Seminar

Last week was hellweek for all of us. We were required to join in a sing-and-dance fundraising concert that featured faculty, administration, maintenance and staff at San Pablo. So it means wasting a lot of energy on after class practices that may last as late as 10 or something in the evening. Everynight for more than a month. Of course, I only joined in the group chorale and not in any vocal solo or group dance. That means I got to go home earlier than almost everyone their including my PT colleagues. Fast forward to the presentation. Errr... it was successful. Errr... nothing much to say about it really. Except, I get some LSS from the songs we sang, particularly St Francis Prayer. Anyway, I'm going to write about some things I've learned from the seminar I attended last Saturday at L'Fisher Bacolod. We were sponsored by Doc G as this was a seminar by the Philippine Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (PARM).

Here are new things I've learned:

1. The following things (in direct order) are protective against Parkinson's Disease: caffeine, green tea, smoking and aspirin/NSAIDS ----- mroe reasons to drink coffee and smoke
2. The following events may be indicative of PD in the early stages: constipation, sleep disturbances, swallowing difficulties; we also have to take note of olfactory disturbances as it may present even before the motor symptoms arise ( such as bradykinesia, nystagmus, postural instability) ; drooling is also a manifestation of bradykinesia
3. 2 major subtypes of PD have been identified:

• Tremor dominant type- this is more common in younger patients; possible mental status impariment
• Gait difficulty/ postural instability dominant type

4. Poor response to Levodopa treatment may suggest other types of clinical conditions

5. PD is not a purely motor disease; there are underlying sensory and cognitive deficits as well

6. Speech and Gait disturbances cannot be cured by medicine; Rehab is still important in these field of PD treatment

7. Punding- is a term used for obessessive-compulsive traits in PD; fascination, repetitive manipulation of technical equipment, continual examining and handlling of common objects

8. After five years of L-dopa tx- 50% of patients will develop motor fluctuations

9. Polio foot is mostly inverted; the good foot is everted (for wider base of support)

10. Most severe pain in post polio syndrome: knees, legs, wrists; pain is caused by overfatigue or overexertion

11. Foot deformity-most common deformity in polio (not genu recurvatum)

12. Magnets are effective in tx of pain et fatigue; Non-swimming exercises are indicated ( cold intolerance)

13. One sign of migraine is a common fear to stay in a dark room ( claustrophobia); migraine is a throbbing headache accompanied with nausea et vomitting with a pain scale of at least 6; lower than 6 p/s is not a migraine

14. Headache alarms:

• sudden onset - may indicate a stroke
• associated fever- may indicate meningitis or other infectins
• worst headache ever- subarachnoid bleed/ anuerysm
• late onset new headache (for old people)- stroke
• headache associated with mental status changes - tumor/stroke
• increasingly progressive headache- stroke
• focal neurologic signs - tumor/stroke
• assoc. with exertion, valsalva, after sex- aneurysm

15. All anti-hypertensive drugs cause impotence particularly beta-blockers

16. a BP of 160/100 requires combination therapy ( 2 drugs or more)

17. Hypertensive crisis- has a diastole of 120 or 130; Hypertensive emergency - very high BP secondary/ leading to end organ damage requiring immediate BP lowering; Hypertensive urgency- no end-organ damage; correct BP within 24-48 hours

18. If your child is obese by age 14, 80-100% obese for life

19. Signs of arterial occlusion/ disease: pallor, pulselessness, parestheisa, paralysis, polar sensation

20. Venous ulcers of the foot=normal pulses; found usually in peri-malleolar area; arterial ulcers=abnormal/absent pulses, distal digits first affected

I hope you learned something from here. Till I write again. Baboooh

The Presentation

Yesterday was a total victory for me! I slept very late (2:30 am) the night before just to finished the f*****g PowerPoint class presentation I had to do for my class observation. (Remember that time I kept on complaining that the school was teaching us how to be teachers through the use of technology? Internet bullstuff and the like?). Now is the crunchtime for that. I wasn't so sure they were gonna push for a real teaching demo using all those whatevers they meant to tell us. But now, it's here. I have to deal with it.

I have to choose a topic to discuss and the subject matter should be delivered in the technology-based prescription that Dr. H wanted. It was a toss between Neuroanatomy ( The Cranial Nerves and the Autonomic Nervous System) and Orthotics and Prosthetics ( Orthotic Prescription for Special Conditions). I was like ano man? ano nami d man? daw kabudlay gd haw?ah ndi ah daw ok man lng ni ah.pero din di man? tsk tsk. Then after much internal deliberation, I made my choice. The topic that I will discuss is...... ( music)..........................

PAULTHENICS 402! The Christian Filipino Family. Bwahaha teh man!

