon was able to save his diabetic foot:  Zonrox (sodium hypochlorite) with saline solution. At that time (almost 30 years ago) it was an experiment at PGH. My dad’s leg was gangrenous up to below his knees. It took us three months of twice-daily cleansing of his leg with this solution until his leg grew back the flesh. Mom and daughters took turns in cleansing the leg. After that, the doctor grafted my dad’s skin over the entire shin—skin from his butt. This study published in 2013, also conducted in the Philippines, showed that the Zonrox+saline solution was more effective in cleaning diabetic foot wound than just hydrogen peroxide. My dad was one of the lucky 10% who suffered from diabetic foot and didn’t have to lose his leg.

You see, not all third world countries’ healthcare institutions are pathetic. If only we could keep healthcare professionals from leaving the country…But I can’t blame them.

Anyway, back to Twin A’s negative TB culture, I’m very thankful that our doctors were not by-the textbook kind and they think outside the box. Imagine, if Twin A got hospitalized in Singapore—she wouldn’t have been treated for TB just because the culture and AFB tests were negative. Our doctors here are used to seriously bizarre situations so they had to consider all possibilities.

This reminded me of fairy gaymother’s dad’s case in the US. He was very close to dying and out of desperation only did they think of testing him for TB. Turns out he had TB meningitis.

While we were at PGH FMAB, a corp comm team sent me this Valentine’s gift.