It's good to be back

CTALK

- CITO BELTRAN

It's good to be back and thankfully not from the grave.

Last Thursday, May 15, I was getting ready to drop off my daughter at a nearby coffee shop, return home and proceed to write a weekend column. Instead, I felt my heart pumping in an unusual manner, accompanied by a heaviness in my chest.

As a precaution, I popped an emergency medication that was prescribed to me during a similar situation two years ago and immediately sought medical attention.

If you have a pre-existing medical condition, consult your MD about emergency medication or what to do. In the time it takes to buy meds that are not in the house, you could go from bad to worse to dead. This precaution has saved me twice.

After taking the meds, I made my way to the Rizal Medical Center (RMC) Emergency Room, passed through Triage, given a mandatory face mask and entered the main ER, then Boom! The ER was more than a room, it was a large hall made tiny by 25 to 30 "patients" seeking medical attention.

I won't sugar coat the scene. It was sad and made me angry why every government hospital ER I've landed in or visited as a journalist is stereotypical of congestion, human anguish and physicians so exhausted and stressed.

You might ask: why go to a public hospital when you can afford to go to a private hospital? Well, as a "public" health advocate, I cannot be promoting the virtues and blessings that government hospitals are to Filipinos but go to a private hospital for my personal comfort and need. I would be a hypocrite if I did that.