just over a week ago, zoe was down with cough and flu and had missed school for a good 1 week. and just as she was recovering, the little bro of hers came down with a fever on a saturday night, followed shortly after by a cough and flu too. from then on, his appetite became zero and nothing could tempt him into eating, not even when he was given the permission to 'raid' the fridge or the biscuits cupboard. every item placed in front of him was only met by the shaking of his head. at times, he would request for cheerios, but when it was placed in front of him, he would eat like only 10 of it and then play with the remaining in his bowl. since then, his staple diet was just mummy's good ole' breastmilk.
his fever had been alternating between high and low, but monday came, and his fever hit a high, he was all hot and feverish and so we brought him to the pd whch didn't help by any bit as he was rejecting ALL forms of oral medication, watsoever. every attempt to force feed him medication (with a syringe) was a struggle and daddy had to hold him tight and grab both his hands, but it was of no use as any bit of medication that went in would only be spat out. it was simply torturous (to him!) and exasperating (to us!). the only medication he took was for fever which we could conveniently insert up his butt (with minimal struggle!).
his fever had been alternating between high and low, but monday came, and his fever hit a high, he was all hot and feverish and so we brought him to the pd whch didn't help by any bit as he was rejecting ALL forms of oral medication, watsoever. every attempt to force feed him medication (with a syringe) was a struggle and daddy had to hold him tight and grab both his hands, but it was of no use as any bit of medication that went in would only be spat out. it was simply torturous (to him!) and exasperating (to us!). the only medication he took was for fever which we could conveniently insert up his butt (with minimal struggle!).
by wednesday nite we decided that he had to go for a thorough check up at the kkh as we were still sponging him to cool him and it was already day 5. by the time we were there., his fever was 39.3 and the initial diagnosis was lung infection. over there, he was given a series of checks, neubalised, x-rayed and blood was shed for the test... poor thing! after a good 3 hrs odd, it was decided that he be admitted as the only thing that could 'cure' him was antibiotics - oral medication that he rejected and thus it could only be given via needles... which was when, the ordeal began...
day ONe:
ethan was warded in class b2 (a 6 bedded room without the aircon - the best of what's remaining! to think that the hospital was running on almost full occupancy for every ward...), ward 56, bed 19. by the time we reached the ward, it was already 1 plus in the morning. daddy brought a tired zoe home to bed while he and ah ma went back to pack 'mummy's and ethan's overnight(s!)bag'. meantime, nurse marve, doc kelly low and doc zhang came by on separate occasions to check on ethan and mummy had to repeat ethan's condition to each of them (which was just the beginning! - it seems that repetition is the norm, wonder if this is the b2 class treatment, throughout the stay, ethan was seen by numerous docs and nurses and there are just many fresh faces eveyday!). just when the boy finally fell asleep, he was quickly whisked away to the treatment room for THE treatment i.e. it was 'needle time'. mum couldn't be in the room with him, but he had his darling penguin for company. within minutes, ethan was already crying out loud for dear life, it must have lasted at least 30 minutes for ethan was returned to mum just as mum finished freshening up. that poor boy, he was just shacked out from all that crying and pure tiredness...
after the treatment, mum quickly changed him into fresh clothes and nursed him and he was sound asleep within minutes, but that didn't last too long as he kept coughing while sleeping and before you knew it, he had puked everywhere. that was when they decided that he had to be put on a drip to keep him hydrated in addition to the oxygen mask that he was already given to keep his oxygen intake above the norm of 95% as his was slightly below (any lower and it might lead to a disruption in brain activities). even after that, he kept being roused from his sleep to be checked by the nurse and docs a few more times and by the time he got to sleep soundly without disturbance, it was already 5.40am. and that poor boy now couldn't suck his favourite thumb as the needlepoint was on the top of his left hand, which was in turn 'supported' by a long rectangular pad on his palm to prevent him from pulling the needle out. that night, he was so 'desperate', he resorted to sucking his other thumb instead.
throughout the nite, despite the drawn curtains, you can still hear the nurses making their rounds, children crying, handphones beeping, people snoring and people playing games on their mobile and the norm for kkh is that the day begins bright and early at 7.30am. regardless of whether the patient or caregiver is sleeping, the curtains are drawn and your sleepy state and sleep position are open for all to see... not that anyone really cares, but still, its an 'eye-opener' for 'first-timers' like us whose eyes can barely open and medicine dispensed and breakfast ready by 8am. by 8.30am, the senior consultant, dr liew arrives and asks about ah boy and starts explaining his condition to a sleepy mummy. it is then mummy realised that ah boy's condition was actually broncholitis and not lung infection, which actually means that his right lungs and a little bit of his left, are somehow blocked and that there's a lot of phlegm in there which is causing blockage to the widpipe and hence narrowing his breathing space and reducing his oxygen intake. thus, the need for oxygen and the drip so that ah boy is kept hydrated as he is not taking in enough fluids to loosen the phlegm. having said that, he was also neubalised once again but thank goodness it did not disrupt the still sleeping boy.
