Today should be my 11th birthday. Haha.

October 25, 2005 — it’s my Tita Myrna’s (aunt & godmother) birthday. I was supposed to went upstairs and use the computer to send her an email and greet her a happy birthday but then I suddenly felt very dizzy (servere vertigo) and I can't climb the stairs Vertigo + Severe headache = I passed out and became unconscious..... then DOT DOT DOT

I was rushed to Philippine General Hospital and was admitted there. Thant was the start of my 2-month long hospital stay when my health deteriorated and became weaker and weaker. 11 years ago. Everyone thought I won’t be able to survive; everyone — including the doctors and nurses.

About to die, maybe?

It’s so amazing that from being bedridden and very weak, I feel so great and stronger now.

I may still be in this condition with a lot of limitations, but still. No need to explain further, instead I’ll let my life explain it to you..everyday..as long as the clock is ticking.

Today should be my 11th birthday. Haha.

October 25, 2005 — it’s my Tita Myrna’s (aunt & godmother) birthday. Upon waking up, I sent her a birthday greeting via email and then DOT DOT DOT ……

I was brought to and admitted at Philippine General Hospital. Thant was the start of my 2-month long hospital stay when my health deteriorated and became weaker and weaker. 11 years ago. Everyone thought I won’t be able to survive. Everyone, including the doctors and nurses. About to die, maybe? It’s so amazing that from being bedridden and very weak, I feel so great and stronger.

I may still be in this condition with a lot of limitations, but still. No need to explain further, instead I’ll let my life explain it to you..everyday..as long as the clock is ticking.

I dunno what title to put, it's just so amazing!

Last Friday, while I was waiting to be prayed over by Fr. Joey Faller after the healing mass, something suddenly pop out of my mind that made me say, “Thank you, thank you so very much, Lord.” I kept on thanking God until it was already my turn & Fr. Joey placed his hand over my head.

Back in late 2005, when I was confined in the hospital for 2 month and my health deteriorated. Most of you know that I became so weak then. Very very weak. It was really hard to move on my own. Even when I want to roll on the bed and change my sleeping position, someone has to do it for me.

Back then, I would often close my eyes and imagine myself getting better and kept telling God. “Please heal me. Please. Please. Please. If You do, I promise to pay You back by sharing your words through my own words , with my own life."

***TEARS OF JOY***

 I was discharged from the hospital but even if I am already home, I still kept pleading to God especially when I had an anxiety attack in Holy Week 2006.

And then last Friday, I just realized that God has been answering me since the day after Holy Week 2006.  

I keep on stopping while writing this because it’s just so amazing! I feel like crying and thanks Him again for not letting me cry coz I might hyperventilate. I even don’t feel like there’s a lump on my throat. Thank you, thank you Lord.

And wait, there’s more!

During a conversation with someone, I got to remember this…

 AMAZING! AMAZING! AMAZING! I don’t know what else to say. It is really so amazing!!!

And now, God made my words to Him when I was lying in the hospital bed in 2005 become a reality. ANG GALING GALING TALAGA!

Loyola with the (Yarza) Loyola

July 19 – Sunday.

 We went to Loyola Memorial Park to celebrate ME’s 2nd death anniversary. Her death anniv was really on July 9 but it was raining the weekend before that and the cousins & sister has a schedule Boracay trip with the GYA Peeps so we visited her grave (with Lolo Pete in it) 10 days after.

The trip included a sidetrip to Papa’s (GALS / Lolo Noning) grave since he’s just nearby. The distance is like Pag-Asa & M. Vasquez when they were still alive.

Yarza & Loyola + Mang + Andi

And there was also a special driving lesson for Talitha, Andi & Jenrik conducted by Bene & Camille. It was either the FX (Manual) or Starex (Automatic). Haha.

I just a had a long weekend full of lakwatsa last week but who said I can’t go out as often as I want? Of course I CAN LAKWATSA! :p Eastwood with the GYA Peeps later & Sta. Maria Bulacan for the Gift of Hearing Event tomorrow together with Talitha and her Miss Audiologist friends.

Saturday Lunch with Damian

Damian Joseph is the 1st GYA Peeps baby. Not really the 1st GYA baby but Ysiad is the first mommy among GYA Peeps. GYA stands for Green Years Apartment; not only is it where we are currently living, it’s the place we all grew up to and it is where our friendship bloomed.

Last Saturday (July 18) we had lunch at Magnum Manila with Damian (Okay, including his parents Ysiad & Jepoy) We planned to go there when it opened last year but it suddenly rained (I think there was a storm and it didn’t push through,. We wanted to dine there and not just buy an ice cream. We wanted to sit inside. Haha.

We have to dine there before it closes on July 26. (We knew about it from the start; that the days it's open here in the PH are numbered) We have to. So, we immediately planned to go to Magnum Pleasure Store in SM Aura.

