Today was a sad day in our clan and neighborhood. It was early in the morning when we’ve heard our relatives, shouting and running towards our other relative’s house. Our second elder aunt who was confined in the hospital because of high sugar level a few weeks ago needs to be immediately rush in the hospital since she unexpectedly vomited blood in the comfort room. It was told that two of our cousin visited in their house since our older cousin came home from the city and while they are talking happily she went to pee and then it happened.

We didn’t run to their house since there were already a lot of people who went there, we are not going to be a big help too and will only occupy space and then seeing blood make us nervous and we might lose consciousness before the patient.

[Photo courtesy of Pixabay/pexels.com]

Within less than thirty minutes a news came that our aunt passed away in the hospital, they tried to revive her but she was already responsive. The doctors says the lump on her lungs exploded, an older cousin also says that the lump on her back neck exploded as well.  A different doctor gave a diagnosis a week ago that there’s water in her lungs and one of her lungs was already half in measure, as I look online  I found out that a condition in which the lungs fill with fluid is called Pulmonary Edema and when this occurs, the body struggles to get enough oxygen.

The rumors circulating our aunt has lung cancer but I don’t think it was really lung cancer since she  doesn’t smoke or drink liquor and she was not properly diagnosed yet, before she died they were set to go to the city to have her check-up and CT scan but it didn’t happened anymore because she had an attacked suddenly that lead to her death.

[Photo courtesy of Pixabay/pexels.com]

Anyway, according to mayoclinic.org in most cases, heart problems cause pulmonary edema. But fluid can accumulate for other reasons, including pneumonia, exposure to certain toxins and medications, trauma to the chest wall, and exercising or living at high elevations but based on my research my aunt maybe has acute pneumonia because according to American Lung Association when the germs that cause pneumonia reach your lungs, the lungs’ air sacs (alveoli) become inflamed and fill up with fluid and pus, maybe that’s the lump that they saw on her x-ray results. This causes the symptoms of pneumonia, such as a cough, fever, chills, and trouble breathing. When you have pneumonia, oxygen has trouble reaching your blood.

Odiongan celebrated town fiesta every 5th of April but the celebration opened on the evening  of April 1st through a color run in the public plaza, a night inspired by light followed by a beach party featuring a reggae singer “Kokoi Baldo” then on the 2nd of April there was Agency Night sponsored by Romblon State University and Barangay Night on the next night sponsored by barangay associations. On April 4th a fluvial parade and oar boat racing in the town shoreline and grand coronation of Ms. Odiongan on the evening at Odiongan Public Plaza.

Kanidugan Festival is the highlight of Odiongan fiesta celebration, it was been a decade ago since it was first opened. When we went to town the parade and street dancing was already starting and the intersection going to the public market was already blocked with vehicles and people so we returned and use the other route but it was also blocked so went the other way and we are able to find a good place where we can see the street dancing but on my disappointment my camera didn’t cooperate with me, it won’t focus and there was too much light in the photos.

After the parade and street dancing the Kanidugan competition follows at OSCES grounds. It was a very hot day but there was a lot of people. It was a shame but many Odionganons left their manners at home that day, people were redundantly told to sit and not to leave their grounds so other people at the back can see but many didn’t listen so as expected everybody swarmed upfront and of course I wouldn’t just remain seated in the ground seeing different shape of legs and butts so I went nearer as well so I could take better photos.

Well, I wasn’t able to find a good spot but I can’t go back since a lot of people swarmed up in our back, it was very discomforting, it feels like my ear drums will pop out and when the current performers ends I left to find my companions and since most people left out of disappointment, the ground became a bit spacious and my companions were able to find a good spot beside the stage ground, I took a bit of photos and asked them to go home, the last tribe performing was very lame anyway, their sounds wasn’t good.

I think the people in San Agustin, Romblon during their festival and ground demonstration was more disciplined except from one teacher who also left her manners at home that day.

The fluvial parade at the sea or biniray was religiously done in the capital town of Romblon celebrating the devotion of the people to their religious beliefs but in recent years biniray was also done in the island of Odiongan although it wasn’t so fabulous like how it was celebrated during every second week of January in the capital town.

A day before the town fiesta of Odiongan there is a special celebration in the town shoreline aside from the fluvial parade of boats adorned with coconut leaves there is also a boat race.  A year ago they held Paraw Regatta a popular annual festival in the province of Iloilo where the main event is a sailboat race in Iloilo Strait that features the Paraw, a Visayan double outrigger sail boat. It is dubbed as the oldest traditional craft event in Asia and the largest sailing event in the Philippines but this year in Odiongan they held oar boat racing which was joined by more than fifteen boatmen, it was made possible under the management of DepED teachers in town.

Well, the boat race this year wasn’t very colorful like a year ago since the boats were not adorned with colorful sailboats. The boat race was themed “Bugsayan” since the participants will race using “bugsay” a local dialect for oar or paddle.

Many Odionganons were too excited that they started running in the shoreline when the racers are going ashore so dunno how the management find the winner when many people blocked the shoreline already, wasn’t able to take photos of the boatmen going ashore since my view was blocked with people.