Jeveelyn O. Calagno posing, as she waits for her turn at the Orthopedic Center in Manila.
Jeveelyn is patient #271 of the day.
Pedro, Valeria and Jeveelyn waiting at the hospital for 5 hours before seeing the doctor.
Valeria making an appointment for Jeveelyn's X-rays. She will need to return to Manila in one week.
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The kids enjoying their last day together at the Resort. (R to L) Jendy, Jeveelyn, unknown, Pedro, Junardo, Marcello, Jelly and Jose.
Tonight, we will be spending a night in Manila.
c Specialist here in the capital. It wasn't until around 2:00 pm that we arrived in the city, however between then and getting to the hospital, we went to the sister's house of Valeria's neighbor and had dinner while waiting for a private vehicle to take us to the hospital. Though we were familiar with the very relaxed culture here around time, and the desire to entertain and feed, Pedro and I found it frustrating that there was a spoken urgency about having Jeevelyn see the doctor, however the actions of "taking a rest" and dining didn't correlate.
We ended up arriving at the hospital at 5:50 pm this evening, and when we finally got all of our paperwork together, the guard said "bukas" - which means "tomorrow." It also means spending another day in Manila; it means another day spent away from the rest of the siblings; and it means disappointing the family because we promised the kids a day at the beach. We still may take them on Wednesday, but we are finding it most difficult because these are our final days with Pedro's family.
for a collage she did, and Pedro was able to pin her with the ribbon on stage (he and I also awards a couple other children for honors they received this year - it was fun because we had no idea what we were doing and were just flying off the seat of our pants!). Afterward, Pedro and I met a gentleman, Patrick, who is working on getting scholarships for students to participate in a music/arts/academics summer program in Manaoag, a city close to Laoac. It is a program associated by a specific school (I can't remember the name right now) that provides students the opportunity to accelerate and expand their talents, specifically targeted towards "the poor." They also provide programs for children with special needs/disabilities (something that Pedro and I are keeping in mind, as Jeevelyn gets old enough to go to school).
It was the first time she had ever seen a doctor, because Valeria has not had the money to go before. Valeria had told me that when she was pregnant with Jeevelyn, she had fallen in the back of the house, which is why Jeevelyn's hands and feet are now twisted. The medical center is similar to a hospital, but expanded, where you can find everything medically related, from regular doctor check ups and pediatrics to OB/GYN, OR, dental and eye doctors. Being a public service, there was a lot of waiting - it
isn't necessary for one to make an appointment, so people would just go up and register at a window, depending on the service needed, and then wait until the respected physician was ready to see you. So we saw there in the waiting are a variety of people there for regular doctor visits to people in hospital beds looking like they need an operation. Tita, who went with us, said that the private practice is much better, but we needed to see this physician at the RMC first. By the end of a couple hours of waiting, and several times going in and out of the doctor's office, they finally told Valeria that they couldn't do anything for Jeevelyn there - that the specialist she needs to see is in Manila. So, we are talking about going on Monday or Tuesday to see the specialist. 
Cock fight
