Promise Yourself by Christian D. Larson

 To be so strong that nothing
  can disturb your peace of mind.
  To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
  to every person you meet.
                                                                                                                          
  To make all your friends feel
  that there is something in them.
  To look at the sunny side of everything
  and make your optimism come true.
                                                                                                                          
  To think only the best, to work only for the best,
  and to expect only the best.               
  To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
  as you are about your own.
                                                                                                                          
  To forget the mistakes of the past
  and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
  To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
  and give every living creature you meet a smile.
                                                                                                                          
  To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
  that you have no time to criticize others.
  To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
  and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.
                                                                                                                          
  To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
  not in loud words but great deeds.
  To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
  so long as you are true to the best that is in you.” 

  ― Christian D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them  

my prayer

Lord, you know how much I love climbing.
You know that the mountain is my happy place.

It's that one place when I don't have to think about
my job or my family.

Please bless my next climb.
I just want to have fun.
Make it a pleasant one.

Once there help me see only the beauty
of the world around me.

Make me hear only the sound of nature and the
hearty laughter of good people that I climb with.

Amen!

Mt. Kalawitan, It’s The Climb! (2nd part)

During the early part of the climb the boys were in the mood for singing, this was after our attempt to play a game where every one has to name an athlete, supposedly, for the first round but  the game didn't even last one round because everyone was just out of breath.

Every time Adrian needed a rest he will "recite"  the line  "can we just stop and talk a while" from a Jose Mari Chan song.

This stirred the singer in Abz making him render a boy band and a Britney Spears' medley.

Not to be outdone, I sang the first few lines of Miley Cyrus' It's The Climb.

I can almost see it

That dream I am dreaming

But there's a voice inside my head saying

"You'll never reach it"

And the singing goes on for quite a while at least for the three boys while I was reduced to playing my  official theme song for this climb in my head.

And then I heard it....

Lead me Lord, lead me by the hand 

And make me face the rising sun

At first it was only Adrian then it became a trio!

You are my light
You're the lamp upon my feet
All the time my Lord
I need you there

As I listen to them finish the song I got this feeling that they weren't just singing...

Lead me, Oh Lord

Lead me Lord

(Mt. Kalawitan from a distance)

Before it was opened to the public in 2010 Mt. Kalawitan was a hunting ground for the locals. 

At present there are still traps for wild animals scattered in the area according to counsilor Bondad.

Our lead guide, Kuya Rogel even showed us an old trap situated right along the trail after the fourth resting stop. 

This was the reason why the counsilor wants everybody at the campsite by sundown.

For our own safety, it was agreed that we are to retreat back to the camp if by 12 noon we still haven't reached the summit.

Determined to make it up there we have consciously timed our  climb with every hour proclaimed by the cry of a whistle.

Kuya Rogel for his part, though allowing us enough time to rest and catch our breaths, made sure that we are right on schedule so without complaining we follow his lead every time he signals that it's time to go. 

After 5 hours of trekking through the dense and mossy forest where the sun seems to play peek-a-boo with us we finally got a  glimpse of a wide clearing.

Everybody got excited and like little children we came running and screaming out of the woods and into the clearing convince that it was the summit.

But summit it is not, it is only the dwarfed bamboo area  which could be a perfect campsite because of it's expanse.

  
The abundance of the miniature bamboos reminded me of Mt. Pulag but because of exhaustion nobody bothered to take pictures of the region.

All we did was slump and munch on the trail nuts that Pauline brought with her and assure ourselves that kuya Rogel is just teasing us when he said that it will take another 15 minutes to get to the summit.

(dwarfed bamboo area, photo taken on our way down)

Standing up was truly a struggle after that short rest and since we are way ahead of schedule I allowed myself to walk at my own pace.

Physically and mentally drained, I couldn't remember much of what happened in the next 15 minutes except for the couple of instances when I had to bend to get pass through low hanging tree branches.

Once at the summit there was no running out of excitement  that happened but I think someone let out a holler to proclaim victory in behalf of everyone.

It was drizzling when we arrived, it seems that the sea of cloud was upon us prompting kuya Rogel and Jason to start a small fire where we can warm our cold hands.

Though the weather didn't allow us a view of the other mountains nearby it didn't stop us from celebrating in the only way we know - taking our pictures.

(if mountain climbing is a pageant then we are the finalists)

(the three stooges, who's Moe, Larry and Curly?)

(an addition to my growing number of adopted bros)

(begging me to have a picture w/ them  carrying me)

After stuffing our selves with fried chicken, boiled eggs, veggies, rice and more rice the invitation for a quick nap is simply irresistible.

While some succumb to the invitation, including me, Marie wandered around to take pictures of the summit's flora & fauna.

(The Who?)

