here we go again!

gahds! it's so difficult growing old. you're forced to learn difficult new words now and then. last year, i learned about radical nephrectomy, renal cancer, metastasized cells, diabetes, and fasting blood sugar. towards the end of the year, there were retinopathy, amblyopia, and cataract surgery.

this year, the new words are blood clots, venal thrombosis, leaky valve, mitral valve prolapse, and blood coagulation. when will it ever end?

dec 2009. dr jimmy told me i was cancer-free; but had to continue my protocol for 6 more months to be cancer-free? no problemo!

april 2010. he said i could finally drop the raw liver from my diet, and cut down on the raw pork pancreas from 7 servings a day to just 3. maintenance medicine. well, alright!

then, i started to get cocky. i would cheat on my diet. nothing big; no red meat definitely. one day, a lick of vanilla ice cream. a week later, a bite of edam or gouda cheese. a few days later, maybe a small slice of chocolate fudge cake. then, store-bought baguette with margarine and cheese. and chocolate-chip cookies. and pancakes with maple syrup.

like any forbidden activity, it starts out small. when nothing tremendously bad happens, no lightning and thunderclaps, no loud booming voice from above saying, "hah! you cheat!", then you add a little more to the sin. the next day, a little bit more. until one day, you realize, what started out as cheating is now your normal, run-of-the-mill, everyday life. i'm sure you know how that goes.

this last may, i got involved with the ppcrv (parish pastoral council for responsible voting) in the country's 1st automated elections. on election day, i manned my post at a public elementary school a couple of blocks from our home, at 630am. it was a very busy day, and at one point, i had to run up and down 4 flight of stairs from my assigned poll precinct to the ppcrv information table downstairs, back up to the precinct, down to the 2nd floor to the principal's office, and up again. i stayed until 10pm, then had to go to another school building to manage a situation between a ppcrv member and a teacher who was the chairman of the electoral board of a precinct. it entailed running up 3 flights of stairs, down to the 2nd floor and up again (twice) and then back down again.

two days later, my right foot and lower leg had swelled up to a fourth more than its ordinary size. for those who don't know it, i suffered 3rd degree burns in my right lower leg more than 30 years ago, that almost left me crippled. at times,the leg gets tired and gets swollen, but usually, it lasts for no more than a day or 2. this time, the swelling didn't ease up, as i kept hoping it would.

late june, i finally decided to see dr jimmy. he muscled-tested my fasting blood sugar. at 131, it was much higher than is good for me. diabetes reared it's ugly head!

he instructed me to follow the diabetes protocol, and take all the listed supplements. he reminded me of my water and natural salt intake. and lastly, he told me to take the 6 siling labuyo with 2 saba bananas, some salt, and 3 glasses of water, 3 times a day.

i immediately followed all his instructions, except for the siling labuyo. my problem with that isn't how hot it gets. i can handle that fine. (note: i found out that drinking water immediately after eating the silis is a no-no. the water just moves the spiciness all over my mouth. i wait about 10 mins before i drink the water.) my problem is with the taiwanese labuyos. the native kind is just as spicy, but about a third the size of the taiwanese variety, and has a thinner skin. the taiwanese kind is thick-skinned and tastes like plastic. everytime i put the minced labuyos in my mouth, i cringe. so, i cheat again. instead of 3 times a day, i'm good for 2 times.

anyway, my right leg was still swollen. then, on my birthday, i went to renew my license (i barely passed the eye examinations!), when i tripped on the driveway of the land transportation office. i hit the ground with both knees, though i was able to cushion my fall with my left middle finger nail (which broke) and my right hand. there were no scratches on my knees, so, no big deal. i still got my license renewed.

a couple of days later, my left knee felt good again, but my right knee had swelled up too, and the swelling went down to my already swollen ankle. i let it be for another 2 days. then, i gave up.

cris called for an appointment with dr jimmy, but his schedule was full. as he sometimes did, he simply did long-distance muscle-testing on me.

the next day, yesterday, the family had just come from a chinese lunch on timog ave, courtesy of ponch, when dr jimmy's assistant, annie, called me on my mobile. i'm driving and she tells me, "dr jimmy says you have 2 blood clots in your lower right leg, 1 on your left leg, 1 at the top of your brain, and 1 at the back of your brain. and you also have a leaky heart valve. you need some new supplements." because i'm some cool dude, i didn't lose control of the van. i simply changed courses and headed back to dr jimmy's.

he was in consultation with a new patient, but he graciously stepped out to see cris and me. he confirmed what annie said over the phone, and added that the treatment with the new supplements would take 15 weeks, and gave me the dosages for each supplement. plus, the admonition to drink plenty of water and eat my daily ration of siling labuyo.

i went home. i did my internet research on blood clots and leaky valves, and learned all those wonderful new words that easily bring fear into the hearts (no pun intended) of ordinary mortals. now i know why my leg is swollen (and it's not just diabetes); why i sometimes run out of breath going up to the 3/f of our temporary apartment dwelling place; why i seem to be gaining weight despite my almost vegetarian diet; why i need frequent rests/naps during the day. good to know.

so, here i am again, back in full protocol mode; 3 in fact, 1 for diabetes, 1 for the retinopathy, and 1 for the heart problems. making sure i stick to my diet, though i still eat some things i shouldn’t, but i'm very conscious again that this is cheating, and it ain't good.

the title of this update is "here we go again", because you have been, and will always be, with me on the journey. we went through the cancer crises together, and Inshallah, we will get through this problem too.

and that's still life as benjie, having a midnight snack of my 3rd fix for the day of saba and taiwanese siling labuyo (i still can't stand that plastic taste!)