I’ve gotten to write a lot this year about my medical experiences, but fear not; it won’t be about me today. One of the things that has annoyed me the most doing the last year and a half is that our leaders (political, medical, scientific, media) treat us like we are morons. At this point here in the Philippines people have figured out how to work with or work around the large number of restrictions. Most Filipinos are back to work, the businesses that survived have re-opened, the plaza here in Valencia is bustling. In fact the town has a bunch of new restaurants and business seems to be brisk.
While travel is difficult, the people who need to travel (including Janet and I) have figured out how to travel. Even at the height of the lockdowns we figured out how to find a restaurant to serve us and despite several alcohol bans, my liquor and wine cabinet are bursting to the brim.
But this isn’t exactly what I want to talk about today. The following are several stories with the names and circumstances slightly changed to protect the innocent. They all relate to medical issues and death here during these difficult times.
Number 1 – Our Gardener: We have a gardener here who does a wonderful job and works his ass off. No sense in saying what we pay him; in the US you wouldn’t believe it. He looks ancient but I finally found out he’s about my age. OK, I guess that does make him ancient.
He hasn’t taken the vaccine nor does he intend to. BTW, if anyone is wondering, I’ve been vaccinated here (Sinovac) and am far from an anti-vaxxer. That said I know that many people here don’t want to take it and I have no problem with that personal decision. The gardener told Janet he was no fool and that he takes good care of himself, gets plenty of fresh air, sun and exercise in his job and does his best to socially distance. But he’s scared of the jab. The following scared him worse.
He told us a story of his cousin. About his age and from what I could gather with heart issues, the cousin took the vaccine and the next day got sick with chills. The family chose not to take him to the hospital and the cousin died. I have no idea what he died of nor does the family and that is sort of the point of this blog.
Here in the Philippines, where religion is still important, death and the subsequent funeral is a very important thing. So is family. All Filipinos know that if your elderly family member is taken to the hospital he will be swab tested. If he tests positive he will be quarantined and no family member will be allowed to see him. If he dies after a positive test, there will be no viewing, no church funeral and no burial with the family in attendance. The body will be sent directly to the cemetery. Everyone knows this and so for many people the decision is to not take the ill person to the hospital. In this case, could the cousin have been saved? We will never know. But my gardener ain’t getting the jab.
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Number 2: A man was stabbed in a dispute. He was rushed to the closest clinic where it was determined that he would need surgery and was sent to a hospital in Cebu. First thing that happened was the swab test and he tested positive, despite the fact he had no symptoms – well unless you think a gaping stab wound is a symptom. He was quarantined in the hospital for 14 days but was able to get his surgery done and did survive. No family was allowed and in fact family members who’d been in contact with him were also quarantined. Neither the man, nor any members of his family ever showed a symptom. Had he died from his stab wounds his family would never have seen him again.
Number 3: I wrote of the death of Janet’s Grandfather/Lolo last December, at age 90; a pretty old age for a Filipino man. He died in his sleep. He was not sent to the hospital for an attempt to revive him, for exactly the reason I am writing about here.
In fact, the part of the story that I did not write about last December was that several days before he passed away he was depressed because he missed his family and was not eating. His daughter, my Mother in Law, went to the local clinic to ask for vitamins to help him eat. They strongly suggested she check him into the clinic. She refused, knowing what this could mean. Several days later they actually came to visit Lolo and encouraged him to check into the clinic. He refused. Could they have helped him? At his age and in his condition probably not. But his fear and the family fear that they would never see him again outweighed any possible benefit. In the end he passed away peacefully and had a proper viewing and funeral.
This is in stark contrast to his illness the year before (prior to Covid). At that time he got a lung infection and spent several weeks in a clinic getting antibiotics and oxygen. He survived and returned home to live another year.
Janet’s Grandmother/Lola: A little more than a week ago Janet’s grandmother passed away at age 89. She too died in her sleep. There was never a consideration about rushing her to a clinic for an attempt at revival.
Janet’s Uncle: Janet calls him an uncle, but he’s really Janet’s Mother’s cousin. He was recently ill and rushed to the hospital by his son. The son was tested for Covid and tested positive. The father never got tested; he died shortly thereafter. Because the son tested positive, Janet’s uncle was sent directly to the cemetery, never to be seen by a family member or to have a funeral, despite the fact that no one ever determined whether he even had, let alone died of Covid.
I have 5 or 10 more similar stories but you get the idea. Going back to my original point, people here aren’t stupid. If you punish them for taking their family members to a hospital they will stop doing it.
