Bantay
The mother with dark circles around her eyes looking worriedly at her sick baby. The husband lovingly accompanying his obviously-about-to-give-birth wife. The daughter who sleeps night after night in her father’s sickroom.
For most Asians, including Filipinos, it is unthinkable for a sick person not to have a bantay during those moments. These are the ones who actually give the caregiving. They are the ones who fight their own tiredness and sleepiness in order to see to the needs of the one they are taking care of. They are the ones who absorb all the patient’s bad moods. They give the patient his medications, especially when the patient is already home. They accompany the patient to the clinic or the laboratory. They buy the needed medications. They are the ones who try to understand what the doctors and nurses are trying to say. They give up their work to take care of their sick loved ones.
As doctors, we do our job of trying to find out what ails the patient and what can be done for it. The nurses take care of several patients, carrying out the doctor’s orders while the patients are in the hospital. We do get credited when the patient gets well.
But I believe that a vital ingredient to the patient’s process of getting better is his/her husband/wife, his mother/father, his son/daughter or whoever sacrificed his/her own time and money in order to be the bantay.
They are the unsung heroes. I salute you!
————-
This is my late entry to TBR16, hosted by Doc Gigi.
I’m glad you made it, Dr. Joey. Many tend to forget about the invaluable role that the “bantays” play. Their mere presence helps a lot in improving patient wellness.
The round-up is now up and it’s here. Thank you for being a part of this edition.
July 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 pmI once had a 70-something patient who was being ambubagged by his also-70-something brother. It’s even more heartbreaking when the bantays are old and sick themselves. But, I think, that patient was luckier in some respects than another patient I had, whose relatives owned department stores and big companies but who could only stop by for short visits. He had to be cared for a by a professional caregiver. I agree…family members who really give up their precious time to stay by their loved ones are heroes.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:28 pmYou know what Doc, I can’t imagine being sick without a bantay myself. Really. And I totally agree with you, they make the work of hospital staff easier and lighter.
July 24th, 2008 at 6:45 pmLet me bring this to a more dramatic and scene…imagine that bantay who ambu bags his/her patient for hours because they couldn’t afford a ventilator? Such a heart melting sight…
Thats why even if sometimes, I’m filled to the brink of getting angry of makulit and hard headed bantays, I take a breath or two, put myself in their shoe…and usually, Its enough to diffuse such inis…
OT
July 25th, 2008 at 12:14 pmPlease check your email, TBR yahoogroups or my blog, I sent an email regarding an idea I want you give comment suggestion…Thanks in advance!
I had the benefit of my mom, my sister and my hubby as bantays during my own complicated pregnancy when I was hospitalized for a month before giving birth. I so totally agree with you - they are heroes!
August 1st, 2008 at 8:41 pmOne more thought - bantays are a testimony of our family-centered values. Even the nurses at the US hospital where I was were so amazed that noone left me unattended during my stay. It is a manifestation of our loving and caring culture - we should be proud of it as Filipinos!