Nightmare

I had a nightmare last night but didnt think much of it today. Now as i sit on my bed replying email and blogging, i was reminded again, especially from lemuel's incident.

In my horrendous dream, CtYFers were slowly eaten up by creatures......awful creatures that are big and gigantic. They come in different sizes. One even resembled Goliath.....oh man, children's day funfair must have hit me in a hard way.....

I was in this place, on an excursion or outing with CtYF and there was an alarm. Dangerous creatures will be released soon and so everyone stay out of those areas and go behind the fence or something. But all of them were like rebellious or plain naughty or perhaps too playful to hear the announcement. Those who happened to be in the danger zone got eaten up.

I remember seeing Simone, Timothy and a few others (i know i recognise them in a dream but cannot remember so many faces right now). They were playful and never listen to warning. And one of them so vividly real was Kevin. He was eaten up, or rather torn apart by this Goliath.....some devilish guy, more heinous looking than Predator. Eew...... He wasnt playful but he happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. i cried when i saw that. And there was one part where i had to put Bernice as a "hostage" at a place to trade the lives of some other people and then come back to save her.

It was real messy coz at the end, i dont think i saved any. Blah! I didnt like the dream at all and was trying not to think much about it until Lem's accident happened. I am not saying this is a prediction to what will befall CtYF....please NO! All i am saying is the accident prompted me to think about life. It is short as a vapour and only God knows the future. His mercies and grace sustain us each day, likewise, sustain the work in CtYF and each youth. We have to be on guard against the attacks of the evil one. Let us be vigilant and not be caught off guard like in my dream.

And the burden on my shoulder is heavy.....help me Lord.

Lemuel's Accident!

Got a sms from Norman at 2 plus to pray for Lem. Hit a reply back to ask if it is serious. Norman made a call telling me he was unconscious and then woke up and then dont know anything... hmmmm....sounded bad. Isaac and I were washing our dishes after our lunch and so we stopped to pray. Sms broadcast to Tengah prayer group too.

Decided to visit Lemuel. Sms Ngo Hock for more details but got none except that he is in A&E department. Took a quick bath and got ready.

Sms Lemuel this: "If you are receiving this, please know we are praying for you" Amazingly, he replied me after 10 mins with this:

"I just woke up and i am very HUNGRY!"

Hahaha......this certainly sounds like Lem Lem. Thank God that he has not forgotten his hunger pangs and that means his brain is pretty much alright too. Ngo Hock sms me that he is in observation ward and no visitors allowed. Decided to ask Lem to ask the nurse and he told me his friend just came in. So we continued with our plan to visit him.

Sms Tengah prayer group again to tell them the update that Lem has woken up with hunger!

When Ji En reached our house and finished his lunch, we left in a cab to NUH. Lem Lem was being stitched up by the doctor and dressed by the nurse when we arrived. Waited outside to get the green light to go in. Talked to Ngo Hock & Siew Bee. Seemed like Lem doesnt recall a thing leading to the accident that happened at 12noon.

Nurse called out Lem's name and said one visitor at a time. Ngo Hock went in first followed by me. I thot the way to go was thro the nurse's counter but was stopped by them as i entered their area. Told to go the other door. Finally, i spotted Lem at the end, lying on a narrow trolley.

His lip pretty bruised and scratched, parts of face, hands too. Both elbows swollen, knees too. Right knee has a bandage (with stitches underneath). Head has no scratches. Took out his helmet to inspect how bad it was and oh my, so many cracks all over....central, front, back, side, top..... God has been good and merciful to preserve him from serious head injuries (heard from the doc that all his xrays are normal... thank God).

Lem cannot recall where he was this morning. Asked me which day is today and the date. Asked for time too. Then he said he was cycling near NUS when the accident happened. LOL.....amnesia definitely. The doc told us later that incident happened in Lim Chu Kang area!

Prayed with him and i left the ward. Told Isaac and Ji En to take turns but they wanted to go in together, which is against the rule. But you know what? Ji En pulled it off. He said he want to just walk in and no one will stop him. He did just that. We asked the nurse to speak to doc and as she came back to tell us, Ji En walked right into the nurse's counter area (the one that i was told out of bounds) and she saw him coming but she didnt stop him. Isaac was given the rightful permission to enter by the side door and so they made it!!!! It was super funny because both Siew Bee & myself had to keep a straight face as we watched Ji En did his stuff when we were talking to the nurse.

When they finally came out, we were told Lem has to stay for one night observation in the ward next to A&E. And then we left. Ngo Hock & Siew Bee went to buy food for Lem coz dinner is not going to come till 6pm.

I needed to fetch my new maid, train her and do the prayer list. Time was kind of running out for me and the taxi queue was sooooooo long. Decided to call a cab and it came. Ji En & Isaac were very naughty. They wanted to have some plain light hearted fun and so Ji En shouted to the people at taxi queue when our taxi passed by:

"Ha ha....No cab, no cab, no cab!"

