Love and Care in Baguio City, Philippines: An Amazing Auntie-Nephew Connection After A Health Scare
Summary
Prior to lunch during our extended family get-together in Baguio City, Philippines, Jr suddenly called to relay a dreaded news. His elder brother, Ook, suffered an unexpected seizure and became unconscious while finishing their lunch. My wife and I rushed at Chaya Restaurant where the paramedics were still attending to Ook, and later transported him to the Baguio General Hospital. Ook’s medical emergency disrupted the lunch and tour schedules. Instead of joining the tour, her Auntie Butchie decided to stay with us and volunteered to fetch Ook when he was discharged. I share a narrative of Ook’s dramatic bonding moments and his special relationship with Auntie Butchie. Moreover, I express the significance of family support particularly during a medical emergency.
Contents
- Family Reunion in Baguio City: Uniting Generations
- Baguio Adventures Begin: A Family’s First Stop
- Crisis in Baguio: How Family Bonded Through Adversity
- Auntie-Nephew Joyride: A Memorable Day in Baguio
- Our Family Breakfast: Cherishing Moments in Baguio
- Auntie Butchie’s Souvenir: A Token of Love from Ilocos
- Wrapping up with Insight
1. Family Reunion in Baguio City: Uniting Generations
Amidst a medical emergency, I recapture a special bonding moment between an auntie and a nephew while inside a car. It happened in Baguio City, the Philippines’ summer capital. Let me first provide a brief context about how such a sentimental scene unfolded.
Earlier, my wife and her four sisters scheduled a three-day (20-22 June 2024) extended family get-together in Baguio City. The last reunion when all the sisters were present was during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Puerto Princesa City, Palawan. The five of them collectively organized the trip’s logistics and itinerary. As dutiful husbands, we simply agreed with their plan. All of us have been to Baguio City before on separate occasions. (Sadly, their lone brother Rey and wife Deth were unable to join but we had a separate dinner with them later in Manila.)
The names of five sisters correspond to the first five letters in the English alphabet. As the eldest, my wife’s name is Angelita (Lita), followed by Benilda (Ida), Cynthia (Butchie), Divina (Bonang), and Elvira (Elvie).
Lita was a former nurse before she became a full-time homemaker. Ida (a teacher) is married to Bobet (a dentist); Butchie is married to Wilson (a retired agricultural engineer), and they co-manage their poultry and bakery businesses; Bonang manages a boarding house and a variety store while her husband Estong is in transport sector ferrying tourists; Elvie and her husband Larry co-manage their construction business and hardware store. Ida and Bobet live in Australia, and the Baguio family get-together coincided with their vacation time in the Philippines.
Although not part of the original entourage, our two sons, Ook (real name is Mikhail Robert plus his wife Teri and son Marcus) and Jr (my namesake), joined the trip. Ook was the first grandson of my late parents-in-law. Ook underwent four brain tumor operations while in the US in 2022-23, and their aunties graciously invited them to join the family gathering. Meantime, Jr is a freelance architect who works part-time in building designs for her Auntie Elvie’s construction business.
This blog focuses on the medical emergency that happened to Ook while in Baguio City and his special moments with her Auntie Butchie. (I shall write separate blogs about our varied family adventures.) During an earlier conversation, Ook shared that he has been blessed for having four pleasant and caring aunties. When I casually asked him if he had any favorite, Ook responded that it’s difficult to pinpoint one because he likes all of them. If required to single out his favorite, though, he would say Butchie is the most special auntie. (Although he prefers to hang out most of the time at his Auntie Bonang’s house.)
2. Baguio Adventures Begin: A Family's First Stop
Coming from Metro Manila, we departed for Baguio City at about 0400 on 20 June 2024 in two vehicles. Wilson and Butchie drove ahead in their white Ford Everest with two couples: Ida and Bobet, plus Estong and Bonang. Elvie hired a black Toyota van that loaded herself (plus her assistant Gaygay), Larry, Ook, his family, Lita, Jr, and me. Our driver-cum-tour guide was Jhade, an amiable and lovely lady. At about 0900, we converged at the Hotel Cosmopolitan, where we were all billeted. Then, the tour marathon started.
Our first stop was at Tam-Awan Village, with various ethnic relics and cultural presentations. Then, we proceeded to the Igorot Stone Kingdom. Lunch followed, and we checked in at 1400 at the Hotel Cosmopolitan.
