A New Reservoir of Water.....

In case my readers are wondering why I had not been posting my articles for the past few days, I had actually been hospitalised at Gleneagles Hospital. During the weekends, eldest sister was getting worried over my increasingly bloated stomach. I felt very tired and could not stand even for five minutes. I had to make an effort
to walk from my bedroom to the kitchen. Worst of all, I could not eat or drink much. After eating 3 segments of oranges, I felt extremely full! After three spoonfuls of porridge, I'd feel bloated.

On Monday morning, eldest sister insisted that I called up my oncologist, Dr. Karmen
Wong to tell her of my extremely bloated stomach and to see what could be done. Dr.
Karmen immediately arranged for me to have the excessive water removed by surgery.
As the doctor could only see me at 5p.m., I decided it would be best for me to stay
for a day at the hospital. The CT Scan was scheduled for 3p.m. but I had not realised I had to fast for at least 4 hours as I had eaten three pieces of cream crackers at Dr. Wong's clinic at noon as I was very hungry. Hence, the scan was delayed to 4p.m.. The nurses and doctor had a hard time finding my tiny veins and by the time the scan was completed it was almost 5.30p.m. - a little too late to do the minor surgery to remove the water. Hence it was done the following afternoon at 2p.m. Hence, I could barely eat the food served at the hospital. I smsed my best friend, Geok Sim to tell her that Singapore should not be afraid of water shortage, because she now has a new reservoir called the Choo Choo Reservoir. The nurses looked so worried and I shared with them the same joke to cheer them up a little.
"You could still joke, eh", the doctor smiled.

Wow! The outpouring of the water was fast and furious and in no time, 6 kgs of water
had been drained out! The water was somewhat yellowish and murky, and the tube and bag were left behind so that more water could be drained out. Thank God that tests showed the water to be normal and by the time I left the hospital, almost 9 kilos of
water had been drained out.

I felt so much lighter and with a flatter tummy, I would be able to wear my usual clothes again. My appetite improved a little, although I could only finish half of the food served to me. On the third day, the moment I had food in my mouth, I would vomit, and I vomitted out all the food I had eaten three times in the evening, and three times in the morning. My doctor, saw my weakened state, and advised me to stay
for another day. I had lots of protein intravenous as well as glucose intravenous
throughout my 4 days' stay. I slept very soundly during my stay, and by the fifth
day, my vomitting had stopped and I could consume my food normally. I felt really good and energetic. I have never really felt so good for such a long time, and I felt I had the energy to practise my violin after such a long break!

The CT Scan showed an improvement in the liver as compared with the previous CT Scan.
The smaller tumours have disappeared while the tumour that measured 7cm has now shrunk to 4.6cm.

Some of the nurses were more efficient and diligent than others. There was a nurse whom I told her that my dressing was wet and she argued with me that it was dry. I did not want to argue with her, and talked to another nurse and immediately she
said she would change the dressing. I respected her dedication, because she was on two shifts and must have been very tired towards the evening, yet, she was cheerful and helpful. Attitude says it all. However, I will not complain against the less
than efficient nurses, because I think they are also trying their best. Nursing is indeed a tough job and I try to emphatise with the nurses.

A new reservoir of water? Oh! No! The reservoir has shrunk! Now, we are in for a short period of drought!