Clary Diary

I am the child that looks healthy and fine. I was born with ten fingers and toes. But something is different, somewhere in my mind. And what it is, nobody knows. I am the child that struggles in school. Though they say that I'm perfectly smart. They tell me I'm lazy, can learn if I try. But I don't seem to know where to start.

VeinViewer is a vein finder that uses infrared light to look under the skin and projects an HD image of the veins onto the surface of the skin. There won't be any miss when the doctors and nurses poke you with a needle next time. (Christie Medical Holdings, a Memphis based company, US). I have a son who has a difficult-to-locate veins who suffered from acquired sepsis in the hospital when he was born. Pre-term and only weighs 1.8kl. He was so small and thin, with visible rib bones, pale skin and can barely breathe. He was supported by various medical equipments and stayed in NICU for a month then in ICU for 2 months.

I have a child with special needs. He was born premature, an eight-month medically fragile baby and was diagnosed with Global Developmental Delay Syndrome. Yes we did everything. From early diagnosis, early interventions like Occupational Therapy and Speech Therapy. Whatever you might think of to tell me what to do, I've done it.  When you have a child with special needs, you'll get to meet a lot of medical specialists. From General Pediatrician to Developmental Pediatrician, Opthalmologist, Ortolaryngologist to different Therapists. Who wouldn't want answers and solutions to their child issues, right? It is hard, and it hurts.

Today is Black Saturday. As I am lying on the couch while my kids are still asleep, I remembered the day when my family visited the Kamay ni Hesus Shrine and Healing Center located in Brgy. Tinamnan in Lucban, Quezon. I think it was the first time when we all gathered together to have a trip to a recreational place like this aside from swimming every summer. It was rougly about a six-hour journey from our home. If I am not mistaken, there were 52 family members including my 86 yrs old grandmother carried by 2 jeepneys and a car have had our first meaningful road trip early this year. Kamay ni Hesus is a popular pilgrimage destination in the Philippines, a shrine where many people cling to their faith that they will be healed and lots of answered prayer were given to those who strongly believe.