Wednesday, July 25, 2007
I am Bear! Hear me Roar! RAWR!
For some strange reason... I realised that, fate has been playing a mini game with me. Ok, that sounded harsh, but more of like, my life has had a few strange coincidences.
I was looking up the meaning of my name. It means "peace friend". And coincidently, it's a libran name. That was a bit freaky. I mean, I'm pretty sure my parents did not choose the name because I was born a Libran. They were more focused on getting a name that began with my father's initials, being a family tradition thingy.
And coincidentally, Disney decided to name one of their characters after the same name as well, more specifically a bear. On a side note, I dunno what those sick Disney execs had in mind when they created the character. A male bear with a clearly female name. I find it even more disturbing that they are showing it to kids. Add to that the fact that the bear does not wear pants, only a red shirt... Indecent exposure man! But what really cuts it? The bear is accepted by the masses!!!! Gosh..... What is the world coming to???
Ok, so I digress. So, all my life, I have been associated with that darn bear and many people have been calling me a bear. But more interestingly, I realised that I am a bear! Ok, that didn't come out very right... more like, I have more similarities to bears than i thought... Bears have good sense of smell and hearing (these are my 2 more acute senses). Bears are gentle creatures unless provoked. Bears are solitary creatures. Bears like to hibernate (given a choice, I just like to sleep under the sheets all day). Mother bears are fierce protectors of their young.
Hahaha.. the thought just suddenly struck me today. Why? Because the bear was woken up from hibernation to do work... RAWR!!!!!! Can't they just leave the poor bear alone?
I was looking up the meaning of my name. It means "peace friend". And coincidently, it's a libran name. That was a bit freaky. I mean, I'm pretty sure my parents did not choose the name because I was born a Libran. They were more focused on getting a name that began with my father's initials, being a family tradition thingy.
And coincidentally, Disney decided to name one of their characters after the same name as well, more specifically a bear. On a side note, I dunno what those sick Disney execs had in mind when they created the character. A male bear with a clearly female name. I find it even more disturbing that they are showing it to kids. Add to that the fact that the bear does not wear pants, only a red shirt... Indecent exposure man! But what really cuts it? The bear is accepted by the masses!!!! Gosh..... What is the world coming to???
Ok, so I digress. So, all my life, I have been associated with that darn bear and many people have been calling me a bear. But more interestingly, I realised that I am a bear! Ok, that didn't come out very right... more like, I have more similarities to bears than i thought... Bears have good sense of smell and hearing (these are my 2 more acute senses). Bears are gentle creatures unless provoked. Bears are solitary creatures. Bears like to hibernate (given a choice, I just like to sleep under the sheets all day). Mother bears are fierce protectors of their young.
Hahaha.. the thought just suddenly struck me today. Why? Because the bear was woken up from hibernation to do work... RAWR!!!!!! Can't they just leave the poor bear alone?
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Jaw Breaker Series - Aftermath
Ok, so it has been a week since my Op... what has been happening so far?
1) I am a drug lord. Yup, 3 times a day I have to pound my meds in a mortar and pestle.. before mixing it with a bit of milo and downing it. I pound 1 tablet, then open 2 capsules to further grind them. I'm literally cooking, in all sense of the word! hahaha. The initial part was quite bad.. I couldn't take the bitterness. I also had half the mind to snort them up my nose.... (no kidding). But the milo helps.. and after taking it so many times, I kinda got used to the taste... However, there' s still a whole lot more meds left.. *sob*
2) I have been hallucinating. More specifically.. food. Being on a liquid diet, I get hungry every 2 hours. So... u can imagine the unsatiable hunger I keep having.. and frankly, it can never get satisfied. And for someone who hardly dreams, I have been dreaming about food. Just last night, I was dreaming about the delicious Nasi Padang near my workplace... The bergadil, the assam, sayur lodeh, tahu telor, beef rendang, the sambal brinjal... wah lau....... *droool*... oh, and my thoughts keep switching to food once every few minutes... need to be strong and keep clear mind... OHM...... meditate.....
*Note to self, do not play Cooking Mama after a jaw Op...