In the late afternoon, many went to Burnham Park for boating activities. I fell asleep and missed the fun. In the evening, we had a sumptuous dinner at the Pamana Restaurant. With great anticipation, we predicted that the second day would be great, too. Or so we all thought.
3. Crisis in Baguio: How Family Bonded Through Adversity
After breakfast, the five pairs (of husbands and wives) departed in a two-convoy vehicle, separate from the group of Ook’s family and Jr. Initially, my wife would accompany Ook and his family to Burnham Park, where Marcus would play around. At the last moment, Jr decided to switch slots with my wife and joined them instead.
Our group first visited Mines View Park for costume photo ops. Then, our wives did some shopping at the Good Shepherd Compound. The last stop was a relaxed stroll around the Botanical Garden. Then, we settled at the SM shopping mall for lunch at Manam, a comfort Filipino food restaurant. They even bought two branded cakes for an advanced celebration of my wife’s 63rd birthday on 29 June 2024.
Sitting outdoors but shaded from the sun, the mood was festive as we leisurely chatted while waiting for our food. Suddenly, Jr called us to relay a piece of dreaded news: Ook had an unexpected seizure and was unconscious at Chaya, a Japanese restaurant, where they were partaking their lunch. The ambiance suddenly turned somber. It was unexpected as Ook had never had a seizure after his brain tumor operations.
Jhade rushed Lita and me to Chaya, where we saw a parked ambulance with blinking lights at the entrance. My heart started to palpitate faster, and I felt that my brain was having an emotional overload. The paramedics were still attending to Ook, now awake and sitting on the floor. Lita took Marcus with her, who had been incessantly crying. Later, we followed his ambulance as he was transported to the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center’s emergency room (ER). After assisting Teri with a few errands, Lita, Jr, and I proceeded to the Hotel Metropolitan.
Ook’s uncles and aunties were already anxiously waiting for us when we arrived there at around 1500. With leftover food from Manam, we partook in our late lunch while others sipped their coffee. There were crisscrossing and animated conversations as we discussed Ook’s medical case based on Jr’s first-hand information. Her Auntie Butchie appeared to be agitated the most. Visibly worried, she was insisting on visiting Ook at once.
Jr also showed us a short video of Ook’s seizure and unconscious state while Teri was attending to him. It was a scary scene, to say the least. Close relatives who became aware of the situation started calling.
Lita and I stayed to monitor Ook’s situation remotely at the Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center. We advised the rest to proceed with their planned trip to Mirador Heritage and Eco Park. Since we cannot directly resolve Ook’s medical emergency, they better spend the time undertaking their tour rather than be worried unnecessarily.
4. Auntie-Nephew Joyride: A Memorable Day in Baguio
In the end, Butchie decided to stay with us, along with Wilson, forgoing the trip to Mirador Heritage and Eco Park. In between, she was conferring over the phone with her two daughters: Kat and Vane.
At around 1645, Teri called my wife to relay that Ook had been cleared for a discharge. The Citi scan showed promising results. Butchie then volunteered to fetch Ook at Baguio General Hospital and Medical Center. Tagging along Jr with them, they drove there with Wilson at the wheel. Ook felt very elated that her Auntie Butchie had gone out of her way to fetch him personally. It was indeed an emotional reunion of Ook with her Auntie Butchie. On the way back, Jr took a selfie of themselves while inside their moving car.
I argue that it is an iconic backseat photo of Ook sandwiched between her beloved Auntie Butchie and wife Teri. More precisely, this picture gave me an instant impetus to write this blog to show the unique bond between an auntie and a nephew inside a moving car. Although Ook likes all her aunties, he has established a more special relationship with her Auntie Butchie most logically for two reasons.
First, Ook slept with Butchie when he was still a toddler, whenever Lita was on night duty as a nurse in the hospital. Hence, the two had an up-close and personal physical bonding, if not intimacy. Since Butchie was still single then, she practically became a part-time surrogate mother. She sometimes ferried Ook back and forth to his pre-school – or brought him along for a joy ride in her red Toyota Tamaraw.
Butchie has been a caring Auntie as Ook grew into adulthood. In real-time, Ook spent more time with Butchie than with her other aunties. Moreover, Butchie, Wilson, and Vane visited Ook in Houston, Texas, after his 2023 brain tumor operation in the US.
