Well, we're at the airport. Because of our fears of the traffic, we left the Sietch at around 04:30pm for a 09:30pm flight. To our surprise, we arrived just past 05:00pm, leaving me and Tobie with more than 4 hours to spare. In fact, it was too early to even check in our single luggage, but better too early than running until the last minute, right?
Prince was still sick by the time we left, but admittedly he's doing a lot better. He was pretty much bed-ridden all of yesterday despite steady doses of paracetamol and other over the counter remedies. When his fever went past 39 degrees, Tobie and I agreed it was time to pull out the big guns and dose him with antibiotics. Given how the infection seems to center around a sort throat, I figured some erythromycin would do the trick.
I know, I know, I'm not a doctor. But like most Filipinos, I feel I understand antibiotics well enough. More importantly, like any one who has had the opportunity to help run and a manage a drug store, I'd like to think I have an above-average level of pharmaceutical knowledge to get me through such decisions safely. Given his relatively smaller frame and the fact it was somewhat early in the infection, I opted for a lower dosage regimen while still relying more on good old paracetamol (without exceeding 4g of the stuff in a day).
It did feel rather difficult to leave him behind, especially since he wasn't feeling well. And with his poi-related obligations over the weekend, what most worries me and Tobie is the prospect of a full relapse. It took practically a whole day of steady medication, hydration and dutiful attention to get his fever to break (that and 7 sweat-drenched shirts) but I know things are still at a delicate stage. All we can do is hope the meds work and constantly remind him to take it easy and try to avoid too much activity. Fingers and toes crossed here.
Sickness is always an interesting element in any relationship. How you as a couple, or in our case a triad-union-whatever, deal with the sickness is rather telling of how the rest of the relationship will go. The really bad cases of the flu, while not requiring full hospitalization, do tend to reduce us to more helpless versions of ourselves with a strong tendency to revert to that innate desire to be almost "babied" and taken cared of. It's not a bad thing mind you - just a natural feeling one gets when you're physically incapacitated.
Luckily Tobie and I are now here for Prince during such times of need. While Tobie and I have already gone through our fair share of illness with each one playing nursemaid, Prince has been largely on his own in recent years, and thus there's definitely that added sense of fulfillment in providing that support for him when he needs it most. This is quite literally a labor of love, and I don't say this as a complaint. In fact, I'm very proud of being there for him and Tobie feels the same way, too. And just seeing Prince smile again and start to bounce around like normal earlier today was the best reward that we could ask for given our efforts over the course of the night.
If anything, this was an interesting reminder of another thing that the three of us hold in common - that horrible tendency to push ourselves beyond our limits in order to honor our obligations. When I started to trace back Prince's recent activities to figure out when he caught this particular bug, it naturally linked back to another multiple gig day that included some out of town travel. And I can't fault him for this entirely - it involved something that he's very passionate about after all, and if anything my life with Tobie, the Sietch and now our joint life with Prince is all about celebrating your creative drive, pushing to achieve your dreams and accepting the fact that we deserve to be happy. However, I do see what made him sick.
We all need to learn to keep things in moderation, admittedly. And I don't claim to be exempt from this - the combined juggling of my work schedule, geek activities, blogging and of course O Bar tends to run me a little ragged, too. So it's something that the three of us will just have to work on together. In time we'll get better, I'm sure. Then again, for as long as we all help out one another, we should be okay.
We still have over two hours before our plan leaves Manila. Darn it's so early. But soon enough Tobie and I will be back in Singapore, enjoying some food from the hawkers and seeing the sights. This trip will involve quality time with my sister, more museum trips, some shopping and of course the joy of Tobie finally watching Wicked. I'm so excited!
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| Every Prince needs a crown, right? |
I know, I know, I'm not a doctor. But like most Filipinos, I feel I understand antibiotics well enough. More importantly, like any one who has had the opportunity to help run and a manage a drug store, I'd like to think I have an above-average level of pharmaceutical knowledge to get me through such decisions safely. Given his relatively smaller frame and the fact it was somewhat early in the infection, I opted for a lower dosage regimen while still relying more on good old paracetamol (without exceeding 4g of the stuff in a day).
It did feel rather difficult to leave him behind, especially since he wasn't feeling well. And with his poi-related obligations over the weekend, what most worries me and Tobie is the prospect of a full relapse. It took practically a whole day of steady medication, hydration and dutiful attention to get his fever to break (that and 7 sweat-drenched shirts) but I know things are still at a delicate stage. All we can do is hope the meds work and constantly remind him to take it easy and try to avoid too much activity. Fingers and toes crossed here.
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| Still not well, but well enough for photos |
Luckily Tobie and I are now here for Prince during such times of need. While Tobie and I have already gone through our fair share of illness with each one playing nursemaid, Prince has been largely on his own in recent years, and thus there's definitely that added sense of fulfillment in providing that support for him when he needs it most. This is quite literally a labor of love, and I don't say this as a complaint. In fact, I'm very proud of being there for him and Tobie feels the same way, too. And just seeing Prince smile again and start to bounce around like normal earlier today was the best reward that we could ask for given our efforts over the course of the night.
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| Prince's turn at a goofy face |
We all need to learn to keep things in moderation, admittedly. And I don't claim to be exempt from this - the combined juggling of my work schedule, geek activities, blogging and of course O Bar tends to run me a little ragged, too. So it's something that the three of us will just have to work on together. In time we'll get better, I'm sure. Then again, for as long as we all help out one another, we should be okay.
We still have over two hours before our plan leaves Manila. Darn it's so early. But soon enough Tobie and I will be back in Singapore, enjoying some food from the hawkers and seeing the sights. This trip will involve quality time with my sister, more museum trips, some shopping and of course the joy of Tobie finally watching Wicked. I'm so excited!
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