3) Liquid diet. I can only take clear liquids. I thought I would be able to drink cream soups, which would make me fuller, but I was wrong. The good people at Campbells add quite a bit of ingredients to their soups. I mean, for example, Cream of Chicken. The normal person won't think that it has anything inside, but trust me, there are a lot of small strands of chicken there. This has caused quite a few problems for me. The splint in my mouth is Z shaped. So imagine that my teeth are biting down on this. Then, my teeth are bound with rubber bands... And with that, we have a filter. It's no different to very fine wire mesh before a drain pipe. So imagine this... if u keep pouring soup down, it's bound to get clogged somewhat, due to the chicken strands. It's like, every 3 spoons, I have to rinse with 1 mouth of water. And after every 3 rinses, I have to go to the toilet to get rid of the stuff stuck in the bands. So I end up not drinking a lot of soup at all... darn... so yeah... now lunch and dinner are mostly clear soups. If not, it's just soya bean milk or chocomalt. This does nothing to quell my hunger.
4) Back, Neck and Headaches. Been suffering from this for the last 1 week. I guess largely due to swelling and maybe water retention too? Doesn't help that I can't sleep on my pillow... It seems to add strain to my jaw, resulting to some aching.
5) Pain. Yawning. Yeah... the mouth is still used to doing certain things. So when yawning, it does a reflex snap action. It does nothing to the jaw. But it does something to my teeth. My teeth are currently bound... so it's like someone ripping my teeth out... SHIT.....
1) I am a drug lord. Yup, 3 times a day I have to pound my meds in a mortar and pestle.. before mixing it with a bit of milo and downing it. I pound 1 tablet, then open 2 capsules to further grind them. I'm literally cooking, in all sense of the word! hahaha. The initial part was quite bad.. I couldn't take the bitterness. I also had half the mind to snort them up my nose.... (no kidding). But the milo helps.. and after taking it so many times, I kinda got used to the taste... However, there' s still a whole lot more meds left.. *sob*
2) I have been hallucinating. More specifically.. food. Being on a liquid diet, I get hungry every 2 hours. So... u can imagine the unsatiable hunger I keep having.. and frankly, it can never get satisfied. And for someone who hardly dreams, I have been dreaming about food. Just last night, I was dreaming about the delicious Nasi Padang near my workplace... The bergadil, the assam, sayur lodeh, tahu telor, beef rendang, the sambal brinjal... wah lau....... *droool*... oh, and my thoughts keep switching to food once every few minutes... need to be strong and keep clear mind... OHM...... meditate.....
*Note to self, do not play Cooking Mama after a jaw Op...
3) Liquid diet. I can only take clear liquids. I thought I would be able to drink cream soups, which would make me fuller, but I was wrong. The good people at Campbells add quite a bit of ingredients to their soups. I mean, for example, Cream of Chicken. The normal person won't think that it has anything inside, but trust me, there are a lot of small strands of chicken there. This has caused quite a few problems for me. The splint in my mouth is Z shaped. So imagine that my teeth are biting down on this. Then, my teeth are bound with rubber bands... And with that, we have a filter. It's no different to very fine wire mesh before a drain pipe. So imagine this... if u keep pouring soup down, it's bound to get clogged somewhat, due to the chicken strands. It's like, every 3 spoons, I have to rinse with 1 mouth of water. And after every 3 rinses, I have to go to the toilet to get rid of the stuff stuck in the bands. So I end up not drinking a lot of soup at all... darn... so yeah... now lunch and dinner are mostly clear soups. If not, it's just soya bean milk or chocomalt. This does nothing to quell my hunger.
4) Back, Neck and Headaches. Been suffering from this for the last 1 week. I guess largely due to swelling and maybe water retention too? Doesn't help that I can't sleep on my pillow... It seems to add strain to my jaw, resulting to some aching.
5) Pain. Yawning. Yeah... the mouth is still used to doing certain things. So when yawning, it does a reflex snap action. It does nothing to the jaw. But it does something to my teeth. My teeth are currently bound... so it's like someone ripping my teeth out... SHIT.....
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Daylight robbery - 15 July
Went to my clinic downstairs today to get the dressing on my cheeks changed. Well, for one thing, I didn't expect it to be so crowded. I had purposely waited till about 30mins before closing time, thinking there would be lesser people. Looks like a lot of people want to "keng" MC. So once again, as I went in, people stared... sigh...