This made the taxi driver laughed. Me included.

Got to the agency before they close. Made payment and brought Aprel home in a cab too. Oh man, she has much longer name than i thot. 4 altogether. Aprel May Laraya Jamero!

New Domestic Helper

Irene is going back this morning, sending her to airport soon.

I was supposed to apply for a totally fresh one from Philippines and needed to wait 10 days but when i went to the agency the other day, there were two transfer maids sitting there. Agent told me to try transfer maid and interview them.

The first one seemed pleasant and sweet and told me her employer stopped working and so she could not carry on with the family. The second one told me her employer's house too big. This sounded interesting and so i probed further to the size of the house.....5 bedrooms & 7 toilets. I told her mine is 7 rooms and 6 toilets......hmmmm.......She was caught by surprise and so i told her frankly i cannot employ her.

Screened through all the biodata and shortlisted those Christians. Then out of the small pile, agent advised dont take too old or too fat, or else i will end up like my first failed application (candidate has high blood pressure). From the remaining 5 or less, i chose 2 based on the pleasant looks (not pretty). Finally, i decided on one who had worked in bahrain before.

Agent again prompted me to consider the first maid i spoke to. She said employer had no complaint and she is hardworking. Only downside is she is a RC. Our low house rule is to employ Christian.... give them an opportunity to work and serve. But somehow this time round, my door to employing one seemed closed. Reason is i am leaving for NTM on 17 Oct and not much time left to train a new one when she comes in on 10 Oct. Also my health has not been that good so i dont think i can last 10 days without one (already right now i have so much pain on my right hand and fever came back on Sunday and was present yesterday too).

Before this meeting with the agent, i prayed and so when all doors seemed closed, i think God is telling us to reach out to this girl. Called Dr lowly and he said take the one that is present in Singapore, it really made no difference but tell her dont use the rosary.....sigh..... not a joke man.

And so i interviewed her privately this time. Told her my house size and my family belief and she has to go to our church. She is very happy and i asked her 3 times and said she can reject me if she wanted to then (didnt want any trouble after that). 3 times were affirmative and so i will pick her up later part this morning.

What is her name? April May June.

Haha......yes! Her name is Aprel. Middle name is May. Last name is J something.... not June.... lol....nickname given by the agency.

Farewell Irene.... you served us well and we are happy you can reunite with husband and son. Continue to trust in God and fear not the one who can destroy body and disturb your peace.

Oops.... got to run off now....time check is 7am.

Dinner at the Club!

Sunday night was fine dining with my in-laws and my dad. It was to create an opportunity for my dad to share with my father-in-law about his faith. Thank God for opportunity to witness but my father-in-law is stubborn. He claimed he has not done any extremely wrong deeds and so he is not a sinful person that need Jesus. Salvation belongeth to the LORD and may God have mercies on their souls.

It was also a good opportunity to break away from our usual weekly visit at their home. Look at how happy Rachel & Isaac was with their clown faces....

More happy faces taken during the meal.....

Where did we dine? At the Chinese Restaurant and oh my, the Shark Fin's soup was so rich and full of substance. Never have i tasted and eaten such a solid bowl! Entirely no crab meat, just the fin and whole lot of them in a small bowl. Never felt so so so wrong to eat too. Dont know how many Sharks had been killed just for our meal... :(

The prawns and scallop fried with Broccoli was absolutely fantabulastic!

We also had smoked salmon for 1st appetizer dish. At first i thought it was sashimi. R&I were both looking at me sweetly to have my portion.....haha... then Dr Lowly said it is smoked and i ate all of it!

What other stuff did we eat.... hmmm, some fish with bean paste (very very lovely), vermicelli noodle with chicken meat (also appetizingly delicious tho it was the last dish), some vegetable with dou fu done in a different fashion of which the children didnt quite like it. Adults loved this dish. Cant remember what else, probably nothing more except for the dessert of iced jelly.

Halfway thro the meal, Rachel & Dr Lowly conversation floated to buffet spread and they were saying our family need to go back to Aqua Marine to have a meal (we had our family meal sometime in May in celebration of Rachel's A level results). They went on to talk about how lovely was the sashimi, lobster and all types of spread until they looked at me...... sigh.... all seemed wasted on me. Dr Lowly even commented i ate only bread that night. How could he say that? Protest!!!! I ate one lobster, 10 prawns and some other stuff.... yah, i took bread and ate with soup... so what??? :(

He didnt stop suaning me here but added that i paid so much for breakfast buffet and ended up eating only bread with kaya! (church camp and Pulai Springs get away) Didnt he know bread is the most lovely piece of breakfast or food ever made? And so, both daughter and husband poked fun at me.....