OTW SM Aura. I love Uber. 

Cajun Spiced Chicken Poppers

Bacon Fried Fries

Spinach Cannelloni

Magnum Bolognese

Carbonara with Cocoa Dusted Bacon and Sous Vide Egg

Magnum Burger

Yummy!

Damian wants to eat too

Winner! Free Magnum. Congrats Katren! 

 Of course our Magnun Pleasure Store wouldn't be complete without desserts. Magnum Ice!

Desserts! (Photo from Katren)

Longest Closest Bestest Friends (Photo from Ysiad)

more lakwatsa to come Damian!

Long Weekend = Long Lakwatsa!

Most people would plan / schedule a trip or "lakwatsa" whenever there's a long weekend. Kala niyo kayo lang? Ako rin!

Went to Melo's in Alabang yesterday for a very very delightful steak lunch then strolled at ATC for a while. I just got home from SM Aura & ha lunch with cutie patootie Damian before Magnum Manila closes on July 26. We'll be visiting our grandmother ME (and Lolo Pete) tomorrow at Loyola Memorial Park in Marikina. Of course we'll say hi to Papa GALS too.

Will blog about these 3 on next week. ;)

Looking at the bright side

"Ang tagal mo na palang nagtitiis."

Someone told me that when she learned that I was diagnosed with NF in 2004, got really week in 2005 and became totally deaf in 2006. I asked her, “Nagtitiis?” Because I don’t think I am literally suffering hence there’s no need for me to endure it. You might think that I’m just acting tough but that’s how I really feel. These sufferings don’t really make me feel like I am suffering ever since. I felt pain that had me crying, unconscious, in delirium state, etc. (on the scale of 1-10 and 10 as the highest, I have experienced pain that's 10 countless of times). I used to be in so much pain & up to now, I usually feel those pain once in a while but that’s just it. Yes, I'm living in pain but I don't think that my life is suffering too. NF is NF, Kcat is Kcat.

Am I too positive and looking at the bright side too much? I don’t think so. It’s helping me and it has helped me a lot.

“Positive thinking doesn't mean that you keep your head in the sand and ignore life's less pleasant situations. Positive thinking just means that you approach unpleasantness in a more positive and productive way. You think the best is going to happen, not the worst."  (Mayo Clinic)

I’ve always believed that I’m an optimist, yet I’m always in-check with reality and has a firm grip on it. I am an optimist realist!

Tack is back!

Photo from Many Faces of NF 

I never really left though. I’m always here; always been here. I was just too lazy to blog but not anymore ..hopefully. It’s always our choice and I’m choosing to stop being lazy.

I know that I’m not really good in writing. I am not a natural-born writer but I believe that I have a lot of things to write and share about.

I was once asked, “How can you market your work & yourself?” I am confident that I’ve experienced, doing and living everything that I write about and those are not mere words only. Practice what you preach, right?

I'm a bosconian. Proud Bosconian!

Here it is. My speech during last Sunday's DBS Grand Homecoming. My mom read this coz I can write (and I have A LOT to share), but I can't deliver it. But still, I CAN! It's 3-pages-long, size 14 Calibri font, narrow margin, single space and it's focused on just one topic. Haha. Ako na ang madaldal! :P

Very short intro

I copied a couple sentences from of my previous articles & writings, should I sue myself of plagiarism? LOL.

Read on.

I am Maria Kathrina Lopez Yarza. I am known as Kcat to everyone, but most of my DBS friends call me Tack. I belong to the pioneer batch, DBS Batch 2000. It is really a great honor to be sharing my story with you, my fellow Past Pupils. Thank you so much for making me a part of this.

Our home is our first venue of learning; the second is our school. After studying nursery school at a learning center near our home, I was ready to study in a bigger school for my preparatory schooling.  My parents learned that there was a newly opened Don Bosco School in Manila for girls, and since my dad and my mom’s brothers were Bosconians, they were eager to enroll me here. I was accepted and I was lucky to become one of the first batch of students in DBS way back in 1989 and proud to be one of the first graduates in year 2000.

In those eleven years, I thought I was only here to study, study, and study. I have learned a lot, but not only lessons from textbooks, but DBS also taught me about life: what life is, how to value life and how to live it well, not by myself, but together with everyone. And all these form a big part of who I am today.

See, I told you I CAN! ...and so CAN you!

It look a lot of years before I am able to walk on my own again. It's tiring & hard, but I did it!!!

Amazing, right? Of course. .__.

Ulirang Mandaleño Award 2012? Yes! Thank you.

WOOOOOOOW!

I wasn't expecting this. As in! When the delivery guy/messenger came, I thought it was Maro's watch from Cashcashpinoy or kung ano man. :P Yes, the Local PWD office asked for my profile recently. But I wasn't expecting that I'll be chosen for the award coz.. ah basta!