And thinking that it would be a quick visit, I didn't drink anything... and I was starting to get hungry... by the time I saw the doc, 40 mins had passed... *growl*
My doc was surprised to see me in this state. But whilst waiting, I had written him a short note explaining my condition. He was thoroughly amused. He went about changing the dressing on my cheeks. He said that the wound was closing ok. Thank goodness. And also commented that i was his first non-speaking patient... right... thanks doc.... And when I paid the bill I was like... WAT??? S$28 bucks just to change dressing... Daylight robbery!!! I nearly choked. But then again, I can't speak.. so I can't dispute.. sigh
Oh yeah, was also reading the papers with regards to the recent expose of fake pork buns in China, where instead of pork, they use cardboard soaked in chemicals and then mixed with fatty meat to pass of as the real thing. I mean... c'mon.... if the world were coming to an end, and there is not enough meat.. fair enough.. but cardboard?? Eeewww.... looks like the next time i do eat the hakka delicacy mui chai (preserved mustard vege), I really have to take an extra good look. It does look like cardboard soaked in chemicals from a certain angle.... Ok.. stop hallucinating about food!!! ARGH!
And thinking that it would be a quick visit, I didn't drink anything... and I was starting to get hungry... by the time I saw the doc, 40 mins had passed... *growl*
My doc was surprised to see me in this state. But whilst waiting, I had written him a short note explaining my condition. He was thoroughly amused. He went about changing the dressing on my cheeks. He said that the wound was closing ok. Thank goodness. And also commented that i was his first non-speaking patient... right... thanks doc.... And when I paid the bill I was like... WAT??? S$28 bucks just to change dressing... Daylight robbery!!! I nearly choked. But then again, I can't speak.. so I can't dispute.. sigh
Oh yeah, was also reading the papers with regards to the recent expose of fake pork buns in China, where instead of pork, they use cardboard soaked in chemicals and then mixed with fatty meat to pass of as the real thing. I mean... c'mon.... if the world were coming to an end, and there is not enough meat.. fair enough.. but cardboard?? Eeewww.... looks like the next time i do eat the hakka delicacy mui chai (preserved mustard vege), I really have to take an extra good look. It does look like cardboard soaked in chemicals from a certain angle.... Ok.. stop hallucinating about food!!! ARGH!
Jaw Breaker Series - Day 3, 13 July
Couldn't sleep a wink last night due to 2 reasons:
1) Dementia auntie on my right kept howling through the night, complaining that she didn't have dinner (she did.. just that she can't remember)
2) Suffering from very bad back and neckache. Not sure if it is due to the pillow? Or the 30 degree incline of my bed, or the swelling in general?
Either way, I knew i wasn't going to be sleeping much anyway, so I decided to just remain awake. So I did a brief test of my joints and my head. Feeling that I should be alright, i decided to head to the toilet on my own for a shower. It proved to be extremely refreshing... And it was also the first time I took a look at myself in the mirror and went.. SHIT! I look like an extra for the movie Shallow Hal! My whole lower chin and neck was swollen. it was someone piled a fat suit on me... Jeez...
Well, breakfast was waiting for me when i returned. It was a clear soup (vegetable, i think) and some milo. I think I have never been happier being given something to eat (ok, in this instance, drink). It has been 3 days since i had anything... and my appetite was ravenous. And like oliver twist, I requested for more soup after I finished the first bowl. And this time they gave me Cream of Mushroom! Wow.. pure bliss....... I slurped all that up to the last drop and drank the pink guava juice that came with it as well.
My doctor came by again shortly after to look at my progress. She said I was doing well and she will discharge me around noon time. Before she proceeded to do my discharge procedures, she explained to me how I was supposed to brush my teeth. With a baby toothbrush (yes.. baby toothbrush), from the top of my jaw to the bottom, I have to split it in 4 sections. 1 - upper gums; 2 - upper teeth; 3 - lower teeth; 4 - lower gums. I have to brush in circular motions for about 20 reps each section, before moving on to the left or right. Followed by rinse with mouthwash. And this was supposed to be after every meal....