by the time ethan awoke, the fever was gone but his oxygen intake remained below the norm. he totally hated the oxygen mask, and any attempt to put it near him was met with much resistance. then shan shan yee came with her 'miracle saviour' - this mucous sucker thing that she got from a friend in france, and 'did the deed' on him. she demonstrated and thankfully proceeded to suck out his phlegm from the nose, which was really quite a bit! of cos, the boy struggled and cried but at least it did managed to relieve him of the blockage in the nose and cleared some phlegm which made it easier for him to nurse better thereafter. throughout the day, ethan was kept entertained by the iphone and his thomas and friends trains, but he was just grouchy and clingy when uncle bernard, yee po alice and aunty michelle dropped by for a visit. you can hardly blame the boy! in addition to being confined to his cotbed, his movements were restricted cos of the drip and the oxygen monitor that was placed on his big toe, it was just 'suffocating'! even though the fever was gone, he still wasn't eating much, partly attributed to the 'horrible' food that was served. nevertheless, he managed to cheer up by the time aunty zhuying came and we could bring him around the ward and with the drip, of cos! that sort of sums up day one of his stay.
day TWo:
everyone else in the ward was sound asleep and just as mummy thot she could tuck ethan into bed at 11 plus, his frustration grew and he started growing agitated and went about tugging at the drip and the needle on his hand. to distract him, we started playing with the cake cutting toy that his jie jie had brought to the hospital earlier on but that distraction was merely temporary because as soon as we put away the toy after a good 15 minutes or so, the agitation grew... eventually, mummy had to call for the nurses to help after struggles to hold him tight and all attempts to calm him down had failed. one nurse came, followed by another, but no one could restraint him. in the midst of all that struggling and crying and frustration, he managed to 'displaced' the needle which meant that the docs had to come and insert a new needle in him! many attempts were made by the nurses to contact the docs, but none came, the nurses were frustrated by the docs nonchalence and so was mummy. to cut the story short, a female doc finally made her appearance after 30 minutes or so (mum thinks that this is really a case of 'c' class treatment!). by then, a tired ethan (minus the needle!) had calmed down and was already sound asleep in mummy's arms.
it was only almost an hour and a half or two later since the needle was taken off that ethan was once again brought into the treatment room for re-insertion of a new needle. once again, the ordeal began. it was a male doc this time who came, who tried locating and finally ínserting a needle into a screaming ethan's hand but failed. he then asked íf 'we wanted his senior to come try a second time' as he wasn't confident that he was able to correctly locate ethan's veins. and so the female doc made a reappearance and tried, now on his other hand, but it failed too. throughout, ethan was asleep as he was already 'shacked out', but each time the needle went in, he would scream and cry and there were 3 of us trying to pin him down to minimise his struggling! it was a terrible ordeal indeed for a boy who wasn't even 2 yet. and it was only on the third try did the doc managed to successfully insert the needle and this time, it was on his feet. well, at least, the only consolation was that ethan now had his hand free and he could suck his favourite thumb freely... it was almost 4am before he finally got to sleep soundly.
in the morning, ethan woke up feeling happier and the senior consultant had by then taken out ethan's oxygen mask and replaced it with a óxygen tube upon mummy's request. however, he decided that ethan still couldn't be discharged as his oxygen intake was still below the norm and his fluid intake was still insufficient - while waiting for the results of his blood test, those were the 2 other deciding factors determining his discharge from hospital. but God is good! his appetite slowly improved that day and by evening time, a doc came by with good news that he could be taken off the drip soon which was definitely good news indeed! that night, both of us slept soundly together in his cot bed (who cares! hehehe :)) and that was day two.
day ThRee:
its now saturday (exactly a week before his 2nd birthday) and ethan was still sound asleep when the nurse came and removed the drip, just before 9am. Amen! at least, he was a little bit more mobile now and we could bring him around the hospital instead of just being 'çonfined' in ward 56. we were a little more hopeful that he would be discharged today as his oxygen intake, even without the oxygen that they were giving him was now more normal. then a new doc came and told mummy that ethan was still a 'lil' feverish' and that he may not be discharged, but she returned minutes later only to apologise for saying that it was actually the patient in the next bed that was feverish and not ah boy! goodness! such a blur doctor! finally, the blood results came back and proved negative, followed by more good news. its official, ethan was to be discharged at 5pm! Praise the Lord! he would however, have to continue taking his antibiotics orally while at home. the parents vowed to give it to him even if it meant forcing it down his throat as it was definitely better than having to remain at the hospital! we were all happy, especially ethan. his happiness was evident as he could now put on his shoes and walk around freely after 3 days of confinement. Praise the Lord!
