There are no twins!

Many of my friends, looking at my belly, ask me when the twins (or triplets) are due! So, rather fed up by all this and curious myself (anticipating a possible miracle), I went to the doctor today and had an ultrasound scan done!

Apart from discovering that I have healthy kidneys, liver and gall bladder, we did not find any signs of life... So sorry guys, no miraculous babies coming from me! Seriously though, I did the ultrasound and a series of other tests (ECG, chest X-ray etc) as part of a comprehensive medical exam prior to my applying to join the English Dominicans. It's a requirement these days for anyone who wants to become a priest or religious...

My blood pressure is a bit higher than desirable so I seem to have developed the Philippines' most common ailment: "High blood na ako" is a phrase I heard from all quarters in Manila! I am on some medication to lower it - the doctor suspects I am quite sensitive to sodium and she also gave me relaxants - I was rather nervous about them taking blood from me this morning! I had to warm my hands for 30 minutes (!) to aid this blood-taking because my veins were rather dilated. My blood tests come back on Monday. So, please pray for my health!

It was a rather interesting procedure. I have an aversion to doctors and their probing but I realised it was all for my own good (which is always a prelude to pain and discomfort anyway!) and allowed the process to unfold. As I sat still and had the various tests conducted, I thanked God that I had no truly serious ailments and thought of all those people who are in hospital. Funnily, I also thought of how an experience like today's may come in handy for a sermon some day!! Thank goodness they didn't scan my brain -- I have so many strange and tangential thoughts!