The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. One of the nurses removed the IV drip plug from my arm. Once again, it didn't hurt, but I was just surprised that it was actually so long... yeah.. at least 2 inches. She asked me if i wanted to keep the plug as a souvenir.. I declined... Lunch came by.. and it was clear soup again. I requested for cream soup from one of the nurses. Sadly... the cream soup never arrived. Then the pharmacist came by with my medications. 2 weeks worth. My gosh.. the amount of antibiotics she gave me... i nearly fainted. It came in one whole bundle.. and there were 2 different kinds of antibiotics. She also prescribed painkillers for me, but i felt that they were unnecessary... there was no real pain, just a dull aching pain which was manageable.
Then the bill arrived. Interestingly, I didn't have to pay a single cent. All covered by Medisave, except for the implants, which I may be able to pay via insurance (pending). So with that, I was discharged and I went home...
I crashed once I reached home. Partly because I was still weak. And partly due to the taxi ride. After being stationary for a few days.. being in a moving vehicle made me quite dizzy... and I slept till the evening.
1) Dementia auntie on my right kept howling through the night, complaining that she didn't have dinner (she did.. just that she can't remember)
2) Suffering from very bad back and neckache. Not sure if it is due to the pillow? Or the 30 degree incline of my bed, or the swelling in general?
Either way, I knew i wasn't going to be sleeping much anyway, so I decided to just remain awake. So I did a brief test of my joints and my head. Feeling that I should be alright, i decided to head to the toilet on my own for a shower. It proved to be extremely refreshing... And it was also the first time I took a look at myself in the mirror and went.. SHIT! I look like an extra for the movie Shallow Hal! My whole lower chin and neck was swollen. it was someone piled a fat suit on me... Jeez...
Well, breakfast was waiting for me when i returned. It was a clear soup (vegetable, i think) and some milo. I think I have never been happier being given something to eat (ok, in this instance, drink). It has been 3 days since i had anything... and my appetite was ravenous. And like oliver twist, I requested for more soup after I finished the first bowl. And this time they gave me Cream of Mushroom! Wow.. pure bliss....... I slurped all that up to the last drop and drank the pink guava juice that came with it as well.
My doctor came by again shortly after to look at my progress. She said I was doing well and she will discharge me around noon time. Before she proceeded to do my discharge procedures, she explained to me how I was supposed to brush my teeth. With a baby toothbrush (yes.. baby toothbrush), from the top of my jaw to the bottom, I have to split it in 4 sections. 1 - upper gums; 2 - upper teeth; 3 - lower teeth; 4 - lower gums. I have to brush in circular motions for about 20 reps each section, before moving on to the left or right. Followed by rinse with mouthwash. And this was supposed to be after every meal....
The rest of the day went by pretty quickly. One of the nurses removed the IV drip plug from my arm. Once again, it didn't hurt, but I was just surprised that it was actually so long... yeah.. at least 2 inches. She asked me if i wanted to keep the plug as a souvenir.. I declined... Lunch came by.. and it was clear soup again. I requested for cream soup from one of the nurses. Sadly... the cream soup never arrived. Then the pharmacist came by with my medications. 2 weeks worth. My gosh.. the amount of antibiotics she gave me... i nearly fainted. It came in one whole bundle.. and there were 2 different kinds of antibiotics. She also prescribed painkillers for me, but i felt that they were unnecessary... there was no real pain, just a dull aching pain which was manageable.
Then the bill arrived. Interestingly, I didn't have to pay a single cent. All covered by Medisave, except for the implants, which I may be able to pay via insurance (pending). So with that, I was discharged and I went home...
I crashed once I reached home. Partly because I was still weak. And partly due to the taxi ride. After being stationary for a few days.. being in a moving vehicle made me quite dizzy... and I slept till the evening.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Jaw Breaker Series - Day 2, 12 July
I woke up in the hospital, feeling somewhat disillusioned. I didn't even take note of the time. Needless to say, the rest of the day was spent trying to piece together what had happened the day before, the where, who, what, how etc. I didn't even know which ward i was in. It took a nurse to tell me that. OK 4D punters, it was Ward 10, bed 15. Go buy 1015. I was in a B2 class, 6 bedded all female ward, with no air conditioning. They only had overhead fans on each bed..which kinda reminded me of my room. But I was thankful for the fans, they provided a lot of respite from the heat outside. I was the youngest in my ward, the rest were elderly old ladies.