Fast forward yesterday afternoon. After I finished my pre-internship CI at Saviour Hospital, I rushed home for lunch, another shower, and to shave my beard for my presentation. I f-----g cut my chin ( 2 bloody cuts) while shaving as I seldom shave so I have no engram formation as to the prevention of this event. I put on a light blue striped polo shirt and cream pants and readied myself for the observation.

Finally, it was my turn and I ushered my advisory class inside the computer lab. Dr H then asked for my topic outline. Topic outline? What the hell is that? My mind was racing. And I mentally screamed OH SHIT! Now, I remember. Yah, we were indeed supposed to give a topic outline so she will know the flow of the lecture. I didn't have it but I managed a weak smile and said " err, doc, uhm, topic outline? hehe. do we need to have one? hehe...err, i didn't know kac eh.. hehe.. but, uhm, i promise to make one for you later..hehe" Must've sounded so dumb and stupid there but that is really all there is to say.

I started the class right away. Flashing my grand PowerPoint Presentation for my advisory class. Ha! Ginpulawan ko ubra ni! THIS IS PERFECT! SO ELITE IS SHOULD PUT A COPYRIGHT AFTER I PRESENT THIS PERFECT POWERPOINT! And there I raged, enthusiastically discussing the Christian Filipino Family, slide after slide. I talked about religion and the importance of it to our family. I talked of family worship and going to mass together. I talked about the faith, love, and sacrifice for our family. Damn it! I was so righteous right then and there I could've have been ordained a priest had the Pope witnessed my charisma. Each mouseclick brought on a new slide with color, pictures and words to captivate the class. Masterful presentation. Moving words. I was a cavalier with my perfect powerpoint crap as my lance and my passionate voice as my armor. I reeked in benevolent condescension right from the beginning. And the class was captivated! ( Clap! Clap! Clap!)

Then it was over. Whew! The class dragged their sorry asses out of the room as Dr H called me to discuss my score. I was expecting a high grade based on that PP presentation. Of course, who would be dumb enough not to see my talent in PP presentation! That was the bomb! That was awesome! PERFECT POWERPOINT!...................................

Do you really want to know what happened next? Halos tanan to sa PowerPoint ko sala! BWAHAHAH! Na muna ke absent permi sa ICT training. My presentation it turned out was flooded with errors. Wrong font, wrong font size, wrong colors, wrong background, wrong stuff tanan hahaha. Dr H told me hindi ka ba nakinig. And I answered back "eh, hehe, kasi doc uhm, i thought it would be, erm, okay to be spontaneous, uhm, hehe, pero maganda naman yung kulay d ba? hehe"
Damn, pare, ang tanga ng sagot! Bwahaha...

Fortunately though she made me pass. WOHOO!!! 88% grade ko. Not bad for a technology illiterate person like me. WEEEEEE!!! Oh xa xa matulog nako me clase pako bwas. happy reading weeeee!

Milagroso!

Omg! I witnessed a miracle today. My long dead and cadaveric computer just sparked back into life. I'm a self-confessed technological moron who doesn't know how to fix anything digital, electronic and mechanical thereby degrading myself to the ranks of the lower mammals. Approximately 2 weeks ago, my PC decided to quit on me. How dare it! Without any resignation letter or formal notification, this stupid mechanical contraption found it hilarious to just die out on me. I don't f*****g know what the hell was its problem. The monitor just goes to sleep everytime I turned the PC on. I tried to reattach the wires and and try to fix stuff ( of course I don't know what to fix in this event) but to no avail. Just this morning, I turned to computer on just to check if it will change its mind and get back to work. Still the same effect. I went to my room to watch TV and after awhile I came back out to find that it was back on its feet again. It just turned on.

What the hell is this? Miracle? Or this stupid PC of mine decided to come to work after finding out that the global financial crisis would make it difficult for it to look for a new job elsewhere? Remain my slave, PC! BWAHAHAHA

(Baw linteks ginakulbaan ko i turn off ang comp ke bac ndi nmn ni mgandar bla karun aw.. huhu...galeng ma ubra pako ya...huhuhu)

Feng Feng Cho!

I have so many things to write about but I'm cursed with a damn stupid PC at home. I can only write my blog in school, which for the past week I hadn't frequented coz I have few classes this midterm. Well, anyway, I will try to write short strips to say a few things on my mind. Here is one of them:

Charice will be singing in Obama's inauguration tomorrow, right? I have to admit that I was blown away by this lady's vocal prowess the first time I saw and heard her sing on TV. However, I do believe that she is becoming dangerously too overexposed. She will be singing a true-blooded American song for the inauguration? What the hell is this? Although I'm honored for her being Filipino, I think she doesn't even have the adoptive right to sing that song. And although she may have that very powerful and commanding voice comparable only to the top divas in entertainment namely Mariah, Whitney, Celine and Barbra, I think her overexposure will ultimately lead to an early demise in her career. Why is this so?