But i didnt let this "spoil" my night.....in fact, i was the first to finish all my dishes, faster than all of them. No one knew i ate up the fish!! They looked around for my plate of fish and couldnt locate. Nobody believed i had finished two dishes so quickly, the prawn and the fish. None of them witnessed me eating too and thot i had cheated. Haha, talk about who's slow and "wasted".....look out for hidden wonder power.....nah!

Family photo

Oh man, no wonder power lah...... couldnt even knock out the 6 Goliath cans in church earlier in the afternoon..... Threw 3 balls. First too high, Second too low and hit the table. Third did the job but only 3 or 4 cans were hit. Totally lousy.... but enjoyed myself. Sunday afternoon in church had been turned into one big fun carnival for children's day. The teachers had put in so much hard work and what a great job they did. Everyone (adult and child) enjoyed themselves....

BUT what's with the Goliath theme.... hmmm....

Posted photos for the birthday blog. Take a look at my pathetic bread!!!

Long nights

Thur & Fri nights were extremely llllllloooonnnnggggg. We had website training till 2-3am (started from 7plus in the evening). Rev Pang, Bee Pheng & Kelvin stayed up one extra night on Wed while Angela, Beng Kheng & myself were enjoying ice cream at Island Cremery...hee hee.

Thur night was learning to load mp3 messages. Loaded the software for FTP and poor Angela, she couldnt load despite all the steps taught and after much diagnosis from Dr Lowly, the fault was the user herself. She didnt copy and paste the link but reused and typed out and so the link didnt work. Haha..... i think she succeeded after many many tries but had a problem viewing her uploaded file as it didnt seem to be there. During the FTP transfer, she encountered problems too as in seeing 100% done and then it shot back to 0% and redo all over again.

It was a strange phenomena and it spreaded to the Wongs when they tried on Fri night to upload. I couldnt too but i worked on a different platform and had different set of problems. When it seemed that Fri night will end as a totally wasted session, lowly discovered the "fault". He didnt increase our "capacity" to unlimited and so everyone had problem uploading. Nvm if you dont understand what you are reading. Lol.

BK relaxing..... while the rest trying to finish up

It was really fun to learn and do together though frustratingly labourious. Beng Kheng was with us on Fri night and helping Angela to give a topic for 2005 messages so the latter could load up file easily without having to think where to categorise them. And when it was suggested to train her too to upload mp3, BK herself commented that lowly will "die" teaching her......haha..... Anyway, the latest slogan:

If Beng Kheng can do it, you can do it!

Our last try was on video uploading. To do that, we need to download VEOH TV software and then sign in as member. Somehow my mac didnt allow me to download this software but i did sign up as member. Within 1 sec, i have 2 new messages waiting in my inbox. One is VEOH to welcome me, the other from an unknown man who posted his pic and wanted to be my friend. Haha..... i showed it to BK. Not bad looking man tho.

Asked Angela to try to sign up as female member and she too got this message. But she was too quick to reply him with a NO. Anthony was there too to pick her up and he commented that she shouldnt even reply as it would show her account is active. LOL......i was erh...."smarter". I did nothing from the very beginning and heh, this stranger is left standing in my inbox till today.

It was really a good time of fellowship with like minded brethren though tiring and long. Saturday was zombie time for me and thank God for His grace to see me thro the long day. Mind was really dumb and dull. Managed to sleep truly LONG hours on Sat night :)

Say, when will the CtYFer(s) be coming to my house for website training? Got to get started or else it will forever stay stagnant.

PHOTOS!

Managed to get photos from Angela tonight and uploaded to the Recce post. View it if you have the time :)

Head Woes

Wow, this is the 3rd consecutive day of headache. Started at 4 plus and i chose to rest my head instead of popping panadol. Decided to rest one hour and go to maid agency after that.

Had a call in the morning that the new maid i have chosen is not able to come coz she failed her medical examination in Manila due to high blood pressure! She is 34 years old only.... hmmm.... agent advised me not to take the risk to get her over lest she fail the medical here and i have to cough out money to send her back. Initially told them i would go over after lunch to choose another maid but it was super super hot in the afternoon and i avoided the sunlight for fear of headache. Didnt know hiding indoors can get affected too :(

Anyhow, i laid on the bed and tried to fall asleep but couldnt. Tried not to think of anything but still failed. Thank God the headache slowly disappear when i rested. Dr Lowly came back early today and he wanted to take a nap before Rev Pang come for the training session at 6.30pm. Talk about life's not fair, Sharon, he fell asleep within 30 secs after his head hit the pillow! His soft snores rang in my ear and i really really envy people who do that.

Decided to give another try and turned to my right side. Result..... still the same. Got up at 6pm to have dinner before i made my way to the agency, only to realise i got the closing time one hour later and they have called it a day already. Sigh.... need to make the trip tomorrow morning.

