Silver Linings
Yesterday, after almost over a month of having a tube down my throat (and a tie around my neck to secure it – really irritating, that feeling was), I finally got to breathe normally again. After my otorhinolaryngologist decided that my airway was patent and unobstructed enough to let air (and oxygen, of course) in, he decided to remove the tracheostomy tube. The first question my mom asked was whether or not I could resume eating through the mouth again, to which the doctor responded that he had no qualms about letting me eat through my mouth. However, he still deferred to my gastroenterologist for proper diet manipulation and to make sure that I had clearance to eat solid foods since, as some of my close friends know, there are also masses in my stomach and upper small intestines. Throughout the whole visit to the doctor, I could sense his astonishment at how fast I have recovered. He keeps on saying – almost every time I go visit him – that I was almost a goner when I was rushed to the Makati Medical Center’s Emergency Room last August 25. Almost six weeks later, the inflammation has significantly subsided and, with noticeable delight, declared that the masses in my throat are ‘resolving,“ so much so that my present working diagnosis has been changed to "Laryngeal Skin Cancer, Resolving." In other news, the same doctor also advised us two weeks ago to apply for a Person’s With Disability ID. This would mean at least a 20% discount from the prices of medicine, food, and other commercial establishments. It also means that I can be declared a dependent of my parents again and would qualify for tax exemptions under the National Internal Revenue Code. Other incentives include a 5% discount from grocery items – the essential commodities only, of course – priority status in all places that I would have to fall in line in (yehey, no more falling in line), and other benefits. Since cancer does not have any cure, I expect these privileges to be afforded me until the day I die. While morbid as it may sound as a source of "rays of sunshine” – who would want to have cancer just to have those privileges,anyway – there still is hope in the darkest of all places,even if it means a hundred pesos off my favorite meals. Cheers!
