Dear mouse,
Americans who planned to travel in
areas where there are disease-carrying insects
are required to have their shots.
This news should have made the
people aware of the danger in going to
places unprotected from the deadly
malaria.
Reyster Langit, son of veteran
radio broadcaster Rey Langit, died Friday in
a US hospital, according to reports reaching
The Manila Times.
Reyster, 33, died from heart failure in
a hospital in Los Angeles, California. He
was diagnosed with cerebral malaria, a
disease he contracted in Palawan while o
n assignment for the public affairs program
Kasangga Mo Ang Langit.
His companions, DWIZ reporter Jesus
Christian Macadaeg and cameraman Arnold
Tanare, also contracted cerebral malaria
and died from complications from the disease.
When I was in high school, we climbed a
mountain in Bicol, if I remember it
right, it was Mt. Bulusan.
We reached the part of the mountain where
clouds just get past us that visibility
became zero. The climate was so cold that
the hot soup turned cold with the "sebo" on
top.
After two nights in the camp, several
of my companions fell ill that they
were rushed to the provincial hospital.
It was due to intestinal flu.
There were no mosquitos up the mountain may
be because of the wind but when we came down
to pass the night in one of huts, grabe...ang
mosquitos, para silang mga hayok sa laman.
Thank God, walang carrier ng malaria.
In college, my friends and I went to
Zambales for a volunteer work in the
forest nursery.
Somewhere, looking for some wild berries,"duhats",
we lost our guide and our water supply too.
We're so thirsty that we were thankful
to see a little stream (bukal) with clear
water. My companions were about to scoop
some water to drink when I saw "kiti-kiti".
The water was not muddy. It seemed, it's
clean but, the flow was so slow that
it became a breeding ground for mosquitoes."
During the evening, we slept in a
rundown nipa hut.
It was our choice. It did not have a roof
so we can see the beautiful sky and the
stars. Then mosquitoes started
buzzing and biting us. I remembered my brother
wrote from Australia that he contracted malaria
but he was luckily treated at the earliest
symptom when it manifested.
I can't sleep. So I feigned illness. I need
to go to the doctor. The nearest clinic was
4 hours away.
One of the senior members of the team
applied first aid by using her knowledge
about survival in the forest. She looked
for a banana tree and cut the unopened
small leaf. She heated it over fire and
slowly opened the leaf while applying
it in my tummy.
Araaay, init.
She said that I was just pretending that
I was sick, because, if not, the leaf
was going to give me relief instead
of burning my skin. Quackery ?
Ah ewan.Wanna go home and that was all
I wanted. I know these stingers were
disease carrying insects.
The Ca t