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"........ :)