Wednesday, June 13, 2007
was discharged from SGH yest afternoon after spending 9 days there for dengue fever. was a really horrible 9 day ordeal for me, where my freedom is taken away from me, a death sentence for a hyper-active person like me. was confined to bed 24/7 for the whole period. i couldnt even go to the toilet myself. everywhere i go, i had to call for the nurse. not that i cant do so myself, but i am not allowed to do so, for fear of me fainting or knocking myself, causing bruises and internal bleeding which cant be stopped. for the 1st few days, i cant even go to the toilet. the nurse had to give me a urinal and i had to relieve myself there by the bedside. my world consists of only the hospital ward and i dont even know what it looks like outside the ward. and that is only the mental pain. there is the physical pain part too. every morning, before i am awake, the nurse came to poke me, drawing blood at 530am. not that i can sleep at night anyway, but the feeling just sucks. after drawing the blood, i just sit up in bed, looking at the clock tick by, waiting for dawn to break, listening to the other patients snore and watching them sleep so soundly. due to all the drawing of blood, i have at least 15 needle holes on my arm now. yeap. that's how bad it is. the mental and physical pain and torture.
bad part aside, there is some good things about this ordeal too. learnt and realised quite a few things throughout this "journey". in fact, the realisation hit me only yest morning. 1stly, i was supposed to stay in a B2 class ward but due to a lack of beds, i was put up in a B1 class ward, with air con and tv facilities. was told that i will be shifted to the B2 ward once there is vacancy there but for the 9 days, i was not shifted. the night shift nurse commented yest morning at 515am that i am a very lucky dengue patient, to be staying in a B1 class ward, with 1st class services. when she said that, i know that its not luck. it has to be God's grace. for 9 days, 1st class ward with very nice, caring and friendly nurses tending to me and looking after me, how else can one explain this? the nurses there were really very very nice and friendly, chatting and joking with them. and because i was there for so long, they know me "well". even the lab technician who tested my blood, who had never seen me personally before, knew that the test tube of blood has to be from me once he saw the ward number, saying "must be dominic's blood". and of course, from this ordeal, i learnt that nothing beats real and true friends in this world, not forgetting relatives of course. for 9 days, i had friends visiting me everyday, bringing me gifts and fruits, keeping me company to help me kill time. every single day. was really touched by them. even the wife of the patient opposite me said that i am very fortunate to have so many good friends who come everyday to visit me. how true. that made me realise that friends are the really important people in this world. true friends who are there with you in times when you are in need or when you are down. nothing can beat friendship. not even affection. had a "wakeup call" when a friend i sms didnt even reply the message. oh well. like i said, it was a good realisation for me. now i know. friends apart, relatives came to visit me too. my cousins, who came to visit me twice made me very touched too. friends and relatives. the 2 most important group of people in this world. God made me reinstate this importance during this period of time. really very thankful to Him. and to the nurses of ward 55A who looked after me so well during my stay there, and to the friends and relatives who visited me during my hospitalisation.