the lady with one kidney yet still very whole :)

(for December 2)

CKD stands for Center for Kidney Diseases. It’s a specific area in the hospital where patients undergo dialysis which means their blood is drained from them, mobilized to a machine which filters it since their kidney can no longer do the job properly. After the blood has been filtered and cleaned, it is returned to the body through another large bore needle.

It was in CKD where I met Leonilda, the most adorable old woman with pink cheeks and her husband.

As a nurse on duty in the special area, it was my responsibility to assist the staff nurses and to take the clients’ blood pressures every half an hour. I was slowly approaching Leonilda who was lying on her lazy boy type of couch. She looked very comfortable and happy despite two humongous needles piercing her body as if vampire teeth sucking the blood out of her. No wonder she was so white and somewhat pale. However, her paleness was masked by her ultra pink lipstick and matching blush on which was somewhat out of place. Nonetheless, she looked so cute, I can’t stress it enough. Above all this, she looked so peaceful; at peace with the fact that her kidney has failed and thus she needs to be stuck in chair and hooked to a machine for four hours, thrice a week. I came to later understand that she was truly at peace in all aspects of her life.

Almost whispering, I asked her husband if it was alright that I took her blood pressure. She was asleep and again, looked so peaceful, that I’d hate to disturb her. He gave me the go signal and I carefully held her left arm (which was under a blanket) and said in a very soft voice, “Maam, I’m just going to check your blood pressure.” Then she surprised me by taking out her arm and saying, “I’m not really asleep and I can hear you, I just really like being spoken to in that manner.” Oh and she said this with her eyes closed. I told you she was so cute.

Leonilda had been undergoing dialysis for barely 6 months and yet she seemed to have come to terms with it, to have fully accepted that this was going to be a routine part of her life. Perhaps dealing with painful things like those become much easier when you have a wonderful support person.

She and her husband married in June of 1971. That time, I was not alive yet, no where near conception or even being perceived to be born into this world. I did the math and they had been married for 38 years. They have three kids and 5 grandchildren. They met in Sorsogon as fate brought them together first as neighbors and then as lovers. At present, they reside in Manila but visit their hometown every once in a while. Till this day they are very much in love – you’d understand if you saw how they related to each other. And while most old people lose the terms of endearment after 10 years into their marriage, Leonilda’s husband still calls her BABY. (I stifled my laughter upon hearing him call her baby to wake her up as I was about to check her blood pressure again. But then I have to admit, I didn’t cringe, because it was just too adorable.)

Theory tells us that after the honeymoon phase has passed, after years into marriage, the excitable love hormones called endorphins go down, while oxytocin and other hormones responsible for comfortability and trust surge. At a young age, my mind has been conditioned to accept the reality that love fades. Today, somehow my belief in a love that lasts was rekindled.

It’s surprising to see a couple who’s living proof that both love and romance can stand the test of time.

Perhaps when you’re old, fulfilled with the life you’ve lived, happy with how you’ve raised your children and still very much loved by the love of your life, things like diseases don’t bother you that much. Because unlike thousands of people, you’ve come to a full circle and you’ve found peace.

And I just realized, how she technically has only one kidney, which still isnt functioning properly, and yet, essentially, she is whole :D