My Family Health Blog

Odd text message from my grandma’s nannie the other day.  She said she was in the Cubao area and needed to know where to buy epsom salts.  So I told her the epsom salts were either in Healthy Options in the malls or in the factory at Alysons Chemicals.

I thought my grandmother wanted it for pooping.  Turns out the nannie said my grandmother wanted it for dipping her legs.

Oh yeah, I taught her that trick to bring circulation to her legs, epsom salts then hot cold, hot cold.  A long time ago.

So this morning I bought her 2 kilograms of epsom salts in the factory after sending the kids to school.  The trick is getting the epsom salts to her.  I called the nannie to take a train and meet me at the mc donald’s on quezon avenue station.  When she has the time, just text me.  Whether it is me or the driver when the kids are at school.  So the ball is in their hands.

If she wants circulation, my cayenne tincture can give her circulation.  Just one dropperful every hour will get your blood circulating real good.  Unfortunately she refused cayenne tincture every time I offered it to her.  I said it was the best.  But the hot taste she says she cannot take.  Oh well, as Dr Schulze said, “if you don’t want the heat of cayenne than you can stay sick.”  My cayenne tincture is popular at home.  My wife, her brother and sisters, her mother.  Cayenne tincture lovers.  Why?  Because it works.

In the emergency room in the Heart Center, the ER doc suggested my grandma seek the advice of a consultant afterwards.

My grandma cancelled twice with an appointment to send her to our doctor Dr. Divina Hey-Gonzales.

Just today, my grandma accepted the offer of her sister to have her be examined by her personal cardiologist Dr. Cereso at the Ace diagnostics clinic in Fairview, Quezon City.

Tests he made were:

Complete Blood Test
Lung X-Ray
2D Echo
Holter’s Report (so my grandma has this device attached to her for 24 hours so the device can get a 24 hour reading)

My grandma is scheduled to return to Dr. Cereso on Saturday for the results of his diagnostics.

In the meantime Dr. Cereso ordered the continuation of the drug cocktail my grandma was previously taking.  But it seems the nannie forgot to mention that in the E.R. my grandma was ordered to take aspirin and enalapril.  I wonder if they omitted those 2 drugs or they added those 2 drugs on top of the old drugs.

So my grandma’s sister is in charge this time. I think that’s wonderful.  Honest compassion for her sister.  Of course they are in the drug paradigm.  But honest compassion none the less.

Now I know the real reason my grandma was refusing to see a consultant.  She was afraid that a consultant would suggest an operation.  Her sister made it clear to her that 83 year olds aren’t given operations.

I did ask my grandma’s sister the important question: “So what diet did Dr. Cereso recommend?”  She replied, that there was nothing special ordered, just a “NORMAL” diet.  And what is normal?  Oh yeah, the standard US Food Pyramid.  Hmmm…. I hope my grandma continues drinking the coconuts and continues consuming the yellow kamote and the plethora of green vegetables and fruits.

The fans reading this must realize that having the MD as a prefix means one is licensed to kill.  Also the RX on the packaging also means it is licensed to kill.  Just like the recent study in Florida, USA where the RX drugs killed 3x more than than the illegal drugs.

But, you never know, maybe this MD knows his cocktails very well.

Late yesterday aftenoon I visited my grandmother in Makati. She was on her wheel chair watching a big television set with some star talk or the buzz television show…. you know, the usual nonsense about the lives of movie and tv stars… why should I care? Well some people like my grandmother have nothing better to do because she is incapable of doing anything. She is still strong enough to push buttons on her remote control.

I checked went to her to replenish supplies. I delivered fresh 15 coconuts for her hydration, yellow sweet potatoes which should be more nutritious than rice, various green leafy vegetables including celery for her magnesium, and guavas for vitamin c.

Oh she’s got lots of excuses. She is a terribly difficult patient. No wonder she’s sick. I told her to move out the refrigerators in her room, and they are still there.

She did not take any one of the green supplements I left with her. Not a single one. Not Dr. Tam’s Live Green, not one of the barley grass, not one of the spirulina supplements. She didn’t take the gingko biloba supplements that is supposed to increase blood flow without the strong taste of the cayenne tincture. I wrote down the things she is supposed to be taking. 4 tablets of the gingko biloba and up to 15 tablets of the spirulina. Alternate the live green and the barley whatever she feels like during snacks.  I even gave her my bottle of green honey.  I’ll make a bet she won’t take any of it.

She then tells me her cholesterol myth about eggs. I said whatever makes you happy. If you believe so much in the cholesterol myth, then fine. It’s a placebo effect. Placebo is good up to a point. Hope that makes it work for her.

She then says to me I need to gain weight. She likes it when my face is puffed up. Duh… yeah for a long time I was 150 to 168 lbs and that is her idea of me looking good. I said I’m gaining weight. Sure and steady 2 lbs per month. Just be patient. You will see. My brother is obese at 135 lbs today. What was I at 168 lbs? Super duper obese?

It is good to have discussions with her. I remember when my grandfather was old and almost dying nobody was visiting him or talking to him. That wasn’t good.

The carrot I lay out on my grandma is for her to be able to attend my brother’s wedding on February 2009 walking on her own 2 feet. She says she now sees her left leg is shorter than her right. Something a chiropractor should see, but she doesn’t want a chiropractor so i will send her to a hilot (filipino version) next time.