#3. Day 80: Vaccine

Hi!

Today was a very productive day for me. My trip to RITM has always been productive and delightful, and today is no exception, except for one not-so-good news:

I gained 5 lbs in 2 weeks, and a total of 15 lbs for the past 6 weeks. I am now 165lbs. Oh well.

Anyway, the day began with my monthly eye check up. Dr. F wants it every 3 months, but I want peace of mind, so I do it monthly. So far, everything cleared. Nothing unusual, which is always a good sign! :)

After having lunch with mum and bro, we went to RITM to get vaccines for everyone. We took home some vials for my sister and the others in the house. I also got my first hepa vaccine! I already had the Flu and Pneumonia Vaccines last time, but I was only give this card earlier: 

I always love keeping cards and records like this one!

Then I went to see the dermatologist (first time) and was really amazed at how cozy the derma area was.

I was initially attended by this Korean doctor, who was an Indonesian citizen, who spoke tagalog so fluently, except for the funny accent! She's just been here in the country for 6 months but a little more tweaking with her accent and she would already pass for a native Tagalog speaker.

As I waited for my turn, an older (HIV-) man spoke to me  about his concern with his left leg and started telling me stories about how he used to be a masseur for celebrities like Fernando Poe, Jr., Dolphy, Phillip Salvador, etc. I was sensing he was bluffing so I said:

"Baka nagsisinungaling ka lang ha, sige nga may picture ka ni Dolphy?"

And to my surprise, he pulled out a pocket album which contained over 30 photos of him with local veteran celebrities!

So hindi nang eechos si manong!

I also got to talk to another patient beside me (if you are reading this, I was the one wearing sunglasses). He seemed nice, and I wanted to talk more, but I was too shy to ask if he was also HIV+, but I'm sure he was because he was talking to 2 other guys beside us about ARV's. I overheard the other one telling about the side effects of Effavirenz. He showed me a small tube of cream that he said he used for a skin condition, but I really wasn't able to read well what the label said. I told him that I had a fundoscopy some few hours ago that's why I was wearing sunglasses, because my pupils were forced dilated.

The dermatologist just prescribed some creams for what she claimed "a very mild case of sebbhoreic dermatitis". The word "mild" was comforting, you see, with a CD4 count of 25, I expect everything to always come magnified 100 times. I was so relieved that this one came in as something "mild". 

Whew.

Then after bidding farewell to my HIV doctors and Mama Ellen, we drove home.

Busy day for me! But so far, so good. And I'm so thrilled that the exercise equipment I ordered is finally arriving any time.

2 months na ako puro push up lang, sa wakas magkaka variation na exercise routine ko! Yey!

It's time to bring sexy back!

Til next,

Eu