Irene will be leaving us on 30 Sep, that means i will have no helper for approximately 10 days....

Recce, Glorious Food, Yummy Ice cream & headache :(

Yesterday was the day we planned to recce the Henderson Wave via Alexandra Arch and it rained. Dark sky greeted me when i woke up at 7am. Our team planned to meet at 8am....exchanged a few smses and decided to delay till after lunch. Some went back to sleep but i couldnt.

What was this recce about? YF outing day on 1 Nov to be exact. I wanted very much to visit this new attraction and needed to check feasibility for our outing. Roped in Angela & Beng Kheng to go for a walk with me, plus JJ (who is the other i/c) & Aaron.

Angela obtained an all-clear-sky in Alexandra area from Anthony at 10plus and so we met for sumptuous lunch in Ikea before the walk. It was hilarious, as in i was ignorant about the ikea system. Armed with a friend's coupon for 2 free drinks and 2 members discounted meals, i made the purchase at the counter with the following:

1) One plate of 15 pcs Swedish meat balls (for Angela)

2) Two plates of 10 pcs Swedish meat balls (one for me & the other for JJ & Aaron to share)

3) One plate of Baked Chicken leg meal (for Beng Kheng)

4) 2 plates of Poached Salmon (for JJ & Aaron)

5) 2 plates of 6 pc Chicken Wing (for all to share)

After payment, i proceeded to fill up the 5 glasses i took at the beginning with soft drinks. Besides these, the counter staff gave me 2 paper cups for our free members drinks. BK and I were happily filling up all 7 of them with ice lemon tea, coke & sprite only to be told by Aaron that glasses were meant for free ice water. Oops! Really??? Erh.....i was too hungry to stop to check the receipt. Decided to fill up all the cups, eat and settle payment later if it was missed out.

Look at the happy hungry faces..... :)

We tucked in happily to the large amount of food placed on the table. By the time i got to my 8th meat ball, i was almost bursting. Looking at the 6 pcs of chicken wing placed before me and the other plate of 6 further down the table, i began to doubt this 5-man strong company can do wonders. Beng Kheng & Angela were doubtful and suggested packing the chicken wings for our walk. JJ & Aaron were confident they could devour all of them and so we continued eating. True enough, all the food were consumed with only 4 pieces of potatoes left on the plates. I did great coz i managed to finish all the 10 meat balls and 2 pcs of chicken wings....yeah!

And so i checked the receipt and made payment for the 5 glasses of soft drinks i took illegally. Just wondering why no ikea staff stopped me when i was filling up......

We began our journey with heavy well-fed stomachs. It was really enjoyable with cool weather (after the rain in the morning) and beautiful architecture to mesmerize in. Met a Christian organisation (oops, forgot the name now) at the Henderson Wave filming a man strumming an acoustic guitar to some chinese gospel songs. We were only allowed to move on after they completed one song. They needed the middle portion to be free of human beings. Angela started telling me we should do that for CtYF CD. Video them singing and playing back. Hmmm, sounded like Karaoke or perhaps MTV....haha. Maybe 2009 or 2010 project....JJ & Sharon plus exco... something to think about.

One very comical incident happened during the walk. We came to Telok Blangah Hill and i started to tell the boys that this was the dumping ground of Huang Na, an 8 year old china girl who was murdered. JJ & Aaron wanted to check out the area for smell or "parts" despite me telling them it was years ago and i didnt know the exact spot. Aaron started mumbling the name Huang Na quickly and it sounded like Huan Na (meaning Malay in Hokkien). Then they started running up the flight of steps that i told them may lead to the dumping ground, calling out the hokkien word as they climbed. Angela suddenly burst out laughing and said Aaron might have mistaken to mean "huan na smelly" and looking for the wrong thing. Sigh....the boys were playing detectives or what....oh yes, Aaron wants to be a policeman right? LOL, they were scouting for clues to a murder case that was closed and wrapped up years ago. Hmmm.....

Thank God we finished our journey in 2.5 to 3 hours (the normal time taken was 30mins to an hour). Well, we did extra stuff along the way, took pictures and yes, we walked real slowly to enjoy. Able to take some shots despite low battery level in Angela's camera. Amazingly, it lasted the whole walk but the memory card was full and so old pics had to go.

During the walk, we were dreaming of nice cool lovely ice-cream and Island Cremery popped up time and again in our conversation. Took mrt from Harbourfront to Tiong Bahru plaza to pick up Aaron & JJ's contact lenses and supposedly to take a bus to Serene Centre when Angela managed to contact Anthony to pick us up. The Ong sisters bought us each a doughnut from this erh, dunno what donut shop, and BK chose a chocolate topping doughnut for me. It was nearing 6.30pm and didnt want to "spoil" my appetite but didnt have the heart to reject the kind Ong sisters and so i ate. Really messy and had to use up 5-6 pieces of tissue plus a wet-one.

