Lucille Wong shares how her family holiday to Cebu Island in the Philippines became a lesson in parenting under pressure. While her partner and children relaxed, she was consumed by worry about stray dogs, ice cubes, street food, traffic, and earthquakes. The Philippines sits on several active faultlines, and cracked roads and semi-collapsed buildings served as constant reminders of risk. Since their visit, another earthquake in the southern Philippines killed at least 61 people and caused widespread damage.
A Bite That Wasn't an Emergency
When her four-year-old son screamed after being bitten by something in a tuk-tuk, Wong's mind jumped to the worst-case scenario: dengue fever. They were in a remote part of Cebu, far from hospitals. But her partner remained calm, using a cold drink as an ice pack. Minutes later, the bite showed no redness or swelling. Despite this, Wong prepared antihistamines, Googled symptoms, and planned an early exit.
Wong envied her partner, who appeared genuinely switched off and relaxed. Her children adapted easily, jumping into pools before she could apply sunscreen. By the time they reached a resort for the last two nights, she began to unwind.
The Real Emergency
In the middle of the night, a thump and scream woke them. Wong's seven-year-old daughter had fallen out of bed, with a deep gash across her forehead. Wong and her partner moved instantly into action. They assessed the wound and knew she needed medical help. Wong called the front desk, and resort staff arranged a car. She packed a bag with passport, money, and power banks, and woke her sleeping son.
They went to three hospitals. At the first, the only doctor was tied up in emergency surgery. At the second, staff recommended wound glue but had none. At a third, a teaching hospital, a doctor calmly ruled out glue and performed four stitches. Wong's partner held their daughter while Wong sat outside with her sleeping younger brother, counting quietly as the anaesthetic needle went in.
Lessons Learned
Wong was discharged with antibiotics, painkillers, and a tetanus shot. They returned to the resort at 6am. Later, a resort nurse helped clean the wound, and most managed a few hours of sleep. Wong jokes she doesn't want to travel again, but reflects: 'Looking back, I realise how much I parent with anticipatory fear and how unhelpful that usually is. It doesn't prevent accidents or emergencies, it only heightens emotions which can make parenting even more exhausting.'
When the real emergency happened, Wong focused on the present, thinking only about the next step, not the next five. Between the third hospital and sunrise, she wasn't worried about scars or infections—only about breakfast. Two months later, her daughter's wound has healed beautifully, and she recalls snorkelling with turtles and getting her hair braided, not the incident.
Wong concludes: 'There will be another trip. I will still pack medicines and repellant. I will probably still look up where the hospitals are. But I will also carry a bit more confidence, that when things go wrong, I can cope.'