First of all, we had to admit that Charice is not lovely to look at. It is true. Charice is not blessed with beauty. She makes up for this, though, through her likeability factor, which is necessary if you want to be a star. I am worried, however, that her not-so-good looks will get the better of the two. In fact, I believe that until recently people only want to hear her belt out the high notes and they don't really listen much to the rest of the song. I don't find any kind of uniqueness in her voice if she is just singing the so-so simple melody which may explain why her song, It Can Only Get Better, didn't do so well even here in the country.

Secondly, Charice is not a pop-class singer. She is more of a balladeer type. Some might argue that she can make up for it with her great voice. However, we have to realize that hitting the high notes isn't that "cool" anymore. Most memorable ballads were sung in the 70s-90s. Therefore, it isn't cool for a 15-yr-old to sing them ALL the time. Old people who sing old songs and hitting the high notes is good but heck a 15-year-old? Voice alone will not make up for it, too. Martin Nievera has a good voice and he still continues to make albums almost every year. Question is: who buys them? eeerrrr...

On the lighter side, Charice, who wisely dropped here family name Pempengco (ka pangsut), was able to wow both Oprah and Ellen which is a major boost to any one's popularity. And David Foster, that singer songwriter who few people know about (but who I knew even before Charice came out coz I like his music), is on Charice's side which is another plus for her.

At the end of the day, she has to make the best of it while it lasts. I honestly hope it lasts. She is one great voice so to say, although not a pretty one.

Waste of Time!

I'm totally wasting my time now. I am obliged to attend this seminar-training crap that is supposed to teach us to become teachers. Duh! Something like using technology to improve teaching efficacy. Powerpoint thing and internet sourcing. Watdapak! Waste of time!

First of all, I am a very low-tech person. Kung sa cheese curls pa tanan kamo Pringles na, ako ya nasa PeeWee stage pa lang! I don't need powerpoint to teach. I feel comfortable mgwakal-wakal kag mgsulat chalk sa blackboard! Anhon mo kung perfect ang imo powerpoint kung wala man may matun-an ang studyante sa imo? aber aber....

Second, this takes up a lot of my precious time. I should have spent this time drinking beer and sleeping till kingdom come.

Watdapak! Help me! Help me! Avah first time ko nag Ilong-lish sa blog ha... whahah

The Face

I went to Dame's house to celebrate the New Year. I brought a book along with me on my way there as I have already started reading it. The title of the book is The Face by Dean Koontz.

I became a big fan of Dean Koontz right after reading Intensity which is probably one of the handful of books I refused to put down eventhough it was way past bedtime. For those who don't know Dean Koontz, he is a master thriller writer at par with Stephen King. Yes, that famous Stephen King. The main difference is that most of Stephen King's novels are of epic catastrophes where the events occur for weeks, months or years. Stephen King is (was) a visionary of horrific and armageddonian (if there is such a word) masterpieces in which, unfortunately, Hollywood was able to catch up to. In any event, people would rather see War of the Worlds or I am Legend than read Stephen King books having the same theme. Dean Koontz, on the other hand, writes about serial killers and supernatural events with only a few main characters participating in his suspense thrillers. And the events just take place in a few days or a week.

The book that I read, The Face (2004), was a great read. Not exceptional but great. The story revolves around an ex-cop-turned bodyguard to the most dazzling Hollywood star known as the Face. The bodygaurd has to protect the Face's son who is a target of a deranged and dangerous anarchist plotting to kidnap him. Just right before Christmas, the famous mansion of the Face is empty save for a few security personnel, the bodyguard Ethan and the Face's son, Fric. The anarchist sets out a most daring plan to penetrate the impenetrable security features of the mansion and kidnap the son.

Overall, the novel is fast-paced with a dash of comedy to lighten up the mood. The description of how sick the anarchist was perfectly painted and his evil oozes out of the pages. My only concern was that there were a few subplots that were not relevant to the story. And before the twists start to unfold another subplot of pure irrelevance is added up murkying the story.

The ending was fantastic. It had a subtle suggestion that human ideation of beauty, such as their adoration for the Face, would pale to the highest degree if you see the Face of the divine. Overall the book didn't left me wanting. It left me satisfied and high with the Christmas spirit.

Nakapauli na si Toto Dyud!

I'm sorry for the fans I disappointed these past few weeks. I went on a holiday, all expense paid trip, in Varzditumerchgotiv, Iceland. I wasn't able to write much since then. But now that I'm back, I can finally write again. Hmmm, I saved my pictures during the trip and I will upload it as soon as my computer is fixed.

Varzditumerchgotiv is a city 150 miles south of Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland. Together with other members of WAGW (Warriors Against Global Warming), we spent a week frolicking in the snow and I even learned how to ski. I loved their traditional food called skyr, although I couldn't quite distinguish what kind of meat it is. It wasn't long however before I started missing Pilipinas.

Now that I'm back I can start writing again.

Happy New Year you fools!