last scrub!

Today is our beloved OR Male Aide Manong Cardo's 60th birthday. It is also his first day of retirement after thirty years of being with the SUMC. His earliest memory of working in this hospital was when they were making hakot all the hospital stuff from the old Mission Hospital (now the Katipunan Hall) to the new location in front of the SU Ballfield. And the hospital memories that he said he would miss the most would be the outings and the numerous parties throughout the year. In fact, he would be joining the OR summer outing in Dakak this weekend.

We are going to miss him (and his singing!) as he is going to miss us too, for sure! As for me, Nong Cardo would always be my standard for perfect patient positioning. I do hope the new male aides would do as well as Nong Cardo did.

Yesterday was his last day at work ...

Last scrub of the OR walls!

At Room 1 with Cherry, Lando, Carlisle, Edith and MaryAnn

At the Workroom with Mommy Mila, Edith, Ma'am Ordna, Amy and MaryAnn. The two guys in front are Nimrod (capless) and Ronald (colorful cap).

Nong Cardo and his successor, Lando

my manong, my hero

This is Manong Cardo, our male aide at the Operating Room. Among his many OR duties is to position the patient properly while I do my regional blocks. After all these years, Nong Cardo has got this patient positioning down pat, it's already instinctive. He holds the patient at just the right angulation, inclination and tension so that my work is made so much easier. In spinal or epidural anesthesia, where we deal with spaces and places only micromillimeters in width, the correct patient positioning is of utmost importance.

In the OR we all know when Nong Cardo is having a nice day because he sings the refrains or oneliners from these really old songs. He is my hero because irregardless of what kind of day he's having, he still holds the patient in perfect alignment.

my RL and VL collide

This post is dedicated to Vicki, a Dumaguetena who now resides in Germany, whom I met virtually through this weblog!

Several weeks back I mentioned in a post that once upon a time, during high school, I used to have a German penpal, primarily because my friends and I were collecting stamps from exotic countries. Vicki, quick to indulge my affinity for stamps, sent me an "experimental" postcard. Experimental because my real name is not published here and I asked her to just address the postcard to "Dr. A. Nesstajah, c/o Manong Cardo, Operating Room, Silliman Medical Center, Dumaguete City." The name, of course, is derived from my specialty which is anesthesia. Manong Cardo is our male aide at the OR whom I wrote about as my hero at work. Would the Dumaguete Post Office and the hospital receptionist deliver?

Well!! Here's the evidence!

Manong Cardo and the postcard from Germany

Vicki's postcard with classmates Dr. Bong and me, fully scrubbed and gowned this time

After surgery, the surgeons usually buy lunch or dinner for the entire OR staff. Yehey! "Mangaon ta," says Nong Cardo.

To celebrate the meeting of my Real Life and my Virtual Life, coffee and the New York Blueberry Cheesecake at Don Atilano. Ahh!

Vielen Dank, Vicki!

.

SSS

It's the sweltering start of September and today's temperature and humidity warranted three showers, no less. Driving home at noon and driving to class at one pm had me sweating rivulets in spite of the airconditioning.

For today, here are some 'ber' songs, which Nong Cardo and Ronald were singing in the OR to celebrate this first day of this new month. I'm not sure if the songs have been successfully embedded here (on the right side bar). We'll see that in a while. If it didn't work, then hmmn... will start looking for plan B...