By BEHN FER. HORTALEZA, JR.

TOO bad, the full details could not be had before deadline but from western Pangasinan, we hear of two children literally dying in their sleep but not from natural causes. The kids were bitten reportedly by a snake as they slept, a real macabre story that easily merits front-page treatment, if only it satisfied the editorial requirement on the elements of news.

As our young lady correspondent’s sketchy tale went, the unsuspecting mother went over to the kids in the morning and tried to rouse one of them from sleep only to find the child ashen-faced and frothing in the mouth. Deep bite marks in the body were the giveaway signs of a snake having done the killing.

On returning home after rushing the child to the hospital, they tried to wake another child sleeping nearby – only to find her very dead with the telltale bites seen on closer scrutiny.

A search of the house by the alarmed relatives soon found the ‘culprit’ hiding in one cabinet, a deadly cobra, already nesting with some eggs, and two other snakes, according to Bless, our reporter. No confirmation if the reptiles escaped or were subsequently killed.

Sketchy report alright, see?

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But if there’s any lesson to be learned from this report, it is that our poor provincemates in the outlying villages are so exposed to many natural accidents and grave, deadly dangers that district hospitals and other medical facilities should be well-equipped and adequately stocked and their personnel well trained to handle just such life-threatening situations.

We don’t know if the hospitals today even in an urban area like Alaminos have the necessary anti-venom medicines needed to save lives on the line (that is, medicines well preserved and protected from the elements in their storage area) — or if their barangay health workers can be counted upon to recognize and act fast and sure on just such type of medical emergencies before the patient could get to the nearest hospital.

Under Governor Espino, we really hope the first line of health defense in our remote towns and communities will be given enough resources (in adequate, functional and “unexpired” conditions) to render service during real emergencies.

City-bred folks may never understand how truly important such concerns are in the rural areas until they themselves come to experience the trauma of being in an emergency situation in the hinterlands and desperately looking around for immediate medical help—only to find none available, or if present, is sorely inadequate or hopelessly undependable.

Experiencing epiphany after near-death situations is such a powerful trigger for a change in perceptions and priorities of human beings, sociologists tell us.