GOVPH

Posted on March 21, 2022
by Christine V. Ordinario

Photo by: Sir Russel Owen Viloria

Got toothache? Headache? Colds? Cough? Fever? Upset stomach? Muscle pains? Heartburn? Dysmenorrhea? WE FIND JOY.

 

Need medical record of students? Medical lab results of employees? Referrals to medical specialists? Contact number of clinics and health facilities? WE FIND JOY.

 

Worried about our high systolic-diastolic reading of our BP app? Got colds over the weekend and uncertain whether to report to school or not? Need suggestions on home remedy or first aid for various ailments? WE FIND JOY.

 

Weekend. We are at home, it is unofficial time, it’s everyone’s rest day, but we need prompt medical advice. WE FIND JOY.

 

JOY. Proper noun. A.K.A. Lyzette, Red Lyz, Nurse Joy. Joy Lyzette Reguyal Carreon.

 

We usually address her in school as Ma’am Joy. The “small but terrible” description is already a cliché, but it perfectly defines her – what she lacks in height is exceptionally compensated by her performance as an employee and by the passion that she pours in her work.

 

A registered nurse since 2003 and a school nurse in Pisay for almost 10 years now, Ma’am Joy didn’t dream of taking the path she has taken. After high school, she enrolled in Computer Engineering in a university in Manila, but eventually shifted to another course. Convinced by her sister-in-law, she pursued Nursing in a university here in Nueva Vizcaya, and that was the beginning of her journey in the nursing profession that she learned to love, and which she passionately described, “Hindi man nursing ang una ko, siya naman ang huli ko.”

 

After finishing her degree, she took the board exam, passed it, and set out to face life in the real world. Topping the list of her employment prospects was to become a military nurse, but because of height qualifications, she was five inches away from fulfilling that ambition. With the aim of joining the ranks of the uniformed personnel out of her options, she worked as a home care nurse in Manila and Cabanatuan City, then moved to Saint Mary’s University where she worked as clinical instructor for eight and a half years, while at the same time rendering services as volunteer nurse at the Veterans Regional Hospital and MMG.

 

She also considered working abroad, especially that nursing is a lucrative profession overseas. She tried applying for Saudi Arabia but luck was not on her side. Just as she was about to apply for Canada, she sought divine intervention, and the sign that the heavens poured down on her was her acceptance at PSHS-CVC as school nurse. That for her was an answered prayer because she didn’t need to leave the country, more so leave her family behind, because her son and her parents are her priority.

 

As a Pisay nurse for almost a decade now, Ma’am Joy’s daily routine during the pre-pandemic days was checking on students, visiting the sick ones in the dormitories, responding to walk-in patients in her clinic, students and employees alike, who were asking for medicines, professional advice, or medical assistance. There were also days that she is hyped up by emergency cases: rushing patients to the hospital, informing the parents about the matter, communicating with medical professionals, taking care of the patients until their conditions become better. In these crucial times, she remained calm, composed, focused, and sharp – the epitome of grace under pressure.

 

When the pandemic began, the students were sent to the safety of their homes. With only the employees left as her clients, Ma’am Joy would have projected work to be a lot easier, but the threat of the virus makes work a little more complicated. When some employees contracted the virus and tested COVID-positive, Ma’am Joy ensured that she was able to take care of them, though not physically, but virtually, by checking on each of the patients, constantly communicating with them, giving them advice, referring them to health facilities, instructing them what meds to take, ultimately making the anxious patients feel better.

 

The pandemic took a toll on her job when the number of COVID-positive employees peaked, the hospitals and quarantine facilities were full, and the danger of contracting the virus is still something that she should not ignore. Despite these challenges, she managed to get through it, thankful that the PSHS-CVC community is a very strong support system.

 

With a father who has a chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, Ma’am Joy knows that her nurse duties extend even at home. She is always worried about catching the virus, that she might spread it to the people in their household, especially to her parents who are in their senior years and have comorbidities. Even while she is at work, she is always on-call, particularly for her dad’s emergency cases.

 

When asked if she would still want to be a nurse if she had another chance to choose another career, with honesty and conviction, she said yes, she would still choose nursing as her profession because she considers it as a selfless act. Through her profession, she can help other people feel better, and that for her is the greatest reward for what she does. She has her own share of problems to deal with, but when she helps other people solve their problems by making them healthy and well, she forgets about her struggles and her heart leaps with delight. With her current job in Pisay, she is thankful that her efforts are appreciated.

 

Ma’am Joy’s earnest care was greatly felt during the pre-COVID days, but more immensely so in this time of pandemic. She was responsive as ever, and her genuine concern for everyone, especially for her fellow employees who tested positive of COVID, was felt no matter how this pandemic has drawn limitations for face-to-face interactions. To say that she is one of most hardworking employees during these times is an understatement, and the Outstanding Employee Award that she was awarded recently is a much-deserved reward for all her hard work.