I hope & wish & pray..

After the non-stop surgeries, therapies and medications, my battle with NF2 continues and I won't stop raising money to sustain my medical needs.

This October, I need to have my regular cranial CT scan to monitor my tumors. And also, I'll be having my MRI of the spine to check if there are tumors on my spinal column that's causing my immobility.

Both tests would cost us more or less P35,000. (The MRI of the spine costs P24K) We are not really short of money since I still have my savings, but still we can't let that savings be drained because we'll never know when I'll be needing it. Besides, that is where we get the money for my maintenance medicines like anti-seizure, antibiotic for my eyes, etc.

Good things come in two's

An amazing thing happened yesterday and then today:

The tumor on my right leg shrunk last year and it shrunk again! Wiiii!

Welcome back!!!

A few days ago, I was so sad because my right eye's vision became so blurred again.. As in almost blind! It really bothered me because my vision already improve and then it worsen again. Tsk.

I was praying and praying and praying and the next day, I wasn't that sad anymore. As always, I told myself, "What's the use of continuing to be sad. Keri na yung 1 day akong nagmumukmok." Haha. Though I'm still bothered and irritated. Eh naman kasi nakakainis! My mom and I would always say, "madumi lang ya.." Besides, I'm not using autologus serum or antibiotic for my eyes lately.. Madumi lang 'to.. Madumi lang 'to.. So my mom cleans it everyday w/ the eye gel.. It slightly improved. As in konti lang.. The last time I checked my vision was this afternoon while I was taking a bath.. I still don't recognized the shape of the 'tabo' but I can define its color..

MAY Birthday Project 2011: SUCCESS!

We made a lot of faces (both patients & their guardians) SMILE once again. Thank you to everyone who supported us! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

(group pic before the gift-giving)

We really scheduled my (very successful) surgery on an earlier date (last April) so that I would have been fuuly-recovered when the month of May comes and we could push through with my annual birthday gift-giving. God is great! Everything went more than what we have planned.

It's Friday the 13th & it's May!

"Natutuwa ako"

"Natutuwa ako!" Those are the words that kept coming out my mouth after I was discharged from the hospital. I AM HAPPY because my surgery was a super mega complete success, I kept noticing a lot of improvements and since my face won't show how happy I am, I kept on blurting out: "Natutuwa ako." and "Ang saya ko." Haha! So get ready, I'll enumerate all those improvements. Ready. Get set. Go. ;P

The day before the big day.. Talitha & I were fooling around

MAY Birthday Project 2011: My Wishlist.

One day, while I was randomly thinking, I had the greatest idea and shared it to my mom: "I want to celebrate my birthday on the hospital." I thought of Philippine General Hospital (PGH) since that's where I often have my hospitalization because it's cheaper and has my lot of good doctors. But I'm still lucky because we are able to afford the pay ward (private rooms) and the best doctors! I feel so blessed and I wanted to share my greatest blessings, not money, definitely not. My greatest blessings are my friends! MAY BIRTHDAY PROJECT was born!

Go! Go lang!

Five years ago, Holy Week 2006, everything about my current condition dawned in my mind. I realized that I am really really sick and I am not able to do what I used to. It's like the word is moving too fast, I wanted it to stop and wait for me. I even had a hard time sleeping. I was having an anxiety attacks.

I'll quote the 'Che Che Lazaro Presents' interview of my mom:

Madge Yarza: "Nung holy week, yung yung nafeel niyang parang ano, she wanted.. Sabi niya, she wanted the world to stop and wait for her.

Surgery (April11): SUCCESS! Thank you.

I'm sorry for the super late post. After finishing my column for April 25 and sending it, my computer malfunctioned. :( Something's wrong withe the videcard or motherboard. I'm currently typing via my ipad coz my pc is in the hospital with Dr.Cris my superhero friendly IT cousin. Haha. Anyway, here the much awaited story of my surgery. Pictures to follow.

-------------------

April 9 - Check-in at Philippine General Hospital at around 8 or 9 pm (i think). Check-in, parang magho-hotel lang. Haha. Before heading to PGH, we dropped by St. Jude Parish to light a candle & pray then went to Robinsons Place beside PGH to buy some groceries and eat dinner. Tsk. I forgot to have a haircut. And then we were ay PGH - 5th floor, rm523. The next day was just consecutive number of tests to prepare mo for my surgery. We were told that I'll be needing blood donors to donate 2 bags of blood as a replacement for the blood they borrowed from blood bank that they'll use for my surgery. We posted it on Facebook, and were touched with all the responses, thank you so much!

April 11, 2011 at around 6am, the nurses fetched me in my room with stretcher in tow.