note:
it was funny how at the hospital, the docs and nurses kept mistaking ethan for a boy despite his name being ethan and him looking every bit of a boy! anyways, back at home, over the next 2 days, ethan continued to spit out whatever medication that was given but he finally gave in on day 3 and is now willing to take his medication, sans struggling! he is currently still on his course of antibiotics but the parents are pretty sure that God has restored his health and that it is now better than before. Amen and Amen :)
we are grateful to all visitors who came, ah ma and yee-yees, yee-po, aunty michelle & abigail, and uncle bernard & eugene and everyone else's encouragements on facebook...
day ONe:
ethan was warded in class b2 (a 6 bedded room without the aircon - the best of what's remaining! to think that the hospital was running on almost full occupancy for every ward...), ward 56, bed 19. by the time we reached the ward, it was already 1 plus in the morning. daddy brought a tired zoe home to bed while he and ah ma went back to pack 'mummy's and ethan's overnight(s!)bag'. meantime, nurse marve, doc kelly low and doc zhang came by on separate occasions to check on ethan and mummy had to repeat ethan's condition to each of them (which was just the beginning! - it seems that repetition is the norm, wonder if this is the b2 class treatment, throughout the stay, ethan was seen by numerous docs and nurses and there are just many fresh faces eveyday!). just when the boy finally fell asleep, he was quickly whisked away to the treatment room for THE treatment i.e. it was 'needle time'. mum couldn't be in the room with him, but he had his darling penguin for company. within minutes, ethan was already crying out loud for dear life, it must have lasted at least 30 minutes for ethan was returned to mum just as mum finished freshening up. that poor boy, he was just shacked out from all that crying and pure tiredness...
after the treatment, mum quickly changed him into fresh clothes and nursed him and he was sound asleep within minutes, but that didn't last too long as he kept coughing while sleeping and before you knew it, he had puked everywhere. that was when they decided that he had to be put on a drip to keep him hydrated in addition to the oxygen mask that he was already given to keep his oxygen intake above the norm of 95% as his was slightly below (any lower and it might lead to a disruption in brain activities). even after that, he kept being roused from his sleep to be checked by the nurse and docs a few more times and by the time he got to sleep soundly without disturbance, it was already 5.40am. and that poor boy now couldn't suck his favourite thumb as the needlepoint was on the top of his left hand, which was in turn 'supported' by a long rectangular pad on his palm to prevent him from pulling the needle out. that night, he was so 'desperate', he resorted to sucking his other thumb instead.
throughout the nite, despite the drawn curtains, you can still hear the nurses making their rounds, children crying, handphones beeping, people snoring and people playing games on their mobile and the norm for kkh is that the day begins bright and early at 7.30am. regardless of whether the patient or caregiver is sleeping, the curtains are drawn and your sleepy state and sleep position are open for all to see... not that anyone really cares, but still, its an 'eye-opener' for 'first-timers' like us whose eyes can barely open and medicine dispensed and breakfast ready by 8am. by 8.30am, the senior consultant, dr liew arrives and asks about ah boy and starts explaining his condition to a sleepy mummy. it is then mummy realised that ah boy's condition was actually broncholitis and not lung infection, which actually means that his right lungs and a little bit of his left, are somehow blocked and that there's a lot of phlegm in there which is causing blockage to the widpipe and hence narrowing his breathing space and reducing his oxygen intake. thus, the need for oxygen and the drip so that ah boy is kept hydrated as he is not taking in enough fluids to loosen the phlegm. having said that, he was also neubalised once again but thank goodness it did not disrupt the still sleeping boy.
by the time ethan awoke, the fever was gone but his oxygen intake remained below the norm. he totally hated the oxygen mask, and any attempt to put it near him was met with much resistance. then shan shan yee came with her 'miracle saviour' - this mucous sucker thing that she got from a friend in france, and 'did the deed' on him. she demonstrated and thankfully proceeded to suck out his phlegm from the nose, which was really quite a bit! of cos, the boy struggled and cried but at least it did managed to relieve him of the blockage in the nose and cleared some phlegm which made it easier for him to nurse better thereafter. throughout the day, ethan was kept entertained by the iphone and his thomas and friends trains, but he was just grouchy and clingy when uncle bernard, yee po alice and aunty michelle dropped by for a visit. you can hardly blame the boy! in addition to being confined to his cotbed, his movements were restricted cos of the drip and the oxygen monitor that was placed on his big toe, it was just 'suffocating'! even though the fever was gone, he still wasn't eating much, partly attributed to the 'horrible' food that was served. nevertheless, he managed to cheer up by the time aunty zhuying came and we could bring him around the ward and with the drip, of cos! that sort of sums up day one of his stay.
