(Grand) Motherly Concerns

I felt so relieved that my two granddaughters' urine tests came back negative for blood and protein, after two previous ones which showed traces of them. Fortunately, it was the young male doctor who was at the clinic when I brought my grandkids the last time. The other pediatrician, his sister, was already ready to refer them to a kidney specialist.

He told me to get the specimens right after they wake up in the morning. I would have suggested it to him, anyway, having read that some children who have walked about already before a sample is taken may show protein and blood that somehow have seeped through the kidneys to their bladders. Having a brother who has had a kidney transplant, and having witnessed the pain and accompanying problems of dialysis, I was very worried for my son's two girls. They are way too young and innocent to be having a kidney problem. Especially when the older, who is only ten, asked me 'What if they still find some, what next?' She was looking straight in my eyes when she asked the question and for a while I was quiet feeling a cold dread in my heart, but I managed to say 'Let us wait for the results first.'

Thank God the results were what I wanted to hear!

I remember when I was raising my children, about thirty, thirty-five years ago. My concerns after dealing with the usual childhood diseases (e.g. measles and chicken pox) were usually colds and diarrhea. My childrens' pediatrician, Dr. Songco, of the Hospital of the Infant Jesus, either gave them erythromycin or ampicillin (for the respiratory ailments) and chloromycetin for the other complaints. I learned later on that chloromycetin has been banned here in the US, but of course, the Philippines is a third world country and third world countries are where they dump(ed) what they can not distribute here.

Of course, in the tropics, mothers also have the task of deworming (eew) and getting rid of lice (more eew) which children usually get from their babysitters. However, adults then, and maybe even now, were just barely aware of cholesterol, blood glucose, high blood pressure and the like, so it seems strangely odd for me sometimes that nowadays, children here have to be tested for these sorts. My two granddaughters are now watching their diet somewhat. One's cholesterol is a little high for their age and both their blood glucose though still normal are on the higher end of the range. Recently, my daughter's friend overheard them conversing and she joked that she thought two adults were talking because they were talking about cholesterol and blood sugar.

And speaking of diet, even babies nowadays are made to diet. My daughter has always breastfed her little ones. They are bigger compared to other babies their age. Twice she was advised by the baby doctor to reduce her feeding times. The other boy also has slightly elevated cholesterol, and so she has to watch his carbs and other food intake.

There is also the problem of early puberty. One of my grandkids (there are seven of them) entered this stage quite early, and another one has shown a symptom. Just one should not be cause for concern, many will probably think, but one at six years old for me is something to be looked into. So it is a good thing, I think, that my daughter will bring my grandkid to an endocrinologist. Precocious puberty, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, hormone imbalance, diabetes, obesity, etc. I as a mother during those times was never concerned about these things.

Of course it is the food! And maybe the plastics. Or the microwave. The chemicals in the air.
There should be less eating out. No good. Too much sodium and sugar. Ooh, those tall glasses of shake! How many tablespoons of sugar in a can of soda? Slow down on MacDonalds and Burger King and the hotdogs and Spam. Throw out throw- in- the- microwave types of food. Preservatives? Of course they have lots of preservatives. Fresh meat should be washed thoroughly or boiled for a few minutes first with the boiled-in water then thrown out. It is a fact that animals are injected with hormones to make them bigger and with a lot of antibiotics, too, that may then be ingested by the people who eat their meat. Think about it!!

(To think that most times we made fun of those days when we fed our children a lot of rice and sabaw (broth), and just a little meat with lots of sarsa (gravy). There is an upside to being in a third world country, after all.