Ronibats.PH

18 June 2012

That Uneasy Feeling of Knowing All Effort Was Futile

By Ron Baticulon

5 Min read

19 comments

18June

Thirteen-year-old Eric Reyes only wanted to help his six-year-old neighbor cross the street. In an ironic turn of events, a tricycle hit Eric on his way back. The impact immediately rendered him unconscious. Bystanders took him to a local hospital where he partly awakened, vomiting relentlessly and moaning from severe headache. As suspected, on the cranial CT they found a rapidly enlarging blood clot occupying almost the entire left half of his brain.
Sixteen hours later, I received him in our emergency room. He was intubated and he would not open his eyes, no matter what stimulus I applied. He was Glasgow 5 with bilateral dilated pupils, both indicators of poor prognosis. In a desperate attempt at heroism, I operated on him to evacuate the massive acute subdural hematoma and relieve his brain of severe pressure. Two days after his surgery, he died just the same.

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7 June 2012

That Curious Feeling of Knowing That You’ve Saved a Life

By Ron Baticulon

5 Min read

3 comments

07June

A few hours after her son, a nurse, died from cancer, Ofelia Reyes bled in her cerebellum. The stroke (“brain attack”) immediately put her in semicoma. There was just too much blood, too close to the part of her brain that controlled her breathing and heart rate. The devastating news of her son’s death almost led to her own, but I operated on her and saved her life.

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12 May 2012

Dalawang Tanong na Hindi Ko Kinalilimutang Itanong sa Aking mga Pasyente (o sa Kanilang Pamilya)

By Ron Baticulon

4 Min read

30 comments

12May

Humigit-kumulang walong taon na akong nakikipag-usap at nagpapaliwanag sa mga pasyente ng pinakamalaking pampublikong ospital ng Pilipinas. Bilang medical student noon at neurosurgery resident ngayon, natutuhan kong dalawang tanong ang pinakaimportante sa lahat.

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21 April 2012

The Neurosurgeon Writes

By Ron Baticulon

4 Min read

15 comments

21April

On this day in 2011, after a three-year literary hiatus, I decided to launch ronibats.ph. This is my 20th article for the website, and as of this time, my Facebook page is nearing its 500th like. Despite the irregular post times and frequency, the response to ronibats.ph from friends and strangers, colleagues in the medical profession or otherwise, has been nothing short of overwhelming. So on my website’s birthday, despite the nagging urge to sleep, I write this to express my thanks.

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16 April 2012

The Risks You Do Not Take

By Ron Baticulon

5 Min read

12 comments

16April

The irony is that everything happened in front of the Supreme Court of the Philippines, a 200-meter sprint from the Department of Justice building. I had just attended a mentor’s Christmas party and was walking home just outside the hospital where I had spent almost a third of my life training to become a physician. Looking back, the street was well lit even though it was quarter past midnight. However, the traffic light along Taft Avenue was on green, hence the few jeepneys cruising Padre Faura at that time were stuck on the other side of the intersection. The iPod, long-sleeve polo and jeans didn’t help; I resembled a wandering, inebriated Japanese on his way to get a taste of Manila’s nightlife.
He was walking in the opposite direction. Before I realized his motive, he rushed towards me, grabbed my upper body and declared, “Holdap ‘to!”

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7 April 2012

Where X Stands for Everything

By Ron Baticulon

4 Min read

1 comment

07April

Medical students and doctors have this nasty habit of using the letter “x” to stand for anything and everything. To illustrate:
An intern sees a Px in the ER, elicits pertinent SSx, and writes his clinical Hx in the chart. The resident-in-charge examines the Px and subsequently orders Dx and Tx, which include getting a CXR to check for a possible rib Fx. Seeing that the Px might be suffering from an acute appendicitis, the receiving physician then refers the Px to a Sx resident for further Mx.

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12 November 2011

Kung Paano Ako Mag-aral Noong Ako ay Nasa Med School

By Ron Baticulon

3 Min read

42 comments

12November

Hindi ako nagha-highlight ng libro at transcription. Nadudumihan ako sa mga pahinang ginagawang coloring book ng mga kaklase ko. Sinubukan kong mag-highlight noong first semester ng first year med proper; hindi epektib kasi kailangan ko pang isipin kung kailangan ba talagang i-highlight ang gusto kong i-highlight, at hindi ako makapili kung anong kulay ang gagamitin.

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27 October 2011

Transitions

By Ron Baticulon

6 Min read

49 comments

27October

We are buying our first family car. To be more precise, my two yuppie sisters have agreed to finance the purchase of a car to be used by our family of seven. My father and my third-born sister have already made the reservation last weekend, and although I, being an overworked and underpaid government physician, will not make any financial contribution to the purchase, I cannot contain my excitement. Despite my father and mother having been married for almost 29 years, this is our first family anything.

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