Recovery Tips Archives » Page 32 of 33

16Apr 2006

Happy Resurrection Day

by webs ⋅ 1 Comment

“I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.” (John11:25,25)

I’ve written this many times before. My 6 year old son placed so much faith in eternal life. A month before he died, he bounced up and down on his bed and yelled out loud. With joy and excitement…

“When I die, I will be alive again”

It gives me hope that one day Luijoe and my family will be reunited in heaven with God. [tag]Resurrection day[/tag] or [tag]Easter day[/tag] reminds us that we will have life after we die – a resurrected life in heaven for eternity with Jesus!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16)

Do you believe in eternal life? Do you believe that our life on earth is a temporary place and our real home is heaven?

May today remind us not only of our Lord’s resurrection but also that of our precious children. Happy Resurrection Day!

15Apr 2006

Laughter is the best medicine

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 12 Comments

Even just the expectation of a mirthful laughter involved in watching your favorite funny movie has some very surprising and significant neuroendocrine/hormone effects. That’s what this paper “”Beta-Endorphin and HGH increase are associated with both the anticipation and experience of mirthful laughter,” stated. Earlier experiments showed that viewing a favorite funny video can offset symptoms of chronic stress, which can suppress various components of the immune responses, particularly those related to anti-viral and anti-tumor defenses.

No wonder my body seeks comedy shows. My hubby knows me better now that whenever the American Idol season starts, I watch it with the anticipation of great entertainment. Naturally, laughter ensues when singer-wannabes become delusionary. Hehehe.

He enjoys hearing the sound of my shrill laughter. Every night, my family and myself watch the “Jacks” Comedy channel and the late night talk shows of “Late Night with Conan O’Brien” and “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” .

What I miss the most are the original jokes of my brothers, Oscar and Ruben (bless their souls!). My family of origin loves to laugh and I thought it was normal to have loud laughter and noise during dinner. Yes, I grew up in a noisy family where song and dance followed after dinner. Good thing our house was located in a huge lot and neighbors were far apart. It came as a culture shock to me when I married a husband whose family was let’s say…quiet. Not much humor. So when my second daughter took after my family’s genes , my hubby often warned her to lower her voice in front of his mother. Oh boy! That used to cause marital conflict. But that soon came to pass after I set my foot down . There is nothing wrong with laughter during appropriate times.

“Why do you think Reader’s Digest has claimed that ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’ for so many years?”

Hubby has now learned to laugh along with us. There’s nothing like a family who laughs together.

11Apr 2006

Book Launch of the “Fallen Cradle”

by webs ⋅ 9 Comments

“Fallen Cradle” is the title of the book which I am a part of. (View the book cover) Friends like Cathy Babao-Guballa, Alma Miclat, Agnes Prieto, Pia Cayetano are among the 22 parents who contributed to the literary anthology on their experiences of the loss of a child. Like Cathy said : “it promises to be a literary exploration of the many faces (and phases) of losing a child. ” The book is edited by award winning authors Agnes Prieto and Ricardo de Ungria.

Do drop by and take a look at our book and meet the authors as well.

When: May 3, 2005 at 5:30 PM
Where: Powerbooks at Greenbelt 4 , Makati Avenue

10Apr 2006

Featured in Blog-O-Rama and other site news

by webs ⋅ 4 Comments

Thanks Annalyn for the Blog-O-Rama interview of this blog. I received a few emails from readers who have lost a loved one and got directed to The Compassionate Friends website. I know I can’t take away their pain but by talking or writing about their grief, they can somehow ease their pain. I only got to read the paper version while at the gym early this morning.

“Touched by an Angel” is only 7 weeks old , and my Google [tag]Page rank[/tag] is already PR 5 on the main page (it’s PR0 on newer entries). Sometimes I don’t understand Google. Only 10 sites link to this blog and not to mention, the domain is quite new. Anyway, this is good news because there is a chance that visitors can easily find this site by typing the significant keywords.

01Apr 2006

Preparing for life and death

by webs ⋅ 3 Comments

When I first saw the accidental drowning photos from Sidney’s My Sari Sari Store, it looked surreal to me. For some reason, the photo of the dead boy didn’t shock me. Yes, I felt a twinge of sadness. Not that I’m a cold hearted person. That’s because I’ve seen the death of my own child. What is the worst photo or image one could possibly imagine? The image of my son’s limp body haunted my mind for at least 3 years after his death. Sometimes I prayed to God to give me amnesia to stop these images from playing over and over again.

Today I can look back at that exact moment when my son was given CPR (Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation) without the raw pain wrenching my heart. How did it feel like?

29Mar 2006

Corporal Punishment Part 2

by webs ⋅ Leave a Comment

Remember that 9 year old who died after allegedly being made to swallow pencil shavings by her teacher? Autopsy showed she died from acute tonsilitis that got severely infected. The teacher has no criminal liability but will be charged for child abuse.

29Mar 2006

A memorial site for deceased MySpace users

by webs ⋅ 3 Comments

MyDeathSpace.com memorializes deceased MySpace.com users and picks up where
a regular obituary leaves off. I don’t know how their deaths can be verified. When you click their myspace profiles, one can see that someone logged in recently. Maybe their ghost updated their profile? Or perhaps, family members were able to get their password. My friend’s 20 year old son died recently and she was able to acquire his [tag]myspace[/tag] login information through the help of friends. She plans to create a memorial website for him.

Looking at the cause of death of these young kids, all of it are Sudden, Accidental or Traumatic Deaths. How sad ! Automobile Accident ranks as the number one cause of death. Others like Auto-Pedestrian Accident, being shot, suicide, drug overdose, alcohol poisoning or alcohol-related, drunk driving are just a few common ones then followed by unusual causes like:

27Mar 2006

Grief support in the Philippines

by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado ⋅ 11 Comments

Grief is not exclusive for those who have lost a child , a parent or sibling. In life we experience so many losses such as loss of job, money, health , a love affair and other things. The grief process is universal to us all. We go through stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

As a bereaved mother, I reach out to other grief support groups and counsellors in the Philippines. There were no support groups or grief therapists in the year 2000. I tried to start the Compassionate Friends that year but the USA group appeared lukewarm to my email. On hindsight, I was not ready to be an effective organizer considering that my pain was still so fresh and new.

16Mar 2006

9 year old dies from swallowing pencil shavings

by webs ⋅ 3 Comments

Child abuse can happen right inside the classroom. I just saw this news item on ABS CBN news: Mabel, a 9 year old girl from Silangan Elementary School, in Taguig died after allegedly being made to swallow pencil shavings by her teacher. According to her classmates their teacher thought Madel was the one who had scattered pencil shaving and was punished for it.

This news report Pupil, made to swallow pencil shavings, dies added that:

Although there was no autopsy, acute tonsillitis and asphyxiation pneumonia due to the extreme swelling of throat were stated as the official cause of death.

15Mar 2006

We need not walk alone

by webs ⋅ 2 Comments

I had the craziest schedule ever. It would have been alright if not for this stuffy nose and sneezing fits.

8:30 to 10:00 AM At the sanctuary of St. Peter’s Basilica, I attended the 40 day mass for Jullian Elaine “Apple” Book (yes pronounced as book). I barely made it. The mass originally scheduled at 10:00 AM was moved to 9:00 AM. I was still in Makati at 8:30AM so I drove quickly and arrived in time for the last part of the mass.