Surviving Hell Week

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The last week of February is Hell Week. Literally, the weather has been merciless and it hasn't rained for the past two months already. Physically, it is a toxic week. Hell Week started with a busy Monday, meeting the staff for the last-minute preparations for our Healthy lifestyle Culminating activity this Thursday. Preparations mean printing out of programs, sending out solicitation forms, coordinating with committee heads in charged of the various activities. It is toxic and sometimes I would tend to be irritated easily. As much as possible I would rely on humor to save me from doing things I would later hate myself for doing. This morning, we conducted an orientation with the representatives from Philippine Red Cross Negros Occidental Chapter regarding the services of PNRC. The orientation was attended by teachers, barangay captains, department heads, employees and officials of the town. The President of the Chapter himself, Mr. Garganera, was present to give the talk along with his coordinators.

After lunch, I hitched with the Red Cross to Bacolod where I will be sleeping for the night in preparation for a meeting with Municipal and City Health Officers tomorrow at the Provincial Health Office. Tomorrow afternoon, I will be rushing back to Candoni to supervise our preparations for the culminating activity which is on Thursday.

The culminating activity is a big day. Our major activities include our 3rd Mountain marathon competition (which I started in 2008) and the Interbarangay and Interschool Hataw Dance Competition, the second year already. 9 barangays and 3 schools are competing. Every afternoon, I could hear the nearby barangay practicing for the hataw dance contest.

Hell Week is capped with a board meeting at Cauayan for our South Negros Interlocal Health Zone Meeting.

So far, I have yet to post pictures of the Family Day which I and my family attended last weekend. I have yet to also finalize some of the videos of the Dinagyaw Festival which I took last week. To add more to the stress, a patient was brought to my RHU clinic this morning showing signs of Measles. If confirmed, I may have to recommend declaring an outbreak of measles in Candoni. The patient was referred for laboratory confirmation (whether it is Rubeola or Rubella). Meanwhile I have to consult the PHO for protocols on how to approach a suspect Measles case.

So the heat, the demands at work, the achings for home and friends, and the stresses of life are all piling up.

Thank God for small graces.











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