One of the difficult times of parenting is when your children are sick and you don’t have any option but to intentionally take care of them.  Well, I have one child at the moment and I can feel the need for me to be practical in taking care of his changing needs.

For the past two weeks, (our family has gone through a challenging event in our lives when our son) Isaac got hospitalized.  The doctor said that we need to treat the infection on his urinary tract.  Common to our local beliefs this condition can be treated with traditional medicines like banaba or tawa-tawa leaves to be given to kids. I was a skeptic to give anything like that because my son was just 6 months old.  The doctor mentioned that we need to be admitted because the treatment needs to be administered thru IV.  So we confined him in the hospital to apply the necessary procedure.  The antibiotic was a hell for him since a dextrose was attached to him for 10 days and he has to stay in the hospital for that long.

With the help of my wonderful wife, she has to do a lot of changing activities to level the Isaac energy while he is on the bed.  He was given antibiotic every 8 hours and monitored vital signs every 4 hours.  Changing diapers, playing rattles, reading books and singing nursery rhymes is my routine for the next 10 days.  During this stay I learned the best practical way how to get involved and get attached to your child at an early age.  I also noticed his attention to music every time we sing nursery rhymes.  His favorite was “johny – johny Yess papa”.  So we changed the lyrics to:

                                     “Isaac, Isaac, Yes Papa”

                                      “Eating sugar, No Papa

                                       “Telling a Lie, No Papa”

                                       “Open your mouth, hahaha”

He loved it, like when I sing it for him he would always smile back to me which take away any stress.

In this two weeks challenge, God has given us more time to spend together; even if it is physically tiring, financially draining and emotionally disturbing.  This gave us an added intentionality in caring for each other in the family.  My wife sister Dete Grace and her husband Nenard jumped in immediately when they learned about Isaac condition.  They extend help most in spending time in the hospital to take care of Isaac and Wene when I need to go home to fetch some important things.  Wene sister visited to check on baby Isaac.  My sister Joy and my brother Bal shared their time and money to assist us financially.

Our spiritual brother and sisters visited us as well.  Our Ninong Charles and Ninang Jane, Ninang Malu and Emz came to check on Isaac.  They even said, “looks like wala namang sakit si Ice” jokingly.  But yes, they spend their time to be in the hospital despite the heavy traffic.

Our doctor advised us to perform the operation to Philippine Children Medical Center in Quezon City which houses doctors for children especially for babies so we need to rush through heavy traffic in a late afternoon of Friday to check to be admitted under the same doctor.  We were able to get a semi-private room and referral to another surgeon to administer the operation.

During our five days stay in the hospital our second parents Jelo and Janelle Singson which happens to be our spiritual parents also visited us even it calls for them to travel under heavy traffic late night last Saturday.

In spite the fact that we had this strenuous week, God did not leave us in vain.  God was with us in all of these days caring for what we need and what we should do.  At first, it was hard but it did not leave a scar on my faith.  God is faithful and we return the glory to Him who knows evrything that  we are going thru life.  To him be all the glory!