Anthony picked up Hong Kim and came to fetch us. We then decided to head to Adam Road Hawker Centre to eat proper dinner before the ice-cream dessert. Actually, i was quite famished by then but the doughnut did a bit of its job in my stomach. HK recommended Prawn Noodle and we readily bought them, a bowl for each adult. BBQ stingray looked inviting and it too ended up on our table together with rojak to share among 7 people. The boys only ordered fried oyster to eat, claiming not too hungry....perhaps too much lunch stuff.....haha.

I was feeling full at the end of the meal and wondering if i should go for the ice-cream when all of them said, "OK, let's go and eat ice-cream". When i told them my reservation, ONE SCOOP was their reply. I remember Rachel & Iz used to tell me how nice the ice-cream at this stall and so ok, let me just try it tonight no matter how bloated i was at that time. We flocked to the shop eagerly and to my disappointment, they didnt have much choices or flavour to begin with. Ping Pong Milo looked great but not the marshmellow in the mixture and so Reverso was my choice.

Worked my way till half cup and really really could not take in anymore. Gave to BK who seemed to be able to stuff in more after her ice-cream cone. I felt awfully sinfully full and with headache returning since Adam Road dinner, bed was all i was thinking of. Everyone enjoyed their ice-cream but the Laus said Daily Scoop served better stuff and more flavours. Oh man, i couldnt think of eating anymore, ice-cream or whatever and Daily Scoop will have to wait till weeks later.

Got a ride home and was really thankful for the Laus and Lims generosity and company. Headache was not too throbbing compared to the really FULL stomach of mine, decided to cycle on the bike while watching Wonder Woman DVD (one episode). The DVD recorder didnt work and i had to use Rachel's room DVD to fix up. After doing all these stuff, headache was getting stronger. Determined not to sleep with such a full stomach, i ignored the pain and started to cycle while watching video. Barely 10 mins into the exercise regime, i had to stop as i was going to throw out. My head was so painful and i thought all my ice-cream and prawn noodle will be out in no second. Rested for 1 min on the stationary bike, took a quick bath and went to bed.

Refused to take panadol for fear of addiction and my gastric reflux came back. All i tasted in my mouth was the gastric juice mingled with chocolate ice-cream.....eew..... I couldnt burp and tried as i might. Recalled Shing's burping that could be controlled and timed.... mine was a hopeless case. I sat on the bed and managed to burp 3 times but not the real "deep" ones. Put my head on the pillow and less than 5 mins i had to sit up again. I need to sleep over this headache but i couldnt sleep without settling this reflux problem. Had no choice but to swallow my gastric pill. Thank God the symptoms seemed to clear away and i dozed off at 9plus, only to be woken up at 2am when Dr Lowly returned from the website training session.

Haha.... thank God for good digestion during my sleep. I woke up this morning feeling hungry again :)

Headache..... argh....

Oh my, headache is back.... probably link to my stress antennae..... sigh.... my subconscious mind always make the fool out of me.

Did prayer list, downloaded audio tapes for Dr Tow and was about to finalise the Cantata & Caroling songs for NTM when it struck.

Hmmm, i will love to blame the weather, blame the external factors than to blame myself.

Popped 2 panadol (last taken more than a week ago and so it is quite safe).

Welcome headache, to my list of dreaded sickness :(

And now.....break for a while till the storm's over.....Lord, help me.

Birthday!

Yesterday was Dr Lowly's birthday. Family planned a dinner to celebrate plus my return from hospital. He was given the opportunity to choose where to eat and of all the places he chose PIZZA HUT!

For one, he doesnt like spaghetti and italian stuff....and cheese.....i know, i know, pizza is american.... Anyhow, i am ok with pizza but not yesterday....coz i was on diet restriction and couldnt eat some stuff. Vanilla essence is one and somehow i have the idea that cheese and pizzas have this and so i refrain. But you know what, almost everything in Pizza Hut is out of bounds for me!!! Dr Lowly told the poor manager that i am "allergic" to cheese and that i will go into emergency if i take a small bite of it..... haha... poor lady. She didnt know what to recommend for me to eat.... salad.... no no coz of the dressing and tomato. Baked rice also out because there is milk & cheese, same for spaghetti. And the only choice left was Seafood platter of deep fried stuff. I didnt want to eat all that and chose Garlic Bread. Wanted to have a soup to go with but no no. Pizza hut only serve Mushroom soup or Minestrone soup last night. Sigh..... just have to gobble up the bread dry.

