QO VADIS DOMINI??

One good thing about using a Latin title is that it lures readers to open their emails expecting they will read something exciting or at the least sensible. But what does the phrase “Quo Vadis Domini” really means except the translation of the local quizzical greeting that says: “Asa ka man do?!”. And if that phrase still is Greek to you, then how about the English words “Just where the heck are you going?!”

Readers must have read by now the three articles that the aging lion transmitted through the Internet in wild succession and must have also digested the succeeding events that caused the loss of his right foot, lower limb and all. But he is not one who would worry over spilt milk. Well, if it is brandy or cognac, he might have, but milk? Never!!.

Kidding aside, two major dilemmas plague an amputee- the physical and the mental concerns that otherwise are called the brains and the brawns that he must face. So let him tackle the easier one first.

1.THE PHYSICAL ASPECT

How to grapple with the loss of one leg is the first worry that an amputee must hurdle. He is no different from a one-year-old boy who is barely struggling how to walk. To visualize the problem, watch a year-old toddler on a crib grasping the bars and observe him slowly and painstakingly rising, and then slowly moving his legs with the aide of his two arms. Soon you’ll see him standing on his own two feet balancing his whole body, and after some painstaking efforts boldly releasing his hold.. Until he finally learns to stand on his own and then walk!

The amputee works pretty much the same way. He’ll slowly get up carefully balancing his movements and with determined efforts learn to move around but since he could no longer perform the same procedures the way a young toddler would, must substitute inborn talents with man-made tools. In moving around the house these tools are desirable:

1. A wheelchair equipped with four (4) six-inch wheels. With the aid of this gadget, he can freely move around wheezing his way for as long as nothing stands his way on the floor. He is no different from a young boy riding the bump car at any SM Mall.
2. A computer chair with a five-wheeler blade. This is most useful inside the bathroom to enable the amputee to transfer from the wheelchair to the computer chair and then to the toilet bowl. To take a bath, he will need a 6-inch-height wooden stool wherewith to sit and wet himself with the use of a “tabo” or water dispenser with a handle. Taking a bath using the sprinkler is taboo as he’ll wet all things within sprinkling distance.
3. In the meantime the amputee has not yet accustomed himself to the use of the prosthesis, the use of crutches is mandatory to move outside the house. The major problem here, however, is the difficulty of carrying the things he buy, like fish or what-nots. The lion tamer therefore had to tag around each time.

Another peculiar thing that the amputee must learn is that he should plan out well on what he must do before executing his movements. Imagine to one’s chagrin if wanting to take a bath, he founds out that he brought along sando, briefs, short pants and all but forgot to bring the towel when he is already inside the bathroom!! Oh, well.

And the efficient use of crutches?? But my boy, in about three weeks’ time the limping lion enjoyed moving around imagining himself using stilts (you know, the two pieces of bamboos with a bar to stand on at the middle) while still a young boy balancing himself as he moves around.

But it is not all fun, he still distinctly recalls the time MW Rody Herrera and Sis. Ching invited them to a dinner at a plush restaurant at the second floor of the SM Mall of Asia last July. Imagine the dogged efforts he made to climb the stairs as his youngest son Ivan worryingly stood behind his back lest he might miss hopping up the stairs and tumble down!

II THE MENTAL PART

But if the readers believe the physical dilemma is already Herculean, then better listen to the mental tests that must be hurdled. Remember that an amputee whose lose of the leg was caused by diabetes is as sick as a vomiting cat. He has a weak heart, weak kidney, weak lungs and his blood sugar is wildly fluctuating so that if it is not effectively monitored can lure the ants to hound you wherever you may be because of the sweet taste of the urine the you periodically discharge. And should you have a wound somewhere, then the more you’ll see the ants by your side enjoying the sweet smell of the wound’s excretions. .

To top it all, the price of medicines to ward off the ailments from getting worse do cost a lot.

But solving these problems are not insurmountable. Here are a few tips.

1. You must have a strong will to live; that it is not yet the end of the world.
2. You must accept realities; there are simply some things that you could no longer do, like replacing a busted light bulb, for how can you stand on a chair with only one leg to stand on?!
3. Learn to accept that the radius of your physical influence has become limited to where your crutches or prosthesis can carry you; The aging lion recalls the time his daughter brought him and the lion tamer to Trinoma for dinner. He did enjoy the food but watching the lights and the modern mall no longer excited him.
4. Console yourself with the thought that you are not alone in this ailment and that even during the time of Julius Caesar this malady already existed. Find out some of the diabetics in your circle of friends and talk about your experiences. It helps in getting that consoling feeling that all is not lost except perhaps that virility that robs you of your macho feeling. Ha’ay naku!
5. Scrimp on your financial resources. What you want and what you need are two entirely different things.
6. Learn to live and be thankful for your daily bread and also the daily breadth of your life. Each time before bedtime, give thanks to the Lord, your God, that should you no longer wake up to enable you to tinker with the computer keys when the morrow comes and instead your soul is gathered to commune with your ancestors, then say Amen, and hope that you and those you love may one eon meet again sometime.

And the aging lion snores.

Note: Comments by readers, wise or otherwise, are welcome.