The nurses came and asked me if I wanted to take a shower. Hell yeah! My hair was stained with blood due to the puking last night. And my face was extremely oily. Unfortunately, I was still too weak to walk. So they wheeled me to the toilet for my shower. Felt better after a change of clothes. Despite being in the toilet, I never got to see my face initially. Sitting on the wheelchair, I can only see from my nose up. I can't see my lower jaw.
I decided to read for a bit. Couldn't do much else. Also got a visit from my surgeon and her team. They came to check on me. They said that the operation was smooth and everything went well. I asked about last night's puking. They said it was normal becos I ingested blood. One of them said that they will return at lunchtime to remove the lanterns from me.
Yeah, the lanterns. How shall I best describe them? Imagine me to be a turkey. Turkeys have 2 things hanging from their cheeks. I'm no different. The only thing is, these 2 lanterns collect my blood. During the surgery, the docs punctured my cheeks and inserted the lanterns to collect the blood since my face will be swelled up and I will have difficulty swallowing blood all the time. It works by suction. It was unnerving, I can tell. I remember one of the nurses unscrewing the left lantern the night before and squeezing the blood out and screwing it back again. And even during my morning shower, on the way to the toilet, I know a lot of people were staring at me... bloody hell....
So the rest of the day, I just read and slept. Nurses came by to change my drip. Some came by to poke in more needles in my plug to inject the antibiotics in. I still didn't have any food to eat... managed to drink some water with the help of a special shaped syringe. It's head is replaced with rubber hosing, so it's easier to slip in the mouth. My mouth remained parched for the rest of the day and I knew my lips were all cracked up. The corners of the lips were particularly painful. Abrasion, i was told, by the surgeon. Becos they had to stretch the lips. I didn't want to know more...
By the time the doc came by to remove the lanterns, it was about 5pm. But that was another exciting procedure. She first had to remove the water proof dressing on my face. Then she used this special hook to hook up a bit of the lantern. But the point where she said " ok, take a deep breath" I was seriously expecting some pain. But thankfully, she was fast and nimble and removed the lanterns without any pain at all. When I did take a good look at the lanterns, I was surprised that they actually stretched quite a distance inside me.... wow... TMI. She dressed up my cheeks. Hmm.. looks like I can boast of cheek piercings... The doc also advised that I start doing 3 things: 1) start drinking lots of water, at least a cup and hour. This helps to reduce the phelgm
2) start doing some walking on my own, especially to the toilet
3) start trying to take some food.
The nurses came and asked me if I wanted to take a shower. Hell yeah! My hair was stained with blood due to the puking last night. And my face was extremely oily. Unfortunately, I was still too weak to walk. So they wheeled me to the toilet for my shower. Felt better after a change of clothes. Despite being in the toilet, I never got to see my face initially. Sitting on the wheelchair, I can only see from my nose up. I can't see my lower jaw.
I decided to read for a bit. Couldn't do much else. Also got a visit from my surgeon and her team. They came to check on me. They said that the operation was smooth and everything went well. I asked about last night's puking. They said it was normal becos I ingested blood. One of them said that they will return at lunchtime to remove the lanterns from me.
Yeah, the lanterns. How shall I best describe them? Imagine me to be a turkey. Turkeys have 2 things hanging from their cheeks. I'm no different. The only thing is, these 2 lanterns collect my blood. During the surgery, the docs punctured my cheeks and inserted the lanterns to collect the blood since my face will be swelled up and I will have difficulty swallowing blood all the time. It works by suction. It was unnerving, I can tell. I remember one of the nurses unscrewing the left lantern the night before and squeezing the blood out and screwing it back again. And even during my morning shower, on the way to the toilet, I know a lot of people were staring at me... bloody hell....
So the rest of the day, I just read and slept. Nurses came by to change my drip. Some came by to poke in more needles in my plug to inject the antibiotics in. I still didn't have any food to eat... managed to drink some water with the help of a special shaped syringe. It's head is replaced with rubber hosing, so it's easier to slip in the mouth. My mouth remained parched for the rest of the day and I knew my lips were all cracked up. The corners of the lips were particularly painful. Abrasion, i was told, by the surgeon. Becos they had to stretch the lips. I didn't want to know more...