My family, together with my dad, ordered this whole set meal with 2 pizzas and choice of drinks plus soup. Saw them slurping up their delicious stuff was really a "torture" to me. Here i was swallowing bread with ice water...... :( Then came the spicy drumlets. I grabbed one, two and about to hit a 3rd one when Rachel commented there was tomato seasoning on the chicken. ARGH??? Really??? I didnt believe her and called the waitress who confirmed that. Sigh.... tomato is out for me too......but i already swallowed 2 and what's wrong with the 3rd piece? And so i reached out and eat, feeling extremely guilty that results will show inaccurate reading, but it was just too yummy to miss.

Our dessert was the cake that my dad bought.... some black forest stuff. Again, the lawyer-to-be told me avoid the toppings and creamy stuff.... the spongy part was all i could take. Without a second thought, i started to eat the cake only to realize halfway thro cakes are made with vanilla essence products...... where was Isaac with his F&N info? He was silent throughout. Sigh....i dont bake cakes neither did home economics.....yah yah..... general knowledge.... how to when i was so food-deprived???

Looking back, it was one "torturous" meal. Couldnt even eat my beloved's birthday cake! Nvm, they saved up a piece for me and still in the fridge now... haha..... I come to appreciate people who are on restricted diet and struggling not to eat this and that. I was just so thankful mine was a 4-day ordeal.

BACK!

Never been more happy to be home last night. 3 nights was sufficient.....and hospitals are no resort! It was not entirely horrendous but it sure was a time of "slowing down" for reflection and meditation.


Monday morning was utter madness. I was supposed to check in at 10am but i didnt leave house till 11am. Was busy paying bills and opening letters, doing what i usually do before i go on holiday. Haha.... As mine was elective and no surgery required, i reckoned it was ok to be late. Besides, my doctor wasnt sure i will turn up since i dreaded going in the first place.


Unpacked my stuff and changed into the pinky hospital pyjamas. I must say they really made the pyjamas super huge and airy for patients to move in comfort or what. Given M size but too big. Took a S size and still too big but had to settle for this coz it was the smallest. Placed the beautiful cards and the rose on the bedside cupboard and was beginning to feel hungry when the nurse came in with a slip of paper for meals selection. Hmmm, chose steak for lunch and chinese meal for dinner.....yummy.....


The houseman came in next and he "clerked" my case (documented all my problems etc). Took a whole lot of blood supply from me and set up a drip plug (a lifeline for my scan). Recalled Alvin telling us about his drip setting in the army and it was really ouch when the needle went in!!! Thank God the doctor didnt fail in his first try or else i had to suffer in silence for the next shot. Had not really gotten use to this slight pain & discomfort on left hand and had to add more to it when i accidentally hit my left hand against the stoned sink in the toilet. WOW.........PAIN! i fanned my hand frantically.... clumsy me.


Lunch came and tho the steak was slightly tough, i gobbled up my food. Super hungry. The soup was a no no..... some green pasty stuff that looked like warm avocado fruit juice in a bowl or what? Tasted a little and passed.


My doctor came in the afternoon and she was very pleased to see me. Talked about what were the tests i had to go through and so i had to wait for appointments to be arranged and scans scheduled.




My headache returned. It was bearable and i didnt want panadol. Wanted to deal with it but it blew. Took 2 subsequently and rested. Thank God for appetite to eat dinner thereafter. Dr Lowly came and brought me gassy ribena. EEEW..... drank a little and determined to pass it to isaac or rachel if they turn up. What else did he buy? Pringles potato chips!!!! Oh man, i dont eat this stuff and i hardly snack. Whatever was he thinking? Perhaps it was more for himself....lol!


I had two unwanted visitors that night. Who were they??? MOSQUITOES & BED BUGS!!!! I had mosquitoes bites on my face while i slept. And didnt realise bed bugs bitten me till morning...all on the right side of neck just below the ear. Super itchy and super annoying too! Told my doctor about the mosquitoes and she was upset. Why? because my Dengue blood test result is negative and she sure didnt want me to contract Dengue during my stay in hospital and have the MOE come inspecting premises....


BED BUGS.....aragh.....what went wrong? Apparently, the room i was given had been vacant for a while and they didnt change the pillow case when i came. Tho the pillow was done up in plastic wrap with a disposable pillow case, somehow these insects thrive or whatever they were. It was awful and unacceptable.....i needed to feedback and so i did.....gentle verbal one.


I missed my bolster terribly. Nvm the bed, the environment..... Sms Isaac to bring me a shorter one so i could hug something and he did on Tues.