 

We know Ma’am Joy as a person who possesses a very tough character, but when it comes to her family, she turns soft as a feather. She has done a lot of sacrifices for her family, to the point that she would set aside her personal pursuits because she always puts her son and her parents first before herself. There were times that she just watched opportunities slip through her fingers, moments that she would have treated herself a dose of happiness she’s been wanting for so long, days that she would have thought more about herself, but she let go of all these because she values her family more than herself. Deep inside her heart, she knows there is a space that’s waiting to be filled, and that remains empty until the day she earns enough courage and chooses to find that missing piece.

 

With the close-to-two-years duration of this pandemic, undeniably, we were always FINDING Ma’am JOY. Now that the course is clearer and the situation is more manageable, we wish this hardworking nurse to find time for self-care and self-love, too. And we look forward to the day when finally, JOY FINDS JOY.

Published: 21 March 2022

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Posted on March 16, 2022

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Published: 16 March 2022

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Posted on March 14, 2022

Photo by: Sir Russel Owen Viloria

Fe. The chemical symbol for iron, the most-used metal.
Ate Fe. The name of our version of the iron woman, one of the most diligent workers in the campus.

Meet Fe Dalit, 40, a utility worker in Pisay for more than four years now. Currently assigned at the Administration Building, she is that familiar figure who seems to have unlimited stamina – sweeping here, mopping there, gardening here, wiping there, keeping surfaces to their most spotlessly clean state. And! Lifting a water-filled 5-gallon jug is just easy and effortless for her, Hidilyn Diaz just got a new apprentice right here!

Ate Fe’s typical working day begins at 6AM, an hour-and-a-half earlier than required. Before the employees in the Administration Building arrive, her early morning routine of cleaning the offices, corridors, conference room, pantries, and restrooms is almost over. No wonder, her dedication at work is translated in her performance evaluation rating of 4.84, substantiated by numerous positive remarks, a very satisfactory performance indeed, a testament to her diligence.

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays are her busiest days. While most employees conclude their eight-hour workday the moment they tap their index finger on the biometrics fingerprint scanner as early as 430PM, Ate Fe is just not done yet because a family is waiting for her to help them in cleaning the house, washing clothes, and doing other domestic tasks for them. Her busiest days end at around 7PM, the time when she finally switches her role from a worker to a wife and mother – such a huge sacrifice she does three times a week to earn extra income for her family.

In January 2020, she decided to leave Pisay for an opportunity to work overseas. Just as when she began working on her application, the pandemic put all her plans to a halt. With her employment in Pisay terminated, she needed to look for other means to earn a living. Her family moved to Alicia, Isabela and initiated a buy-and-sell business of locally produced vegetables, but their startup business ended too soon when strict transportation guidelines were imposed as a result of the pandemic.

Eventually, she and her family decided to go back to Nueva Vizcaya, and she was fortunate to be employed again in an agency in the province that deploys janitorial services for Pisay. But when she thought everything was going on very well, her husband and her mother became ill. The weight of this problem was no match to that 5-gallon water lift. The emotional struggle of seeing her loved ones in such frail conditions brought out her vulnerability. During this challenging episode of her life, Ate Fe is like iron: a hard but brittle substance. No matter how strong she is seen on the outside, she is also fragile on the inside – a character that makes this iron woman more human.

Her mother’s demise less than a year ago still breaks her heart. She wished she could have bought her a rocking chair that could have at least comforted her when she was still alive, but because of her struggle to make both ends meet, she had to set that aside and prioritize their basic needs. She wished she could have given her all she needed –a more comfortable life, medical care, attention, love – but her mother’s time was up. And Ate Fe knows nothing can ever fill that void.

Fortunately, her husband has finally recovered, and he is back in doing the things he used to do: farming, planting vegetables, taking care of their children while Ate Fe is at work, helping her with the household chores and other duties that help relieve Ate Fe after a long and exhausting day. And more importantly, they are back to their bonding moments as a family – spending an afternoon at the capitol grounds once or twice a month, enjoying the place in the company of one another.

As a mother of a 12-year-old girl and a six-year-old boy, Ate Fe is thankful that both her children are doing their school tasks independently, and they help her in the household chores, most especially during the days when she cannot accomplish all these because of the multiple tasks she does at work.

When asked what makes her happy, she said – TRABAHO. If she doesn’t work, she feels weak and sickly, precisely the reason why she is seen in campus to be always on the move, doing chores one after the other. Conversely, when asked what makes her sad, she simply said the absence of work, and in a joke, she quipped, “nu awan trabaho, awan kwarta.”

She realized it must have been God’s plan to not allow her to work overseas – because she would have carried that guilt of losing her mother while she was away, and because her husband and her children need her more than what she could earn abroad.

Looking at the way she performs her duties, and how passionate she is with her work, one would wonder where in the world does she get all the strength to do such physically demanding tasks. She said it is a trait she got form her parents – their industry, their hard work, their diligence. Inside that petite frame is that incredible strength and tough character that forge her unique WOMANNESS.

Meet Ate Fe. More than a utility worker, she is a sister, a friend, a wife, a mother.
A FeMale. An Iron Woman.

Published: 14 March 2022

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