Secondly, Ook was also closely associated with Kat, Butchie’s eldest daughter. They were playmates since they were in the same age bracket, separated only by a couple of years. Kat called several times from Singapore, where she is currently based.
When the tour group returned, we dined at Grumpy Joe, specializing in Italian food. Ook’s family stayed at the Hotel Metropolitan to rest.
5. Our Family Breakfast: Cherishing Moments in Baguio
Our first activity on the final day on 22 June 2024 was attending the 0600 Catholic mass in the nearby St. Vincent Ferrer Parrish. It was a mass officiated in English with songs and homily in the Ilocano language, which was quite different hearing language-wise.
We specifically thanked the Almighty for still giving Ook an extended gift of life. And we likewise prayed for his full recovery. Jr, who was up close with him during the ordeal, thought he would die as he was unconscious and saliva was freely drooling from his mouth. Perhaps, it was providential that he switched with my wife as he was able to assist Ook during the seizure before he fell from his chair down the floor.
By 0730, we were back at the Hotel Metropolitan for the final breakfast. Due to limited space, we sat down at separate tables. Ook leap-hopped from one table to another while narrating his medical emergency story. One of his many cat lives, he said in a half jest.
After the meal, our wives had another round of shopping at the Good Shepherd Compound. At about 1030, we said our goodbyes as the two vehicles headed in different directions. Wilson and Butchie drove their white Ford Everest to the Ilocos Region with the original two couples: Ida and Bobet, Estong and Bonang. Ook hugged her Auntie Butchie one last time. The black Toyota van, with the original occupants, including myself, returned to Manila.
Aside from sharing a special bond between an auntie and a nephew, what I express here is the significance of family support during a medical emergency, as what happened to Ook during his seizure at Chaya restaurant and eventual hospitalization. Moreover, the close-knit bondage of family matriarchs is quite crucial. Our daughter Hannah (a medical doctor) called Ook several times from Australia. Other extended family members were in touch remotely to express their concerns.
6. Auntie Butchie’s Souvenir: A Token of Love from Ilocos
Butchie’s entourage spent three days in Ilocos Region, the northern part of mainland Philippines, visiting several relatives and tourist sites. (Wilson hails from Batac, Ilocos Norte.) Among others, they visited the iconic Calle Crisologo in Vigan, Ilocos Sur, and the windmills in Bangui, Ilocos Norte. They returned on 25 June 2024 at their residence in Quezon City around 2015, almost at the same time I walk walked over there. Ook’s family arrived at their residence much earlier.
As I anticipated, Butchie brought a gift bag (called pasalubong in Pilipino) for Ook’s family. I hurriedly took photos of them to capture the moment and incorporate them into this blog. (I used Ook’s iPhone for better quality pictures as my Jurassic Android phone produces mediocre photos!) The gift bag consisted of special delicacies such as bolero (soft bread with sweet filling) bun and a special sweet pudding from Vigan.
Going back to the main story – after all those years – Ook has remained a special nephew to her Auntie Butchie. That is a classic example of a special relationship between a nephew and an auntie. The sample photos speak for themselves, and I need not say more.
7. Wrapping up with Insight
As I animatedly watched them over breakfast on 22 June 2024, I feel immeasurably blessed for having such a supportive set of in-laws. Their generous acts are too many to mention; nonetheless, I will just cite here a few of their kind gestures aside from Butchie. Our late Tatay and Nanay allowed us to stay at their ancestral home. Ida took care of my family in Darwin during the last three months of my doctoral study in Queensland, Australia. Bonang often freely shares with me some of their family meals. Elvie hosted my 60th birthday party complete with a live band. Rey is drinking buddies of our two sons, Ook and Jr.
Hence, I highlight the significance of a closely-knit family – as well as established special relationships. In particular, I focus on the special bonding of our son Ook with her Auntie Butchie. Moreover, I reiterate in particular the role of unwavering family support during a medical emergency. Indeed, the extended family that prays and travels together stays together.
Reflective Questions for Readers:
What did you think of the bond shared between the nephew and his aunt throughout the years? Have you experienced something similar in your own family? Do you believe such close-knit relationships are unique to Filipino or Asian cultures? How do you feel about the role of family support during a medical emergency?
I would love to hear your thoughts and stories! Your feedback means a lot to me. By sharing your experiences and opinions, we can create a more interactive and connected community here.
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