What were the tests i had to go through? Heart scan.... wasnt that bad except for the probe that the technician used to press hard onto your organ. Then CT Scan.... Computed Tomography of my head, thorax, abdomen and pelvis. I was told scan would be on Wednesday 3pm and no food from 1pm that day. With this info, i selected Curry Chicken for my Wed lunch menu. But at 10.30am Wed, i was told NO LUNCH coz i needed to fast 4-6 hours before the scan! Oh boy..... why they didnt tell me full info so i could prepare? The breakfast i had on Wed was pathetic. It was Chee Cheong Fun. I didnt mind plain ones but they sprinkled some fake pork (char siew) onto it. More like vegetarian pork. It tasted so floury and yakky. Didnt eat much and so looking forward to curry chicken when told i couldnt eat. I was already hungry at 11am. How to last till 3pm or beyond? Wished i had selected bread for breakfast and not Chee Cheong Fun..... :(


Prayed about the hunger pangs and thank God i passed the time with 2 nice incidents and 2 ugly ones. Thank God also for the seahs who prayed for me. 2 nice incidents? Rachel came and her presence helped me passed the time easily. Eld Goh too and he showed us the pics in US and Osaka enthusiastically and we had a good laugh.


The ugly ones? First was the visit to Ear, Nose, Throat clinic. I had to be assessed for any inflammation of my voice box or throat joints coz i have repeated throat pains for no obvious reason. Was given a nose spray to numb the area and a scope was passed down my nostril to the throat area inside. It was not too nasty....i felt pressure, not pain. Thank God the verdict of the specialist was my throat seemed ok and free from RA inflammation. But i have to take gastric pills faithfully for 5 weeks coz the throat pain could be due to reflux.


Next ugly thingy? Drinking the contrast liquid of 600ml.... split into 300ml each time. It was super yakky. If it was bitter i could still take it but it wasnt. Not close to children med syrup kind of awful. It was another taste out of this world... and it left a lingering sensation in your mouth. I wanted to throw out the first time i drank it. Eld Goh wanted to buy me Sng Muay (sour prune).... but i cant eat. When i had to drink the second time, i dreaded so much that i spilled about 50ml onto the table while pouring. Ssshsh.... nurses didnt know. No one knew...just me. Couldnt take it and took out one Strepsil to suck for 1 min before throwing that sweet away. Rachel looked at me pitifully and i tell you, this is one drink i love to say bye bye permanently.


The call came and i had to go. I was a little concern coz 1% will have allergy reaction to the contrast or dye to be injected and may die on the table if not resuscitated fast enough. I pray that i wont be that 1% and i know my life is in God's hands and so i went in peace.


Allowed myself to be wheeled to the xray room. Remember the life plug on my left hand? It was blocked.... probably by my "accidental hit" on day one. Blah.... i had to have another line inserted. It was another OUCH for me and this time it was further up on the same hand.....super painful....:( Given an operating cap to wear and advised to keep still. Head was strapped onto this hard surface and supposed to rest my shoulders on some metal blades but i requested not to coz it hurt so badly. And so i was granted to lie a little lower down but that gave me a neck ache after that. Sigh.


What did i do throughout the scan? I prayed and prayed. It wasnt that bad even with the rather loud turning sound of the machine and the table moving you up and down that almost pulled out my lifeline coz the dripline was stuck at some point. I had to hold on to it or else the needle would be yanked out of my vein and that would be super painful and another torture for me to have a new line inserted. The drip that i was attached to was the contrast medicine. It was to be pumped in at high speed up my vein into the circulatory system. And so the xray doc came out from his small room to give me the first dose and went back inside.


I felt hot suddenly, very hot, extremely hot! My neck was killing me too. I felt "unwell" and thought of the 1% category. "Oh GOD, please dont let me die on this table. Not like that" I prayed to God and kept praying. I was like "on fire" and felt so sick that i thought i wet myself. Honestly.... no joke here. I thought i passed out and wet myself. It all happened so fast and i didnt know what was going on.


When the doc came out to administer the second dose, i told him how i felt and his reply, "Oh, you will feel this way. it is normal." THEN WHY DIDNT U TELL ME IN THE FIRST PLACE SO I COULD BE MENTALLY PREPARED???? I questioned him in my head and wished he could read my mind. Made me suffer like this without telling me..... sob sob....


I had the same feeling for the second time and it wasnt pleasant at all but i was prepared at least. Thank God it was all over and i was so glad the sheets werent wet after all as i stood up. Didnt believe i was dry till i reached my room and checked out in the toilet. Whew..... it was just a strange feeling or phenomenon. It wasnt real... you know like sometimes in your dream you kind of urgent and need to release and then oops.... you are wet??? hAhahhaha....


Had to drink plenty of water that day to pass out all the dye and contrast and till today, the shit still yield some smell. Argh.....


Oh yes, i took my curry chicken after all but at 4pm. Super late for my lunch and the very night till next day, suffered gastric upset and pain and had to take extra medicine. Sigh....


