Favorite People 1: My Little Sister

I’m sitting here inside the cardiologist’s clinic waiting for my turn to be examined. This is the second time in 3 months I find myself dragged to the hospital. As always, my sister-doctor arranged everything for me so all I have to do is show up.

Nonet is the youngest sister. That makes her my little sister, though I'm only 2 years older than her.

Funny, she’s profiled us - her three sisters - on how she can keep us in line medically. Anne, the eldest, will respond to prophecies of health doom; fear is the key to compliance! Emi, the 2^nd eldest, is an all-around good girl, so she’s quite easy to deal with. I’m the stubborn and defiant one. I’m best handled with subtlety, and if all else fails, with combined mother & sister wrath!

Nonet is an Internal Medicine resident at Metropolitan Hospital, a Chinese hospital at the heart of Manila. She joined them 3 years ago because of their notable Internal Medicine Program. When I asked her why she chose to specialize in IM, she told me her decision was based on two things:
1) what would come in handy for our parents who are getting old;
2) what would come in handy if the family is in a plane en route somewhere and there’s a medical emergency with one of us.

I guess Internal Medicine was the answer. She’s set to pursue her sub-specialization next year, but she’s still choosing between Neurology (groovy!) and Infectious Diseases (interesting but lethal!). Doctors study forever, it seems.

Nonet doesn’t know it, but she is my favorite sister! I suppose this is how every big sis feels towards her little sis. I remember when she was a kid she would pronounce certain words incorrectly: bathrobe became bathrog, New Year was pronounced New Nyear, episode was ebizode hahaha! I also recall a time many years back -- the whole family was solemnly praying the rosary when suddenly and absent-mindedly, Nonet blurts with feelings: “Og og og og og!” What the?! When we were growing up, the two of us were roommates (this was my mom’s strategy for forging the bonds of sisterhood; our 2 elder sisters were roommates, too). Nonet and I had one and only one joint mission in life then: to get our hands on our sisters’ diaries so we could read them!! (By the way, we DID achieve our mission heehee.)

I realized she was not a little girl anymore one New Year’s Eve a couple of years back. I had a sudden urge to sort out her shoes -- out with the old, bring in the new! There were several pairs of shoes I wasn’t sure she was still using, so I called her up. She was on hospital duty that night. I asked her cheerily if she'd still like to keep X and Y shoes. There was silence from her end, then she replied in an extremely calm way: “Do I really have to decide on that now?” I said no, not really (still cheery), and said bye. I asked my mom afterwards where she was stationed, my mom said she was in charge of the ER. On New Year’s Eve. When emergency cases abound. Oops. Later I found out when she is “in charge of” or “on duty” in a certain area, it means she’s fully accountable for everything that happens in it – life and death. The buck stops with her. Wow. She's responsible for lives, my little sister. Saving lives and trying not to get people killed hehehe. And I was asking her about shoes during a highly stressful time, sheesh.

She’s a brainy one, my sis, but she also has infinite capacity for being silly. She makes me laugh like no other with her antics. She’s good with her patients, most especially the old ones. So gentle and charming. Even with me -- when I'm sick, she holds my hand, no matter how trying I could be. She will always be my little sister, though she's probably seen more of life than I have -- through the faces of her patients, those she’s helped get better, and also those she's had to let go. I'm glad she turned out to be a great gal -- a competent doctor who loves what she does and takes her calling to heart. I'm proud of her and I respect her ability. And I'm proud of how she can keep me in line!

And that's why I'm still here inside the cardio's clinic, patiently waiting for my turn though I'm itiching to go. Because if I bolt, I'm dead meat when she catches me! :p