Angelite Nurses

It all started simply enough – a usual day at the station house. We checked in, we checked out the rig, we did our station duties and filled out the logbook; we looked up our duty roster for the day and we even started working on CE’s. There are mornings that the calls come right away, and days you actually get to unpack your gear; some days you might even be able to have a cup of coffee and relax for a bit – but the calls always come. When the calls come, you never know what it’s going to be when you get there or what you’re going to see. You don’t know whether the person you’ll be dealing with even wants you there, or if someone else called on their behalf. You don’t know whether it’s a life-or-death situation, or a stubbed toe. None of that matters. When the calls come, we roll.

Some days you never forget. Some cases stay with you throughout an entire career; you may never remember a name, or a date, but you always remember the faces. A blur of activity, a rush of frantic haste, and then the silence that comes at the end of a futile race to a foregone conclusion. And at the center of it all, one calm, still, angelic face.

When it all comes crashing down on us, how do we cope? How do the comforters ask for comfort? How do you bear the unbearable? Some of us write letters, write articles, or write blogs. Some of us talk. Some of us cry. Some of us punch walls; some of us turn inward and turn mean. Some of us drink. Some of us do some combination of all of these things and more.

Some of us – as silly as it seems – well, we write poetry.


I see her as I'd wish, this stranger's child.
Her smile alive, her childhood still intact,
her purity of skin left undefiled.
The trace of time's caress could not detract
from beauty that was hers by birth and right.
I see her thus. Not as I saw her last,
surrounded by the remnants of my fight
to bring her back - her final struggle past.
Pale lips curved, an enigmatic smile.
Those lips I vainly sealed with mine to breathe
the life back into her. So for a while
I stood -- abashed, exhausted and bereaved,
silenced, for all my furious battle, lost --
Compelled by those who live to hide that cost.

Ted D.

A group of Filipino nurses expressed disappointment after their supposed European trip a week ago did not push through.
The group said the 13-day trip had been planned for 2 years. They said they had paid for everything–more than $6,000 each to the American Academy of Family Medicine–a travel agency that claims to specialize on trips for nurses and doctors.
However, when they were packed and ready to go, the group never received their tickets from their agent.
“It’s very hurting and unfair. We gave them want they want. They charged us and we paid them on time. But they did not give us anything in return,” said Alice Chavez.
Francis Gonzales, Chief Executive Officer of the American Academy of Family Medicine, reportedly sent out an email to the travelers, saying that added costs in airport and hotel fees caused the postponement of their trip.
In the email, Gonzales reportedly wrote, “As an appreciation for the inconvenience, we will send you a travel coupon valued at $1,000.”
But Gonzales asked for another $600 per person to pay for added costs to the trip, which the company will consider a loan.
“That company is Filipino-owned and operated. Yet they scam fellow Filipinos. I’m very disappointed. We cannot trust them,” said Joy Rosete.
The travelers said the only reason why they bought the tickets was because of the agency’s buy-one-take-one deal.
Ranielle Manzano said this experience taught her to be careful of too-good-to-be-true deals.
“You have to do your research. If you don’t get any trip confirmation from the agency, it’s probably not legitimate,” said Manzano.
The travelers now have 3 weeks off with no vacation and nothing to do.
Class suit
They plan to use the time to file a class action lawsuit and individual small claims suit against the American Academy of Family Medicine.
“We want to recover what’s rightfully ours from the scammer,” said Johnson Lim.
These travelers said they also plan to report the American Academy of Family Medicine to the Better Business Bureau to stop them from scamming other people.
The American Academy of Family Medicine has denied these scam allegations. Gonzales said that the payments they received could not cover all the costs, and he had no choice but to postpone the trip and ask for additional fees. Gonzales said those who do not wish to take a trip at a later time will be reimbursed.
Gonzales also reiterated that his company has been around for 30 years, and has brought several thousands of medical professional in tours and meeting all over the world.