Mutual Feelings

I try to understand parents individually depending on their needs. There are times that I explain a little, and there are times that I explain a lot. I rarely lose patience.

Anyway, there is one parent who I have assessed to belong to a very low socio-economic family.

I have explained that her child has throat infection. This is the medicine for the oral thrush or laso; this is the medicine for soreness, then this for the infection. And that she needed to complete the medicine for several days, so her baby will get well completely. She can give ice chips before feeding ...so the tonsils will get numb a little and then she can feed her baby. I reminded her that...feeding will be difficult because it’s very painful...nevertheless, she must feed her baby. Or else, her baby will be confined because of dehydration. (It’s an ultimate reminder.)

Mother asked..."Doctora, what is my baby sick of??”

“She has wounds that have bacterial and fungal infection on her mouth and throat” I answered factually. I was about to say...”she has tonsillitis,” but it’s not the specific disease. That would be lying. So, I explained again.

"Eh, Doctora, What is my baby sick off??”

Just the same, I repeated it...She has bacterial and fungal infection in her mouth...then explained a little more again. It’s the pathophysiology of the disease...I smiled when it was over...thinking it was enough...

But...she was so persistently insistent... "Eh...What is he really is sick of..."she asked...

What the hell...

“HERPETIC GINGIVO STOMATITIS with secondary BACTERIAL and FUNGAL INFECTION”...I said clearly...

hahahaha

I wanted to laugh my ass out...Unbelievable...

She was unable to respond...

I wanted to say...gunggunam...tamtamin...in your face mother...

“I’m sorry mother, but there is NO Direct Tagalog translation”, I said. I could try...but it would give more questions than clarity ... (Translating “herpetic” to the dialect  would sound like a sexually transmitted disease to a common person, but the fact is, it’s a type of viral infection very common in children...The father might wring my neck when he hears about it)...It’s not worth it...

“Eh mother, that’s how it’s really called: HERPETIC GINGIVO STOMATITIS with secondary BACTERIAL and FUNGAL INFECTION”

You need to follow up if especially if you don’t get well. I was dismissing her already...

I couldn’t do the 4th explanation...or the 5th.

Hay...

But, as she was leaving, she was looking back...probably saying...
What the shit is this doctor talking about...I took my baby here because she has fever and vomiting...Grandma said... dwarves toyed with him...he only needs to be rubbed with a little saliva...