Joecel Madula and her baby Jaiden Kyle

Last 04-10-08 Joecel came in to deliver her first baby...we did a lOT of exercises throughout labour, and really bonded well during that time. She had had a cold for about a week prior and sure enough, as ALL the textbooks warn, the baby came out with signs of infection (temp, high resps and HR). We referred him immediately and he had to stay in the hospital for a week due to pneumonia.

When I went to visit them in the hospital and finish the paperwork for the birth certificate they STILL hadn't thought of a name for their son! And I was like "WHAT?! IT's been 3 days already, you need a name!!" She said she wanted ME to choose! Which, is SUCh an honour, but ALSO a big responsibility - naming a child, a 1st born son, no less, is not something I take lightly! THey'll have that name for their enTIRE life! I thought about it for a few days, and came back with suggestions that were both nice and sentimental. They ended up going with Jaiden Kyle =D - in honour of another Jaiden i know, and the kyle because the first 2 letters spell JK!

I LOVe my job..

SOMEone once said,

“I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.”

And THAT was DEFinitely true for me...guys, seriously - I've never done ANYthing like this before in my life, and I feel like I've done a lot of hiking and camping and whatnot but GOODness, it was an inCREDible 4 days. A quick rundown - it RAINed the first 2 days climbing, and we got a little behind schedule but I liked it that way (for one because my thighs were dONE for after hiking uphill for 5-6 hours the first day) and I really just wanted to enjoy the whole experience, you know, not rush things. The 2nd and 3rd night we stayed in a "bang house" (pictured below). We weren't able to camp closer to the peak because of a storm. BUT, the 3rd day the sun shone (i got burnt) and we were blESSed with blue skies hiking to the top of the kidapawan peak. Actually, a few of us got separated from the group and ended up climbing up the wRONG peak (davao peak), but it was cool because I got to see Samal Island and its accompanying Talikud Island from above, and eventually made it to the other peak, after a search and rescue from our guide (i'm exaggerating a bit). The entire 4th day was spent climbing down down down.

I really can't describe to you the feelings associated with hiking Mt Apo. It was all-terrain, sometimes we'd be walking a skinny dirt path in the middle of a jungle, and other times we'd be forging a raging river, and then have to scale a short rocky cliff, not to mention climbing hundreds and hundreds of manmade dirt/root stairs. Some parts reminded me of hiking in and around the Niagara escarpment, which was SO nice. AND, it was frEEZing - def. in the mid-teens, i think...plus EVERYthing was wet, ALL the time (even when it wasn't raining). Putting on cold, wet clothes at 6am in the morning sucks for the first few minutes, but once you start climbing, all thoughts of comfort and luxuries fly out the window. It was amazing. And, of course, it's ALways about the company your with - we had sUCh a good time hanging out in the tent, while it rained or winded around us. THe fOOD went SO well - I didn't have to worry about refrigeration! AND, another completely different part about thIS camping trip from any other I've been on was there are NO bears! Or any OTHER animal for that matter, so we didn't have to worry about putting food and such away at night. There were rumours of monkeys, but I never saw one!

Fresh springs offered fresh cold water in the middle of the trek.
We lugged fish, grilled chicken for curry, ground beef, aND pork adobo UP the side of the hill! Everyone was fairly satisfied before retiring to their tents.
The eerie fog and frigid cOLD of Lake Venado, a plateau about 8000 ft up Apo.
We had to cross this river 6 times total, as the trail curved through it when needed.
If there were no logs to shimmy, we'd forge through (already wet from the rain, it didn't really matter hOW wet we got).
A higher view of Lake Venado (an extreme difference in scenery when the sun cleared the fog and rain). Richard and Rachell (Joan and Genesis' friends) flew down from Manila to conquer the hIGHEST peak in all of the Philippines.
THis is on the plateau again, going to meet the only other climbers at the time. They had set up camp on the other side of the Lake.
At the kidapawan PEAK!...there was SO much of NOThing up there - except for the WINd, and the VIEW (which still takes my breath away). It was such a different climax of anything i've ever waited in anticipation for, but it was good.
Friday morning, back at the tourism office. The government regulates the amount of activity going up the mountain by enforcing a fee (extra for foreigners ;p). This also makes them aware of exactly how many climbers there are at a time, and able to search and rescue, if need be. They gave us a certificate at the end.

MOUNT APO - the tallest peak in the Philippines reaching a whole 9,691 feet above sea level, this volcanic peak (Apo, meaning "grandfather"), dominates 72,796 hectares of the national park where natural wonders bOW before thE towering peak.
and I am going to cliMB it =)

We (a team of approx. 12 ppl including guides) start super early monday morning may 12th, spend the day climbing to a (supposedly) freezing lake and flat ground where we'll camp for the night. THe second day will take us to the summit. The anticipation of sleeping there is ALmost too much to bear! Early Wed. morning will be spent viewing thE most beautiful sunrise (I'm sURE) I've EVER seen, at which point we'll hike back down to the lake to spend another night there. One more day will take us back down to the bottom, but we'll stay over (sOMEwhere) one more night in order to be there Friday morning when the office opens - this is to secure a certificate verifying we trekked the second highest mountain in all of southeast asia! In total it'll take the week, 2 days UP and 2 days down. I guess I'm planning the food.. we'll have one little gasul burner - dry wood is scarce. And. I don't know how to incorporate rice and canned corned beef into every meal - as per request =D hahaa.. it's going to be so much fun.

a bit of lIFE outside clinic walls -

Some of my friends take the fun (and art) of karaoke very seriously. This is at World Palace, a whole building of rooms done up in different themes from around the world to accommodate its tone-deaf customers! We rented the CLOUD room full of puffy cushions made out to look like we were floating on a cloud! IT was pretty cool.. and we sand our windpipes hoarse =)

This pic was taken at Gardena Fresca, in Matina. Tiffany is delivering Cathy's baby and threw her a baby shower here. The fun, food, and games made for a very successful baby shower! aaaaand, when Cathy delivers, Tiffany asked me to be the assist! Which is cool, because Cathy isn't just another patient, she goes to our church and has a caucasian husband.

In the middle of last week we all packed in the Germains jeepney and took a day trip to Samal Island to visit Hagimit Falls. It's an incredible place where you can jump into different pools of water that the rushing water have carved out.

And, who can forget IV-insertion class?! Not me, especially when I have 2 gross bruises on the back of both my hands, one goes down onto 3 of my knuckles - it looks like I've been duking it out with something/one. The first-year students had this class, and a few of us were asked to "supervise"! It was really fun, and also very successful...after 7 some odd pokes =) (TK's a rock!)