A whole new world

A trip to the big city can be a scary proposition for a mother and her young son who have grown up in a remote Brooke's Point Palawano village in the Philippines, but medical needs made it necessary.

After two weeks in Manila, Kilsit and her son, Tatak, had a lot of new experiences to tell their friends and family back home.

They had never traveled in a car, and it didn’t take long to discover that Kilsit can’t go more than ten minutes without getting carsick. When traveling on a big plane she said, "My stomach doesn’t know where it is." Riding in a Jeepney and on light rail transport during peak hour added to their variety of travel experiences.

Kilsit and Tatak had a lot of observations and questions about the big city. "It’s so, noisy, crowded, smoky and dirty.""Where are all those people going? Where did they come from? What are they doing?""There are so many buildings and they’re so tall."

Crossing busy roads is a fearful experience and Kilsit rides an escalator or an elevator only when necessary. Tatak loves the moving conveyors. Electronic turnstiles at the station and revolving doors are also first-time experiences.

The Palawano mother and son have never before seen "so much food." Some of it -- mashed potatoes, lettuce, grapes, fried chicken, ice cream, broccoli, cauliflower and Coke were considered "good." Other foods -- bacon, cheese, tomatoes, carrots, peas, French toast and French fries -- are in the "bad" category.

At breakfast one morning Tatak mistook pancake batter for something you put on rice. "The funny thing was he really liked it," wrote Julie Ward, who traveled with Kilsit and Tatak.

Kilsit enjoys the convenience of taking a warm shower. "You can have a shower anytime; even if the weather is cold you stay warm," she says.

But other items in the bathroom are not as enjoyable. "I’m scared of the thing that’s making the noise in the toilet," Tatak says when the water flushes. "It’s going to come out and get me!"

Air conditioning, light switches, fans and watching TV are more unfamiliar items for Kilsit and Tatak. While waiting for his upcoming surgery, Tatak watches Animal Planet, the Discovery, Travel and Living channels and Disney Playhouse. He loves to hear "Thomas, the tank engine" music.

Wearing long pants and closed-in shoes is new for Tatak and he had never before slept on a mattress in a bed off the floor. After falling out of bed, he now sleeps on the floor like he does at home.

Beyond all of these experiences the most frightful has been trips to the doctor. Tatak screamed when the medical staff had to take some blood.

"We’ve been to the hospital twice and are now waiting for a call from the CT scan department to let us know when he is booked in." wrote Julie. "The doctors have been so nice and helpful, even trying to speed up the whole process for us. Please continue to pray that things will move along quickly."

Julie has also experienced a first as she’s been with Kilsit and Tatak. "For the first time I was able to see one of Tatak’s seizures," she wrote. "He’s had quite a few since we’ve been together and I don’t know how this will affect his surgery. Please pray for him and for wisdom for the doctors handling his case."