My last test....a 24 hour urine collection that started at 6am today till 6am tomorrow. Prior to this test, i had been on diet restriction for 3 days: No vanilla essence products, no raisins, no nuts, no citrus fruits, no tomatoes, no coffee, tea. Talk about stringent codes to follow in hosp. I was given several times oranges and tomatoes in my diet. Kitchen overlooked and nurses too. Anyhow, this test is for some stuff that will be secreted by the adrenal gland if tumour is present. It is called VMA test. Those who would like to google, you may do so. Btw, i am supposed to be out of stress during this 24 hour period. Stay cool and rest more. Hope my writing of the blog doesnt get me heated up internally.....hee hee...


Thank God for some of the results thus far. All my scans were normal. No tumour in the body at the moment. Blood tests werent that satisfactory. Anaemic and some other abnormalities which is kind of expected for RA condition.


Started on my first dose of new med for RA. It is weekly injection and hope this new drug will improve my daily life and curb or slow down the inflammation process in my body. Yes, i want to be well enough to serve the Lord, to go to NTM in Oct and Dec, to do what i can for the Lord as long as i shall live (God willing).


Thank you all who have prayed for me, send me smses, cards & gifts, emails, calls, etc. Thanks to all who have visited me in hosp and home and the hymns you have shared. I am very touched and encouraged. Thank you :) Thanks Tik Koy for the Putu Mayam you brought on Tues. It was fabulously delicious! The hospital food was not too bad except for one or two dishes and thank God for appetite to eat.


Thank God for the short stay. My fever "disappeared" on the day i was hospitalised and i am afebrile (medical term that means no fever) till today. I had a good time of rest (didnt bring laptop to hosp), brought a new and old bible along, thinking of transferring stuff over but somehow never able to do it. Brought books to read but didnt read much. So what did i do? I read the bible. Meditated. Prayed. It was great! And i want to continue to do that even while at home. Need to mention i was a very obedient patient. I tried to go to bed at 9.30pm every night and slept till 8am (try, ok). Though sleep was interrupted each night, i was still able to rest sufficiently. Thank God.


Oh yes, need to mention the TV!!! It was hung from the ceiling and very high.... super high. You can only watch comfortably if you lie on the bed. Why couldnt the hosp staff be more imaginative and put at a lower angle? I didnt watch much except for the weird show "America got talents". The one that freaked me out was the lady who crushed coke cans with her humongous breasts. I love the last kid who sang, an austistic boy. His voice was angelic. And Shing, i didnt watch calefare..... had visitors and so passed it. Haha.


On the feedback form, i had only two recommendations for the hospital to improve. The TV height and the placement of the furniture in the room (not to mention insufficient furniture). The linen room gave me a form to fill up too, asking for feedback on the pyjamas. I even drew a design that i would like patients to wear and gave my choice of colour for female to be pastel orange... haha. So much for a quack "designer".


Oops, this is a long blog. Time to rest now for me and for your eyes too :) I spend more than an hour typing this..... no wonder Carol has this line at the end of each post in her blog "labouriously typed by carol"........ :)

Argh.... i dislike muscle ache!

Thank God for good sleep despite the ache. Couldnt turn to my right side on Friday night. Woke up on Saturday with tremendous pain on the sternum. I could not laugh or talk too loudly, not to mention sneeze or cough.

Went for the musical practice and my oh my, i had to laugh coz it was really comical to see the youths acting out and improvising. The pain was really bad. I wished it was the stomach muscles that was painful but it wasnt. Somehow, no one seemed to hear me yesterday and i had to raise my voice. And when i did raise my voice at the PA crew, it was deemed as being angry ???? I told Vern about it and he laughed.

Last night was full of pain. How bad was my sitting position that could result in this torturous situation??? Sigh. The only sleeping position possible was flat on my back (not front or roll around like Shingy). Turning to left or right gave radiating pain from shoulder to shoulder passing thro the heart. Couldnt sleep till Dr lowly gave me one sleeping pill. He said it will relax the muscle and make me sleep. It sure did and i have little pain this Sunday morning. Is it going away? Oh God, please heal my muscle ache.

Short Getaway this coming week

It is official. I need to find the root of my fever and headache and pull it out. Will be checking into a "3-star resort" or perhaps 2-star (since no swimming pool) coming Monday. Probably staying for 5 days and multiple tests will be conducted.

I will take this time to do those things i have not done or been wanting to do.....minus the use of laptop. Hmmm.... maybe i can bring DVD player but TV is too high up.... argh, i will have to abandon this idea.... nooo more wonder woman for now :(

Keep me in prayer and i see you all (CtYFers) on Saturday for the debate! Dont worry about me. Will be praying for you :)

Oh yes, my muscle ache.... last night managed to turn to my right but was excruciatingly painful. Every breath. Tried to stretch and tahan..... probably 5 mins i have to turn back. Tonight will try again. I miss the Thai massage..... ;( Did some stretching this morning....i think it is getting better....