day TWo:
everyone else in the ward was sound asleep and just as mummy thot she could tuck ethan into bed at 11 plus, his frustration grew and he started growing agitated and went about tugging at the drip and the needle on his hand. to distract him, we started playing with the cake cutting toy that his jie jie had brought to the hospital earlier on but that distraction was merely temporary because as soon as we put away the toy after a good 15 minutes or so, the agitation grew... eventually, mummy had to call for the nurses to help after struggles to hold him tight and all attempts to calm him down had failed. one nurse came, followed by another, but no one could restraint him. in the midst of all that struggling and crying and frustration, he managed to 'displaced' the needle which meant that the docs had to come and insert a new needle in him! many attempts were made by the nurses to contact the docs, but none came, the nurses were frustrated by the docs nonchalence and so was mummy. to cut the story short, a female doc finally made her appearance after 30 minutes or so (mum thinks that this is really a case of 'c' class treatment!). by then, a tired ethan (minus the needle!) had calmed down and was already sound asleep in mummy's arms.
it was only almost an hour and a half or two later since the needle was taken off that ethan was once again brought into the treatment room for re-insertion of a new needle. once again, the ordeal began. it was a male doc this time who came, who tried locating and finally ínserting a needle into a screaming ethan's hand but failed. he then asked íf 'we wanted his senior to come try a second time' as he wasn't confident that he was able to correctly locate ethan's veins. and so the female doc made a reappearance and tried, now on his other hand, but it failed too. throughout, ethan was asleep as he was already 'shacked out', but each time the needle went in, he would scream and cry and there were 3 of us trying to pin him down to minimise his struggling! it was a terrible ordeal indeed for a boy who wasn't even 2 yet. and it was only on the third try did the doc managed to successfully insert the needle and this time, it was on his feet. well, at least, the only consolation was that ethan now had his hand free and he could suck his favourite thumb freely... it was almost 4am before he finally got to sleep soundly.
in the morning, ethan woke up feeling happier and the senior consultant had by then taken out ethan's oxygen mask and replaced it with a óxygen tube upon mummy's request. however, he decided that ethan still couldn't be discharged as his oxygen intake was still below the norm and his fluid intake was still insufficient - while waiting for the results of his blood test, those were the 2 other deciding factors determining his discharge from hospital. but God is good! his appetite slowly improved that day and by evening time, a doc came by with good news that he could be taken off the drip soon which was definitely good news indeed! that night, both of us slept soundly together in his cot bed (who cares! hehehe :)) and that was day two.
day ThRee:
its now saturday (exactly a week before his 2nd birthday) and ethan was still sound asleep when the nurse came and removed the drip, just before 9am. Amen! at least, he was a little bit more mobile now and we could bring him around the hospital instead of just being 'çonfined' in ward 56. we were a little more hopeful that he would be discharged today as his oxygen intake, even without the oxygen that they were giving him was now more normal. then a new doc came and told mummy that ethan was still a 'lil' feverish' and that he may not be discharged, but she returned minutes later only to apologise for saying that it was actually the patient in the next bed that was feverish and not ah boy! goodness! such a blur doctor! finally, the blood results came back and proved negative, followed by more good news. its official, ethan was to be discharged at 5pm! Praise the Lord! he would however, have to continue taking his antibiotics orally while at home. the parents vowed to give it to him even if it meant forcing it down his throat as it was definitely better than having to remain at the hospital! we were all happy, especially ethan. his happiness was evident as he could now put on his shoes and walk around freely after 3 days of confinement. Praise the Lord!
note:
it was funny how at the hospital, the docs and nurses kept mistaking ethan for a boy despite his name being ethan and him looking every bit of a boy! anyways, back at home, over the next 2 days, ethan continued to spit out whatever medication that was given but he finally gave in on day 3 and is now willing to take his medication, sans struggling! he is currently still on his course of antibiotics but the parents are pretty sure that God has restored his health and that it is now better than before. Amen and Amen :)
we are grateful to all visitors who came, ah ma and yee-yees, yee-po, aunty michelle & abigail, and uncle bernard & eugene and everyone else's encouragements on facebook...
1 comments:
This is not the only horror story I read about KK. Gosh. This entry confirmed my inner-promptinh to 'never give birth in KK Hospital', though im not pregnant yet. - CDJ
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