First of all, sa lahat ng mga dumadaan kahit na hindi ako nakakapag-update ng blog, maraming-maraming salamat. Sa lahat ng mga nag-iwan ng message at pagbati sa tagboard ko, Patrice, Neng, Bethski, Karen, Bel, Ka Uro, Ahia Kenji, Diane, Jo, Darlene, Kadyo, Tintin, Ethel, TeacherSol, Honeypooh, Mam Bing, at iba pa, thank you for leaving messages kahit na hindi ko nasasagot agad. Basta, sa lahat-lahat, thank you! Alam kong nakaka-inis magpabalik-balik sa blog na walang update pero hindi kayo nagsawa sa akin.

Sabi ko ilang araw lang ako mawawala pero ang last post ko November 27 pa! Ang tagal ko din palang nag-absent. Iyong iba sa inyo, alam kung bakit ako nawala yung iba hindi pero kahit na ganoon, nag-iwan pa din kayo ng inyong mga well wishes at alam kong ipinagdasal ninyo kami. Bakit nga ba ako nawala? My aunt (my mom's younger sister) who is very close to me, was diagnosed with Invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast. Naturally, she came to me for help dahil ako lang ang doctor sa pamilya. Mahirap talaga kapag ganito ang sitwasyon, mahirap mag-isip at magdesisyon. Humingi kami ng second opinion, magaling na pathologist na yung pinuntahan namin, pareho ang verdict so we had no choice but to have my tita's breast removed because her's was a very aggresive cancer. Madami pang tests and visits to different doctors para ma-clear siya for operation tapos yung kabilang breast din niya, may mga suspicious areas on mammography so we still had to investigate that para kung kelangan tanggalin, isabay na dun sa kabila. You can just imagine the stress I was going through. I had to comfort my tita, her husband, my two cousins and the rest of the family at the same time deliver to them the bad news, explaining as simple as I can what is happening. I cannot show them that I am as affected as they are by the news because I have to be positive for my whole family. Thanks to some older colleagues who have become good friends, they took care of my tita and her operation went well. Through God's grace, my tita is only in Stage 1 - the cancer hasn't spread yet and she has a 95% cure rate, the suspicious area on her other breast turned out to be benign. Post-operative recovery was hard but my tita is one strong woman. I guess it also helped that everyone in the family is there supporting her. She still has to go to an oncologist but we are praying that she doesn't have to undergo chemotheraphy or just be given something orally. I know she still has a long way to go but we are positive that she can overcome this.

To everyone who prayed for my family, I can never thank you enough. God bless you all!

On a lighter note, I just came from a whole week vacation with my family, little Tricia included. My family and my tita's family went to Laoag City, Batac and Vigan City, all in Ilocos for a well deserved R & R. We all had fun playing the slot machine in Fort Ilocandia in Laoag. We visited the Marcos Museum in Batac and saw the preserved body of the Late President Marcos who according to the caretaker is under seven layers of wax atop a refrigerated glass display. In Vigan, we took the Calesa tour which brought us to the different tourist spots there. The old houses we saw were very grand and well preserved, I can almost imagine myself living there. Back in my mom's hometown, we went to a different party every day hence on Christmas day, I was already down with fever, cough and colds and missed most of our annual family reunion because I was sleeping inside our room. Several cousins together with their moms came home from the States to celebrate Christmas with us so it was doubly fun this year. My cousin Angela had so much fun giving money to the carolers and asked me why the kids are not with their moms and dads. Hmm... she must be thinking about going trick or treating in California on Halloween. We all came back to Manila a few pounds heavier, all with colds (little Tricia was not spared) but with lots of fun memories of our time with my assortment of aunts, uncles and cousins. I find it harder and harder saying goodbye to them lately. We miss each other so much and can't wait to spend time with each other again. I just hope that our planned Cebu adventure this summer pushes through. For the meantime, we all just have to be content with texting each other often.