Public Health Nurse’s Journey: Rendering a genuine service to Bermudez family.

Our community duty in Barangay Supo, San Carlos City, Pangasinan these past few days gave us such a brilliant experience. Experience which fed our hearts with great joy. On our first day of duty, we just thought that this day would only be one of those ordinary days we usually spend; however, we were still glad that we would be able to render our service to those who need it.

Barangay ​Supo is one of so many rural places in San Carlos where most people lived. As we conduct our community duty in the said barrio, we've seen through our naked eyes the difference between living in a urban place compared to a rural place. There were big differences. Both positives & negatives. As we push through our search & observation of the place, we found this one family, the Bermudez family, who were somewhat isolated from others. “Magandang Umaga po” (“Good Morning”) as we greet them then the father gladly replied,” Magandang umaga din sa inyo”. (“Good Morning too”.) Tatay Edgar as we call him but he refused to be called “tatay” because he rathers to be called “Kuya”. When he allowed us to enter to his house, we observe a small picture of the quality of their living.They lived in a small "kubo" with no house surrounding them because according to tatay edgar, ”bale dalawang buwan pa lang naitayo itong kubo na ito kasi lumipat kami ng aming pamilya dahil sa ayaw kong nakakarinig ng pagmamaliit sa mga kapatid ng asawa ko, minsan nakikita kong pinapagalitan at pinapalo ang aking mga anak kaya bilang ama nasasaktan din ako sa nakikita ko kaya naisipan naming lumipat dito sa tulong ni Uncle Ben na nagmamayari sa lupang ito.”(“It’s only been two months that we’re staying here on this hut. We decided to transfer here because I am fed up of my in-laws belittling me. I also sometimes see them spank my children. As the father, I am disheartened of what I usually observe. It’s a good thing that we’re now here all because of Uncle Ben, the landowner.“)

​​The kubo is surrounded with a variety of vegetables like eggplants, tomatoes, okra, spinash and other root crops where they usually get their food with their daily living. It was peaceful, we can say. Out of all the families in the barrio, we find them the most interesting family. They were too kind enough to let us be part of their life for two weeks and were too hospitable to us. We observed a lot of things from them for the past two weeks. Bermudez family makes bilao (circular basket) as for their primary living. They have five kids namely Evilyn, Antonia, Adrian, Ejays and Jay-r . Three of them go to school. Jay-r the youngest was submitted under the custody of his Aunt due to financial constraints. The four children have their asthma which hinders their father from working. We asked them on how they managed the condition of their children and it goes like this,” Pag inaatake sila agad agad ko silang pinapainum ng Salbutamol syrup at Cotrimoxazole. Agad-agad din naman silang gumagaling.”(“Whenever their asthma attacks, I usually give them salbutamol and cotrimoxazole. They’re turning fine afterwards.“) as nanay Robelyn said. When we asked her how could they still managed this when the drugs are not available, we were surprised by her answer. “Pag walang gamot, humuhuli kami ng butiki at susunugin namin iyon, pag naging abo na babalutin namin iyon sa tela at isasawsaw sa tubig at yung katas nun ay ipapainom namin. Medyo hindi kapani paniwala pero yun na yung nakagisnan naming panlunas sa asthma”.(However, in case of no available meds, we usually catch lizards and burn them. We usually wrap the ashes in a cloth and dip it in the water. The extract of such ashes is the one that we give to our kids to drink. It may sound absurd but that’s how we treat asthma according to our elders.”)

​​Likewise we did our part as community nurses, we provide them health teachings especially on proper management on their sickness. We educated them to broaden more their knowledge on how to maintain their good health. Also, we decided to help them in their household chores like cutting the woods, cooking, tending their children, having day long conversation. We also helped them in creating bilao and we really enjoy a lot.

​​On our last day of duty we gave them little stuffs such as dress and seedlings that would somehow aid them on their daily living. This may not be so great enough to uplift their quality of life but were glad at least for that moment we saw them smile. ​We saw how difficult their life was but it didn't really matter to them because they were contented. They may not have a grand life but they know how to live it. We can see how happy they were just by having each other even if they were financially challenged. They taught us that every day may not be good but there is something good in every day & to do small things with great love. The experience was not only to assess the family but also to give us lessons in life. We supposed that our day in Barangay Supo would just be spent in taking one’s BP, examining and somehow mingling with strange faces but its surprised us and took us to another level of rendering genuine service.