Roof Top Dining......

 

With Sis Lee Lee, Soh Wah and husband Yew Tien

 

The Vietnamese paper roll which is beautifully garnished.

 

High rise buildings everywhere!

 

The Marina Bay Sands could be seen in the background


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It has been a long time since I went out with Soh Wah and her husband, Yew Tien. This time, she decided to take my eldest sister and I out for a lovely Vietnamese lunch at the upmarket restaurant called "Nuoc" which is located at the rooftop of Orchard Central.

I told my best friend that perhaps eldest sis might like to try some Vietnamese food, as a group of toastmasters had visited me from the Vietnam Toastmasters' Club
and one of the ladies had taught her how to cook Pho Chicken Noodle Soup.

Wow! What a view! From the rooftop where you can see parts of Orchard Road, you realise that there is plenty of greenery even at the busiest part of town. Our little island is truly a beautiful garden city. The restaurant decor is also very
authentic and makes you feel as if you were in Saigon. I like the dainty cutleries that were being used to serve the food and drinks.

We ordered some set lunch as well as a side dish of paper roll which is like our local "popiah". The Vietnamese tea drunk with some sugared ginger was quite unique in taste.

As usual I did not have much appetite and shared a small bowl of my chicken noodles with Yew Tien. As my taste buds have changed after my chemotherapy, it would not be fair for me to comment on the quality of food.

I am grateful to Soh Wah for knowing all the "in" places to eat. Soh Wah is right to describe me as a "country bumpkin" where good food is concerned in Singapore. But I am blessed with so many friends who are connoisseurs of good food! Isn't that wonderful.? After I have tried a particular restaurant, then I will know how to bring my relatives and friends to enjoy the food.

It only takes a word,
To get the menu going,
Your heart is full of mirth,
When you see your friends enjoying
The food you recommended,
Back to the restaurant they'll be going!
Not once, not twice,
But thrice!

(To be sung to the tune of "Pass it on.....")

My final visit to Dr. Karman Wong's Clinic......

 

The tube still inserted to drain out excess water from the pelvis.
Time to remove the tube as my liver has improved.

 

The wound now looks less sore and angry after some cleansing and medication.

 

From left: Yati (my favourite nurse), Eldest Sis Lee Lee, Dr. Karman Wong and yours truly. Dr. Karman Wong is beaming with joy because I have recovered so much.

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21st March 2011 - an unforgettable day for me. It was my final visit to Dr. Karman Wong's Clinic because my insurance coverage is only for 90 days after the last hospitalisation.

Everything is in God's perfect timing because it was good that I could have Dr. Wong to look after me during my precarious condition for the first three months. I visited her once a week, and she monitored my condition very carefully. When Dr. Wong first met me, she thought I was someone who was healthy and cheerful but was shocked when she saw my health reports. When my liver condition began to improve, she told my sister that she thought I might not live through the first month. That was why she could not give me my first chemotherapy for it would have killed me right away. She had to wait till the liver stabilised. Yesterday, Dr. Wong told me that my liver condition has improved even more, and now she is confident that the excess water will drain normally without the tube and drainage bag. Hence the tube was removed and I did not realise it was about 7 inches long. Dr. Wong pulled it out in one go - I felt the pain for only a short while. Yati told me that if Dr. Wong had removed it slowly, it would have caused even more pain.

Dr. Wong instructed Yati to put a bag around the wound to catch any flow of water which may still seep through the hole. I learnt that it was the same kind of bag that patients use to collect urine. How interesting! I was glad to note that not a single drop of water had seeped through the bag throughout the night. Hence I could remove it; apply some cream, cover it with non-woven swab and apply a water proof
cover over it. This morning I noticed with joy that the swelling on my two legs have
also been greatly reduced.

It was such a joy to have the tube removed after two weeks of having to lug the water bag around. Sometimes I was careless and pulled at the tube and caused myself excruciating pain because the tube was fastened by some thread sewn onto the body. I told Dr. Wong that morning, I had forgotten to tie the band around my tummy and fasten it with the Velcros and although the bag had no water, I felt it slipping down until it reached my ankle. Luckily my long pants prevented it from being seen. Dr. Wong stared at me, and said she did not know whether to laugh or cry as I am such a funny and happy patient. She is a humble and God-fearing lady and asserted that she is only an instrument for God as a doctor and that it is God who heals and performs miracles! Wow! I thank all my relatives and friends for their coveted prayers and I thank the good Lord for His healing power!

I am so glad that my weight is now back to 66.3 kilos - my last weighed in before it started to baloon to 75.8 kg with all the water retention.

Dr. Wong has referred me back to see Dr. David Tai at the National Cancer Centre. Dr. Tai is also my favourite oncologist as he is gentle, understanding and compassionate. The government subsidizes 65% of the fees and the remaining can be
paid by Medisave and a little cash, which makes it more affordable for me.

I am so thankful that as a Singaporean, I have a choice of either a private or public hospital, and I am proud to say that the public hospitals have improved so
tremendously and remarkably in their health care system.

Gan Cao

Dainty on the inside, but the reverse on the outside?

I was at Dr. Karman Wong's and there was Yati, my favourite nurse, doing her usual injection of needle. Yati, with her experience, must be one of the very few, who could often aim accurately at my tiny vein. I asked her if her veins are also as tiny as mine, and she nodded her head.

"Isn't it ironical that overweight ladies like us should have tiny veins beneath our
layers of blubber?"

"You're not fat, Choo."

"Don't forget that at my heaviest I weighed in 90kgs."

"Yati, wouldn't it be nice if we were dainty on the outside and let the reverse be inside?"

Yati laughed and laughed.

Ah! Please don't get me wrong. Am not one to complain about my looks or what God has given me. However, when you have inexperienced nurses poking needles into your hands three times and still could not get the right vein, it is quite painful a process. Worse, I am often left with blue-black marks on the wrists and arms.

I guess the worst experience must be the one I recently had. The sweet and compassionate Filipino nurses were concerned they could not find my veins and wanted the doctor on duty to insert the needle. I kept encouraging them to try again, saying that nurses are often more adept at "needle work" than doctors. However, in came the doctor, and horror upon horror it was the one lady I would have wanted to avoid given my bad previous experience. Dr. Tan Hui Kian! Now with the bright lights on in the ex-ray room before my CT Scan I could see her face more clearly. Perhaps to save her pride before her nurses, she poked in the first needle on my right wrist and pushed it in with force that it caused me such excruciating pain. Worse, I later heard her say, "This is the best I can do. Bo Pian. (Bo pian in Hokkien means "can't be helped".) Tears rolled down my cheeks. I saw the Filipino nurse with moist eyes. She could feel my pain. When I looked at my wrist I could see the little tube still jutting out somewhat. The nurse had to inject some iodine so as to mark the distinction between the organs and tumours. This is an expensive private
hospital where the quality of the doctor on duty is below par.!

When the Filipino nurse told me that they would have to postpone the minor surgery to the following day, I decided to put my foot down and insisted that if it were the same Dr. Tan to do the surgery, I would not do it unless given another doctor. Twice bitten, ten times shy!

Gan Cao