(the thickness of the moss gave the ground a carpet like feel)

(wild berries)

And then it was time for us to head back to camp.

Though the summit is not that remarkable in terms of landscape the journey going up more than compensated for it. 

As the lines from my theme song goes: Ain't about what's waiting on the other side. It's the climb!

It was loaded with amusing anecdotes of many firsts: Marie's first altitude sickness, my first mossy forest, my first time to see a century old tree, my first time to see limatics, my first time to be sucked by one, and my first time to see guys freak out because of them.

The laughter and the foolish banters I shared with these strangers whom I met only 52 hours ago kept me sane in an insane trail.

In the company of these people falling flat on your face and sliding down with your butts makes if more fun.

Yes they will laugh at you but they will pick you up once they're done laughing.

And just when you think you can no longer last the uphill battle they will sing you song of praise.

My Mt. Kalawitan quest cemented my view on climbing: the mountains and its summits will not always be magnificent and the trails will always be tough but when you are climbing with cool people, though their presence will not transform the surroundings into a wonderland nor make the track any easier, they will definitely make the journey more fun, exciting and truly memorable. 

And this blog is my small way of thanking these  nice people for adding good memories to my memory bank.

(the hut that offered refuge to adventurers of Mt. Kalawitan)

(the group with our guides before leaving)

(the century old tree)

***********

Thanks guys for the photos, took the liberty of grabbing them from your albums =)

A Day In The Life of A Dialysis Patient

This is my father and this is his life as a renal patient.

Four hours of his Mondays and Fridays are spent attached to a machine doing a job his remaining kidney could no longer perform.

Through hemodialysis the excess waste products and water is filtered out from his blood, a function his body can no longer do on its own for seven years now.

During the process two needles are inserted in his left arm where his fistula is located. A fistula is a plastic tube implanted in his arm to directly connect an artery and a vein.

 From one needle his blood will pass through the tube to the dialysis machine to remove the waste products and once the wastes are extracted the blood goes back  to his body through the other needle.

It may seem simple from the way I've explained it but in reality it is not.

The repeated process will eventually result to a distinct dark color of the skin  and a disfigured arm due to the veins that swell due to constant use.

Seeing him cringed every time he is pricked with two needles is not something I can get used to.

And what goes on in his body once the needles are in place will always be a miracle and a mystery to me.

What I know is every time he is lying there tied to that machine to help extend his life a sudden shoot up or drastic drop in his blood pressure may cost him his life.

Many times I've heard him and my mother talk about how other patients died during dialysis. 

This may be the reason why he wants to hold my hand, my mother's hand, my brother's hand or anybody who is with him or beside him during the process.

Holding our hands regardless if it's a daughter or a son is something that my father loves doing. It is one of his many sweet gestures that I look forward to when I go home. 

But during his dialysis there is something heart wrenching with the way he grasps my hand.

There are times when he just wants us to squeeze his feet as hard as we can even if he is already asleep, it's like he deliberately wants us to wake him up or maybe he just wants to avoid cramps.

Other times he will just sleep through the entire session.

And while appetite is a major issue when he is home eating during dialysis was never a problem. 

Once he tasted something and liked it, that will be his merienda or lunch for a year or more.

He started with Jollibee's TLC and Aloha, then he shifted to Brother's burger and currently pizza is his favorite merienda.

For his lunch, my brother Junjun has been regularly driving by an eatery in Timog for 4 to 5 years now  just to have a fish fillet with tausi beans or ampalaya con carne cooked for him.

Just recently, Mang Inasal has become a new favorite which he would eat together with either fish fillet or ampalaya con carne.

His moods is no different from his appetite, it changes a great deal and can really be stressful to those around him (this is another story on its own).

His sickness coupled with old age makes him unpredictable most of the times and my mother, my brother and his wife Jen should be applauded for their patience.

They take care of him everyday from sun up to sun down something I can do only during weekends.

The number of hours and the frequency of the dialysis depends per patient and for my father who is suffering from a chronic kidney disease 4 hours twice a week is required.

In the seven years that he has been spending 32 hours a month in the renal center he has become known to all the new and old nurses just like his fellow patients.

And in the once a month that I accompany my father all these years  I've seen how these nurses have become sensitive and attentive to his needs (again another story that needs to be told).

It is always touching when I hear them call my father and the other patients daddy or mommy.

They too deserve an applause for the tender loving care they extend to each and every one of them!

The heart breaking episodes I witness once in a while when I am there, like seeing a patient without any companion,  is nothing compared to what they have to face every day as they care for patients from all walks of life, young and old people alike.

The brief moment I get to devote to my father in that place makes me forget my own pain and disappointments. The complaints I have about my life seems trivial when i am there.

A short visit to the sick can work wonders they say, indeed it is, both to them and to us.