By the time the doc came by to remove the lanterns, it was about 5pm. But that was another exciting procedure. She first had to remove the water proof dressing on my face. Then she used this special hook to hook up a bit of the lantern. But the point where she said " ok, take a deep breath" I was seriously expecting some pain. But thankfully, she was fast and nimble and removed the lanterns without any pain at all. When I did take a good look at the lanterns, I was surprised that they actually stretched quite a distance inside me.... wow... TMI. She dressed up my cheeks. Hmm.. looks like I can boast of cheek piercings... The doc also advised that I start doing 3 things: 1) start drinking lots of water, at least a cup and hour. This helps to reduce the phelgm
2) start doing some walking on my own, especially to the toilet
3) start trying to take some food.
Jaw Breaker Series - Day 1, 11 July
And so it finally arrives. The Op day. And I do mean THE OP DAY. The one day that has been delayed for almost a year due to various reasons (change of surgeon, refusal of one of my teeth to move and of course, work). I already fixed my op day a month in advance. But along the way, there have been various obstacles that could've prevented me from doing it. But strangely, my Regional and Deputy Director both gave their blessings despite the corporate turmoil in the office. To which i readily accepted (after all, it has been delayed for 1 year!). in fact, my deputy director even said that there is no better time to do it than now.
I checked into the hospital at 11.30am for my surgery. The surgery was at 12.30pm but they needed sometime to settle me in, do a final checkup, bag up my belongings etc. I was told to report to the Day ward, Ward 1. Once there, they lead me to my temporary bed. I only brought a haversack with me and it contained only a change of clothes, toiletries, books and mags and my phone charger. That was it. The nurse did a blood pressure and temperature check on me, made sure that all my documents were signed, bagged my belongings before ushering me to get changed. I was handed one of those green operating gowns (yeah the kind with ur butt somewhat exposed) and thankfully a pink kimono to wrap up my modesty. With that, she marched me up to the operating room together with another patient (other patient was here for wisdom tooth extraction).
Reality still hadn't struck me by then, about the magnitude of the whole thing. Once again, they asked me questions on what kind of op I has going to have, my name, IC blah blah. As if to make sure that I knew what I was bargaining for. And as they led me to the operating theatre, reality just had to strike right there. I'm not sure if it's becos the operating theatre was cold or I was getting cold feet. As I got onto the table (yeah, like some meat), I just hoped that everything went well. The surgeon hadn't arrived, but they started prepping me up for the op. They started poking me in my wrist to insert the plug for the IV drip. That hurt. "Oh you have such small veins".. find a bigger one.. I wanted to say. Then, another lady stepped in (she seemed to have more authority) and she started reprimanding people for doing things wrongly! OH MY GOD. I really wanted to just escape from the table... That was when 2nd thoughts started setting in. Unfortunately that was when the gas mask came over my face as well. They asked me to breathe and soon I was zonked out.
Details about the rest of the ordeal were fuzzy. I do remember being held in a temporary ward. And I do remember, despite my zonked out state they kept asking me how much pain i felt. I mumbled something like 5 (I dunno how i actually remembered the pain scale, 1 being no pain, 10 being unbearable) and then dozed off again. I remember being shifted from the temporary place to my ward. And then i just continued to fleet in and out of my comatose state. By the time I came to, it was about 8.30pm. But even then, I wasn't in full mental capacity. I remember kicking off the blankets becos it was warm. The nurses came to change me in pyjamas. And surprisingly I wasn't hungry despite having had nothing to eat for the past 48 hours. But by then they had hooked me up to the IV drip. And nurses came and went, injecting me with stuff in my plug. That hurt. Especially when the liquid went in and expanded in my so called itsy bitsy veins... OUCH. Another nurse also came by measuring my blood pressure and temperature. She also wanted to collect a urine sample from me. But for all of heaven's will, there was no pee in me. How can u get pee from someone who hasn't had water in 48 hours??? I just mumbled something and she left. She must've thought I was one obnoxious prick.