… most people ( without some medical knowledge ) do not really understand airborne viruses , what a variant is , how they are transmitted or spread , vaccine efficacy or the medical procedures required for treatment…what our leaders are interested in is keeping their jobs…their jobs are secured by keeping the society functioning , the wealthiest comfortable , the military and police watching and the economy working…in most cases religion and family are secondary considerations and may even be in conflict with the battle to subdue and possibly one day eradicate it…religious functions almost always require gatherings…in a viral world , gatherings transmit airborne diseases…the balancing act for government is to both keep the economy going and reduce the spread of the virus…the Olympics in Japan temporarily spurred the economy and brought prestige to leaders and recognition to corporate sponsors , but unfortunately spiked the virus…the Japanese leader who promoted it just resigned…its a balancing act…there is a big disconnect in trying to do business as usual within the parameters of the new physical spaces required for safety during a pandemic.. disconnect being the operative word…religious gatherings and family require connection…people live and thrive on these connections and see the disconnect as an affront to the most important thing that makes life worth living…and justified or not , it seems in many cases , worth dying for…
Thanks for your perspective, Barry.
My mother in law in Laguna province is sick. She’s showing all of the symptoms of COVID. I’ve asked my wife 3 times when she will be taken to the hospital and every time she says the family will care for her at home. If they take her to the hospital she will be tested for COVID and found to be positive, even if she really isn’t positive. Once that happens nobody in the family can help her. And the whole family will be forced to quarantine. So, my sister in law is carding for her at home. Steaming treatments, vitamins, herbs. She’s been sick for a week now, not any better but not any worse either. I’ve never seen a situation where people were afraid of the healthcare system that is there to help them, supposedly.
Hi Rob – Sorry to hear about your MIL and hope she gets better soon. The point of my blog is not that the Philippines medical system is bad or evil. I genuinely believe in most cases they are trying to do the best they can in a nearly impossible situation. So sure, quarantining a patient who tests positive makes sense. The question is whether they anticipated (or understand now) the consequences – that people would avoid doctors and hospitals. I am sure this is not unique to the Philippines but with the family traditions here, the need to take care of your parents, and the traditions regarding death and burial, it has meant that many families are doing what your wife’s family is doing – avoiding the hospital.
Dave, she seems to be doing better now. Almost back to her ornery self, lol. This isn’t the first time I’ve seen some weird things with the healthcare there. Not long after this whole China virus thing started my brother in law needed medical attention. He’s a welder and was careless and got metal slivers in his eye. Various family members took him to every hospital and doctor they could find. None would see him. In every instance they claimed Covid. Even at a hospital in an area with almost no known cases, he still couldn’t get past the door.
After experiencing incidents like that and finding that seemingly everyone who is tested there is pronounced positive, whether they really are or not, I’m not surprised at all that people are avoiding medical care and hospitals.
Is it evil? Probably not. Is it bad? I’d say yes and people understand so they avoid getting help.
But mostly I think it’s been seen as a huge opportunity for petty functionaries to feel powerful. Not just in the Philippines.
Great story Rob. OK not great but honest. Fear does terrible things to people and that includes medical and scientific people.
I have never and still cannot accept the idea of how you can quarantine an entire society that lives and works en masse. A virus is a virus, and although one can go through great lengths to protect themselves, in the Philippines that task is practically impossible. Look hard and you will notice not many people follow the rules as prescribed.
My wife and I live alone currently (in Guam and remain unvaxed) and for a long time, we cut out most of our social activities, except bowling where about 95% of the bowlers are vaccinated. We pretty much self-isolated with only a select group of close friends. Guess what? Yup, we caught Covid at the bowling alley. So back to my point, restrictions and rules placed upon a society living and working in such close quarters (Philippines) could never have much of an effect at stopping the spread of any virus, let alone Covid. My wife and I both recovered after nearly two weeks of severe hangover-like symptoms (which I’m totally familiar with) and feel great. When herd immunity is inevitably reached, and the money-making schemes from this so-called pandemic dwindle, we can then all go back to being normal… hopefully.
Hi Dave – WOW! This is SO true. My fiancé and I have been apart for almost 2 years now, still waiting for a K1 interview. She can’t travel to Manila and I can’t travel there. Recently she, along with her brother, mother and father all got Covid. I am 100% positive because of the symptoms they developed. Naturally being an American I would have suggested they go to the Hospital, but knowing what you said is true, I strongly advised they not do that, as well as not tell anyone in the barangay, because I did worry they would all be tossed into quarantine. I was really afraid for them all, but was more afraid of having them tested and abandoned in some random location without any love and care. Fortunately they had access to plenty of vitamins, bio-flu and drank a lot of ginger tea. A local helot healer also seemed to work wonders. Thank you for raising this because it’s really true in the Philippines.
P.S. None of them plan on getting the vaccine, but at this point it’s probably moot.
In many areas the local governmental unit will have people quarantine at home (separate room). In other areas there are quarantine places. They are not luxury but nor horrible either. But of course either way you have to have family to bring you food, etc. So while I would not advocate not going to a hospital I do understand why many people will not.