Alalay
I regularly read Michael Tan's column and I love how he fuses history with current obsevations of the modern-day Filipino. Today he talks about the alalay system of pinoys and true enough, we've all had our own alalay anecdotes.
Hospital administrators, too, complain about the endless “alalay” patients get, a plague that starts as early as the time when the patient is being admitted, accompanied by any number ranging from five to a dozen people storming the emergency room, each one volunteering his or her version of the patient's illness or accident, while getting in the way of doctors, nurses and other patients.
Once admitted, the bevy of relatives and friends accompanies the patient to the room or ward, each one offering to be a “bantay,” literally a watcher, who will stay overnight. Most hospitals claim to limit the number of “bantay” to one per patient, but have no choice but to pretend they don't see the extra ones who insist on staying. I've actually seen some of them climbing into the patient's bed, or under the bed, to spend the night.
My dad is a stroke patient, and we've had quite a number of emergency room stories. Admittedly, my mom, my sister and I, would watch over my dad in the ER while waiting for a room. In these 2am trips to the ER we would see big families (with kids and apos to boot) watch over their patient, screaming for a nurse or a doctor every once in a while too.
When my dad would be admitted to a private room at the almost-ungodly time of 4am, we'd be dead tired to go home to the south so we'd sleep in akward places -- my mom in the bantay chair, my sister in the cot for visitors, and me beside my dad in the hospital bed. Well it wasn't not the most comfortable place on earth, but we'd rather squeeze ourselves into the confines of a small room and be there when dad would wake up and need an assistant for whatever he needs.
Apparently, other people in hospitals have a barrage of bantays that disturb other patients. If your next-door neighbor notices you, then it may be getting too cramped already, moreso in the semi-private wards. After all, it is a hospital and not an in-patient mixer. I just hope those kinds of people understand that some patients have difficulty sleeping, and it can get pretty uncomfy for other people in the floor too since most bantays do get tired after a whole night of staying with their patient.
Hay, ang pinoy nga naman.
Hospital administrators, too, complain about the endless “alalay” patients get, a plague that starts as early as the time when the patient is being admitted, accompanied by any number ranging from five to a dozen people storming the emergency room, each one volunteering his or her version of the patient's illness or accident, while getting in the way of doctors, nurses and other patients.
Once admitted, the bevy of relatives and friends accompanies the patient to the room or ward, each one offering to be a “bantay,” literally a watcher, who will stay overnight. Most hospitals claim to limit the number of “bantay” to one per patient, but have no choice but to pretend they don't see the extra ones who insist on staying. I've actually seen some of them climbing into the patient's bed, or under the bed, to spend the night.
My dad is a stroke patient, and we've had quite a number of emergency room stories. Admittedly, my mom, my sister and I, would watch over my dad in the ER while waiting for a room. In these 2am trips to the ER we would see big families (with kids and apos to boot) watch over their patient, screaming for a nurse or a doctor every once in a while too.
When my dad would be admitted to a private room at the almost-ungodly time of 4am, we'd be dead tired to go home to the south so we'd sleep in akward places -- my mom in the bantay chair, my sister in the cot for visitors, and me beside my dad in the hospital bed. Well it wasn't not the most comfortable place on earth, but we'd rather squeeze ourselves into the confines of a small room and be there when dad would wake up and need an assistant for whatever he needs.
Apparently, other people in hospitals have a barrage of bantays that disturb other patients. If your next-door neighbor notices you, then it may be getting too cramped already, moreso in the semi-private wards. After all, it is a hospital and not an in-patient mixer. I just hope those kinds of people understand that some patients have difficulty sleeping, and it can get pretty uncomfy for other people in the floor too since most bantays do get tired after a whole night of staying with their patient.
Hay, ang pinoy nga naman.
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