But the fun started only after midnight. I woke up and started puking blood. I was horrified. I thought I was gonna die. I called for the nurse. One came, obviously from China. She just took a look at me, left, returned with a plastic pan and asked me to hold it to my mouth and left. I was like... huh? I'm vomiting blood here... Heeeelllloooo?? And the idiot didn't even bother to change the blanket nor leave any tissues for me to wipe my mouth. I had to call for another nurse. Just when i thought that ordeal was over, a new one started. There was some blood and phlegm stuck in my mouth and there was no way I was going to get rid of it with my mouth clamped up with a plastic splint in between. I nearly choked while sleeping. I called for another nurse. This time, an indian nurse came and she was nicer. She really did all she can to make me more comfortable:warm water to help swallow the phlegm; she even helped me suck out whatever residue there was in my mouth. But despite her efforts, the phlegm remained lodged there. I had no choice but to sleep inclined at 45 degrees on the bed to avoid choking. SHIT... great start
I checked into the hospital at 11.30am for my surgery. The surgery was at 12.30pm but they needed sometime to settle me in, do a final checkup, bag up my belongings etc. I was told to report to the Day ward, Ward 1. Once there, they lead me to my temporary bed. I only brought a haversack with me and it contained only a change of clothes, toiletries, books and mags and my phone charger. That was it. The nurse did a blood pressure and temperature check on me, made sure that all my documents were signed, bagged my belongings before ushering me to get changed. I was handed one of those green operating gowns (yeah the kind with ur butt somewhat exposed) and thankfully a pink kimono to wrap up my modesty. With that, she marched me up to the operating room together with another patient (other patient was here for wisdom tooth extraction).
Reality still hadn't struck me by then, about the magnitude of the whole thing. Once again, they asked me questions on what kind of op I has going to have, my name, IC blah blah. As if to make sure that I knew what I was bargaining for. And as they led me to the operating theatre, reality just had to strike right there. I'm not sure if it's becos the operating theatre was cold or I was getting cold feet. As I got onto the table (yeah, like some meat), I just hoped that everything went well. The surgeon hadn't arrived, but they started prepping me up for the op. They started poking me in my wrist to insert the plug for the IV drip. That hurt. "Oh you have such small veins".. find a bigger one.. I wanted to say. Then, another lady stepped in (she seemed to have more authority) and she started reprimanding people for doing things wrongly! OH MY GOD. I really wanted to just escape from the table... That was when 2nd thoughts started setting in. Unfortunately that was when the gas mask came over my face as well. They asked me to breathe and soon I was zonked out.
Details about the rest of the ordeal were fuzzy. I do remember being held in a temporary ward. And I do remember, despite my zonked out state they kept asking me how much pain i felt. I mumbled something like 5 (I dunno how i actually remembered the pain scale, 1 being no pain, 10 being unbearable) and then dozed off again. I remember being shifted from the temporary place to my ward. And then i just continued to fleet in and out of my comatose state. By the time I came to, it was about 8.30pm. But even then, I wasn't in full mental capacity. I remember kicking off the blankets becos it was warm. The nurses came to change me in pyjamas. And surprisingly I wasn't hungry despite having had nothing to eat for the past 48 hours. But by then they had hooked me up to the IV drip. And nurses came and went, injecting me with stuff in my plug. That hurt. Especially when the liquid went in and expanded in my so called itsy bitsy veins... OUCH. Another nurse also came by measuring my blood pressure and temperature. She also wanted to collect a urine sample from me. But for all of heaven's will, there was no pee in me. How can u get pee from someone who hasn't had water in 48 hours??? I just mumbled something and she left. She must've thought I was one obnoxious prick.
But the fun started only after midnight. I woke up and started puking blood. I was horrified. I thought I was gonna die. I called for the nurse. One came, obviously from China. She just took a look at me, left, returned with a plastic pan and asked me to hold it to my mouth and left. I was like... huh? I'm vomiting blood here... Heeeelllloooo?? And the idiot didn't even bother to change the blanket nor leave any tissues for me to wipe my mouth. I had to call for another nurse. Just when i thought that ordeal was over, a new one started. There was some blood and phlegm stuck in my mouth and there was no way I was going to get rid of it with my mouth clamped up with a plastic splint in between. I nearly choked while sleeping. I called for another nurse. This time, an indian nurse came and she was nicer. She really did all she can to make me more comfortable:warm water to help swallow the phlegm; she even helped me suck out whatever residue there was in my mouth. But despite her efforts, the phlegm remained lodged there. I had no choice but to sleep inclined at 45 degrees on the bed to avoid choking. SHIT... great start
Sunday, July 01, 2007
JUMPy
Went to watch JUMP today, the Korean martial arts comedy that was being shown at the Esplanade. I felt that it was good. Dad felt that it was ok, but something he would not pay money to watch. Half of me wanted to just ask him to do a somersault in front of me.
The premise of the whole show is this Korean (~duh) family. Each family member is trained in some form of martial art (National Championship level, no less). Grandfather is the head patriarch (according to the free programme booklet, he is a master in Tae Kwon Do, Tae Kyun, Karate and Hapkido); Father is trained in Wushu or something (judging by his clothes); Mother is trained in Tae Kwon Do, cos she's in a gi; Uncle is trained in drunken fist, he's perpetually drunk with a bottle in his hand (he seems like a cross between Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee becos of his dressing); and daughter who seems to be trained in Wu shu as well. And there is the potential suitor for daughter, who.... has a Dr Jerkyll Mr Hyde personality. It starts off with them, showcasing their skills. It ends off with them beating up 2 burglars, which... further showcases their skills.
Ok, so it's hard to describe the whole show, but the whole thing is in the action sequences. JUMP had extremely little dialog and even when dialog was needed, it was a smattering of Korean, and limited English. Everything was in the action, which of course was exaggerated. But nonetheless, it was a laugh-a-minute fest for me, with their slapstick humour. I prefer this over Stephen Chow anytime. And the stunts! Gosh! I know how freaking hard it is to do a bloody cart wheel and these guys were running, jumping, somersaulting effortlessly! It's physically demanding to do a somersault and cart wheel, needless to say, a back flip. And these guys can do 5 in succession. *Must train harder....*
While at the esplanade, I also saw this exhibit which was very interesting. It was a series of drawings done on canvas. And all of them were drawn with only 1 single line: no breaking, no overlapping. It's amazing. The one I was most impressed with was the human brain. It is difficult enough to draw the human brain, let alone in a single, unbroken line. And the tapestries are long... I wonder how long it took to get it done.... should learn this skill... it will come useful when playing PICTIONARY! :D
The premise of the whole show is this Korean (~duh) family. Each family member is trained in some form of martial art (National Championship level, no less). Grandfather is the head patriarch (according to the free programme booklet, he is a master in Tae Kwon Do, Tae Kyun, Karate and Hapkido); Father is trained in Wushu or something (judging by his clothes); Mother is trained in Tae Kwon Do, cos she's in a gi; Uncle is trained in drunken fist, he's perpetually drunk with a bottle in his hand (he seems like a cross between Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee. Bruce Lee becos of his dressing); and daughter who seems to be trained in Wu shu as well. And there is the potential suitor for daughter, who.... has a Dr Jerkyll Mr Hyde personality. It starts off with them, showcasing their skills. It ends off with them beating up 2 burglars, which... further showcases their skills.
Ok, so it's hard to describe the whole show, but the whole thing is in the action sequences. JUMP had extremely little dialog and even when dialog was needed, it was a smattering of Korean, and limited English. Everything was in the action, which of course was exaggerated. But nonetheless, it was a laugh-a-minute fest for me, with their slapstick humour. I prefer this over Stephen Chow anytime. And the stunts! Gosh! I know how freaking hard it is to do a bloody cart wheel and these guys were running, jumping, somersaulting effortlessly! It's physically demanding to do a somersault and cart wheel, needless to say, a back flip. And these guys can do 5 in succession. *Must train harder....*
While at the esplanade, I also saw this exhibit which was very interesting. It was a series of drawings done on canvas. And all of them were drawn with only 1 single line: no breaking, no overlapping. It's amazing. The one I was most impressed with was the human brain. It is difficult enough to draw the human brain, let alone in a single, unbroken line. And the tapestries are long... I wonder how long it took to get it done.... should learn this skill... it will come useful when playing PICTIONARY! :D
